Introduction To After Effects

 Today we were introduced to the software, Adobe After Effects

Started by importing the image of the space background and rocket into the scene and dragging it into the timeline. Then rescaled the two images to ensure that fit into the scene

Next we began animating the rocket to make it fly around the planet. This was done by first positioning the rocket offscreen and key framing it by clicking the stopwatch icon on the position setting in the timeline. once the first key frame is done, the rest will automatically by implemented when the seconds and position is changed.  The animation can be played by either selecting the 

Next to make the rocket face the right way you have to firstly rotate it in the way you want it to go and then select layer on the top of the screen, transform and then auto orient. This will then allow you to select the path option which will cause the rocket to follow the path. 

This time we made the path first to make the animation a lot smoother. This is done by selecting the background and then using the pen tool to draw in line you want the rocket to follow. For this example I drew an arc. You then find the dropdown on the background layer called mask and copy mask path and then go to the rocket layer and paste on its position. 

We then took this knowledge learnt and applied it to a new scene. This time I had to make a car drive across a bendy road. The same sets were taken to make the cars move across the scene, drawing a line to match the road. Once the cars we animated I right clicked on the first and last keyframe and selected ease in and ease out to make the cars progression look more natural. 

Next we looked at how to animate text. This can be done by selecting your letter/word and finding the effects and pre-sets on the right hand side of screen with the text selected. There are loads of preset animations you can make your text do and your can edit all of the setting on the left hand side of the screen.