What You Should Make Sure You Learn in Your Adobe After Effects Class

By Mandi Pralle

Adobe After Effects is not the type of software that you can just pick up and play. You have to really know the ins and outs of the program interface so you will be able to make a basic project and actually export it to a presentable format. If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can head to the most accessible and free resources which are the Quick Start and Read Me guides. Then you can explore each of the features and functions by checking out the Adobe After Effects Help section in the Adobe Product Help Center. However, that can be very boring and there are too many features that the help site covers. You will have a more comfortable and entertaining start with this software package if you get some good training in this video editing software package. You can tell if these classes are good if these classes cover the following key topics.

The Difference between After Effects and Premiere Pro

Both After Effects and Premiere Pro have video editing features. But if you want to really make videos or perform huge edits to videos, you have to be familiar with both programs and know what program to use when you have to do a certain video edit. A good Adobe After Effects training will emphasize on topics that are related to animation and cover some of the basics of Adobe Premiere Pro which involves adding video filters or making cosmetic changes to the video.

Keyboard Shortcuts

There are a lot of sites that show a "cheat sheet" where all of the important shortcuts to certain Adobe After Effects tasks are listed. Simply trying to memorize these keyboard combinations isn't worthwhile. It is better to learn through Adobe After Effects training because you really go hands on with the most important tools. As you start using a certain tool often, you will be introduced with the shortcut key to that tool. By discovering a keyboard shortcut one at a time, you will learn to practice that keyboard shortcut over and over so the work can be done a lot quicker.

Keyframes and Animation Creation

When designing a video though Adobe After Effects, expect the classes to cover some keyframing and other animation creation features so you can make smooth animation effects. With this knowledge you should be able to make some of the basic projects which you may be able to expand as you familiarize yourself with the other software features.

Good Adobe After Effects training sessions are supposed to be more effective than ordinary eBooks and small tutorials. You have to make sure that you get some hands on time with the various concepts so you can really understand how the feature works and when it is necessary to use that feature. Finally, make sure that the course covers the latest version of the video editing software to get to learn the new features as well.

Discover how to use the powerful features in the Adobe Creative Suite to create award winning video effects from a trained professional. Learn more about the Adobe video editing program through our Colorado based Adobe After Effects Training.