Finding your way around town in After Effects CS5 can be a bit daunting but then so was find your way around town.
Start with the main roads, take a little side trip every now and then.
Use your GPS.
It gets easier every day.
One of the confusing things for me about the layout is that to your advantage it is configurable.
You can choose which panels and tools set you wish to see.
You can choose where they are located.
You can size them all, you can 'undock' them and place to the side where the panel is still available but out of your main line of vision.
I say confusing and 'to your advantage'?.
As you look at online demonstrations and tutorials, the layout won't always look the same.
There are several preset layouts designed to suit a predefined task like animation or motion tracking.
This can be a bit confusing.
As you begin using all the panels and more importantly as your work of the day is more suited to a special layout, this flexibility will help you with the tools and views you need at hand.
In this overview I'll be using the standard workspace, the one I always begin with and use most often.
If you look at the pull down menu options at the top of your work space with 'File' on the far left, the 'Window' menu next to the end on the far right presents your workspace options; it is the first option under window.
Just looking at the different layout, what they provide, and how they differ is a learning exercise.
In the standard workspace you see your project panel in the upper left sharing a space with the effect control panel.
I like this.
The project panel is your project, the star of the show and all of it's children resources.
Here you place imported video and images, here you create folders to manage your resources.
It is common to use a composition inside another, you will see all compositions that belong to your project here.
Below your project panel is your timeline panel.
This is where you 'do the work'.
This is where you create and place your layer that are the substance of your movie.
There is a clever lookup system between your layer objects and project panel to help you keep track.
Above your timeline, to the right of your project panel is your composition panel.
This is where you get to view your project in its unfolding.
In this panel you see the movie projection preview of your project, can choose to see portions, or zoom in and out for greater detail.
If you 'double click' on a video in your project panel, a' footage' window will open in the composition window that will let you preview this resource.
On the right hand side you see an info panel which displays color and coordinate information about your composition.
As you move your mouse about the terrain, you see the 'x,y' coordinate information displayed.
Right below is the preview controls you will be using a lot.
Just like a movie preview control set, you see buttons for playing, stepping backward and forward, jumping to the beginning or end.
Under the preview panel is the 'Effects and Presets' panel, After Effects namesake.
Here you see all the effects including preset effects with some detail and animation pre-designed for you.
The effects are presented in category folders to help you search and select.
Typically sharing this panel or placed just below is the 'Character' panel you will use to create and stylize all your text.
There are a lot of tool and a lot of 'tool tweakers' in After Effects but beginning with a composition, adding some resources, then creating animation is much easier than you think.
In no time, you will be finding your way around town easily and no doubt running into a few undiscovered quaint locations you will be sharing with your After Effects community.
Start with the main roads, take a little side trip every now and then.
Use your GPS.
It gets easier every day.
One of the confusing things for me about the layout is that to your advantage it is configurable.
You can choose which panels and tools set you wish to see.
You can choose where they are located.
You can size them all, you can 'undock' them and place to the side where the panel is still available but out of your main line of vision.
I say confusing and 'to your advantage'?.
As you look at online demonstrations and tutorials, the layout won't always look the same.
There are several preset layouts designed to suit a predefined task like animation or motion tracking.
This can be a bit confusing.
As you begin using all the panels and more importantly as your work of the day is more suited to a special layout, this flexibility will help you with the tools and views you need at hand.
In this overview I'll be using the standard workspace, the one I always begin with and use most often.
If you look at the pull down menu options at the top of your work space with 'File' on the far left, the 'Window' menu next to the end on the far right presents your workspace options; it is the first option under window.
Just looking at the different layout, what they provide, and how they differ is a learning exercise.
In the standard workspace you see your project panel in the upper left sharing a space with the effect control panel.
I like this.
The project panel is your project, the star of the show and all of it's children resources.
Here you place imported video and images, here you create folders to manage your resources.
It is common to use a composition inside another, you will see all compositions that belong to your project here.
Below your project panel is your timeline panel.
This is where you 'do the work'.
This is where you create and place your layer that are the substance of your movie.
There is a clever lookup system between your layer objects and project panel to help you keep track.
Above your timeline, to the right of your project panel is your composition panel.
This is where you get to view your project in its unfolding.
In this panel you see the movie projection preview of your project, can choose to see portions, or zoom in and out for greater detail.
If you 'double click' on a video in your project panel, a' footage' window will open in the composition window that will let you preview this resource.
On the right hand side you see an info panel which displays color and coordinate information about your composition.
As you move your mouse about the terrain, you see the 'x,y' coordinate information displayed.
Right below is the preview controls you will be using a lot.
Just like a movie preview control set, you see buttons for playing, stepping backward and forward, jumping to the beginning or end.
Under the preview panel is the 'Effects and Presets' panel, After Effects namesake.
Here you see all the effects including preset effects with some detail and animation pre-designed for you.
The effects are presented in category folders to help you search and select.
Typically sharing this panel or placed just below is the 'Character' panel you will use to create and stylize all your text.
There are a lot of tool and a lot of 'tool tweakers' in After Effects but beginning with a composition, adding some resources, then creating animation is much easier than you think.
In no time, you will be finding your way around town easily and no doubt running into a few undiscovered quaint locations you will be sharing with your After Effects community.
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