# After Effects in a Day

Canonical URL: <https://www.graduateschool.edu/courses/after-effects-1day>

## Overview

Learn to use Adobe After Effects to bring photos, text, and video to life, and enhance them with music or sound effects. You can also import files from Illustrator (like a logo) or Photoshop and animate their individual elements.

## What you'll learn

- Create animations with graphics such as logos and photos
- Become familiar with the interface, timeline, and layers
- Import a logo made in Adobe Illustrator and animate it
- Create fluid, natural motion using easing
- Add transitions such as fade-ins and fade-outs
- Export a video of the final animation

## Curriculum

### Section 1

#### Intro to After Effects

- The Project, Composition, & Timeline panels
- Importing a Layered File with all its Layers Intact
- Using Title Safety to ensure TV viewers can see the text

#### Working with Keyframes

- Animating in the Class Names
- Previewing in real time
- Adding Easing
- Sliding Over the Entire Class List
- Animating the Icons
- Animating the “In a Day” Title
- Adding Motion Blur
- Trimming Off Extra Time

#### Outputting to GIF

- Exporting from After Effects
- Making the Animated GIF in Photoshop
- Reducing the Number of Frames

### Section 2

#### Noble Logo Animation: Anchor Points & Animating with Overshoot

- Converting an Illustrator file from CMYK to RGB
- Animating the black square to overshoot its final size
- Changing where the rectangles scale from by moving layer anchor points
- Setting layer in points using the In column
- Keeping vector layers sharp as they scale up

#### Noble Logo: Masking Layers & Parenting

- Pre-composing layers
- Hiding the letters before they animate using masks
- Moving the entire logo away from the rising letters using parenting

#### Noble Logo: Rotation, Fade-Outs, & Rendering

- Adding anticipation keyframes before a major animation
- Animating the Rotation property
- Adding a fade to white using a solid color layer
- How to find missing project files

#### Optional Bonus: Preparing an Illustrator File for Animation

- Resizing artboards & vector graphics
- Setting up layers to individually animate elements in After Effects

### Bonus: HBO Intro Sequence

#### Importing Flattened Files & Adding Easing

- Importing a layered PSD as a merged file
- Isolating HBO logo, Feature & Presentation text using masks
- Creating fade-ins & fade-outs
- Adding automatic easing to slow down portions of the animation

#### Working with Numerous Layers

- Familiarizing ourselves with the Photoshop layout: layers extending outside canvas bounds, guides
- Scaling up each tile using a single null object and Parenting
- Randomizing the order in which the photos animate in
- Orchestrating the exit animation so the tiles fall down in diagonal groups

#### Vector Layouts

- Animating vector shapes using the Trim Paths feature
- Continuous rasterization
- More null objects: animating the three pay television content descriptors

#### Putting It All Together & Adding Audio

- Sequencing multiple compositions
- Animating like an editor: overlapping shots & using blending modes
- Adding audio to a composition

## Schedule
- Jul 13, 2026 10:00am–5:00pm — Live Online
- Jul 28, 2026 – Jul 30, 2026 — Live Online
- Aug 24, 2026 10:00am–5:00pm — Live Online
- Sep 14, 2026 10:00am–5:00pm — Live Online
- Nov 9, 2026 10:00am–5:00pm — Live Online
- Dec 21, 2026 10:00am–5:00pm — Live Online

## Pricing

**Tuition:** $425