Experimenting With Adobe After Effects

Visual Effects & Videography

I have absolutely no cooking clue what I am doing when it comes to videography! I know that it is a requirement for a photographic business and that is why I have begun experimenting with Adobe After Effects.

People think that photographers just click a button, images are made and available immediately, and the “bigger” the camera, the better the photographer.

That couldn’t be further from the truth, it is a whole lot more than that!

In today’s age, you need to be on the forefront cutting edge to be ahead in the game, that means social media channels, YouTube is one of them; which means… video work! I have begun to learn Adobe After Effects, in essence, it is the Photoshop of video editing for visual effects. I am very excited about this new phase in my business and will be producing more content as I learn more about videography.

What Is Adobe After Effects?

Adobe After Effects CC is the industry standard software for visual effects and motion graphics and compositing application developed by Adobe Systems. It is part of the subscription-based Adobe Creative Suite. There are so many things you can do with After Effects. A creative and technical program, you can compose, create and stylize 2D footage in a 3D space. Depending on your role, the abilities of the program vary. It can design titles, create 2D cartoon characters, an be used for keying, tracking, compositing, and animation. and more. Although it can do all these things, it is not the same as video editing software. This program is best used to apply effects after the footage has been edited.

YouTube is a great resource for inspiration and learning, and there are many channels that one can follow for tips, tricks and advice. I have also taken the course by Lynda.com – After Effects CC Essential Training to help unravel the mysteries of this amazing program.

I created this clip for my friend Dion Theunissen and turned a normal signature that he uses for watermarking his images into this…

[pix_video data_mp4=’https://www.craigfouche.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Logo-Animation-1.mp4′ data_ogv=” data_poster=’https://www.craigfouche.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/vlcsnap-2019-06-11-13h38m29s349.png’ data_width=’100%’ data_height=’56%’]

My first attempt at After Effects was last year when I created this clip for my workshop in Sutherland, South Africa.

In due course, my YouTube channel will become a regular feature of my business, once I also get Adobe Premiere Pro under my belt. This is still early days for me, and exciting ones too.