How to Edit Video in After Effects

After Effects is commonly used to produce complex digital video effects. Projects from major motion pictures to local television commercials use After Effects to create unique visual images. With a robust library of video filters, you can customize effects using the filter control settings. Although not designed as a video editor, After Effects can be used to transition between clips and arrange the video clips in a sequence that can be exported as a single video file.

Instructions
1.
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1
Create a new composition by clicking Composition, then New from the main menu.

2
Enter My Composition as an example title in the Composition Name field.
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3
Select the type of video you plan to edit by choosing from the Preset pull-down menu. For this example, select NTSC DV and enter "30 seconds" in the Duration field.

4
Import the video clips. Double click anywhere in the After Effects Project window, select the video files, and click the Open button.

5
Double click a video clip you wish to add to the composition.

6
Set the point where you want the video to begin by positioning the time marker at that point on the time line and clicking the Set In icon in the monitor window. Set the point where you want to end the video clip by moving the cursor to the end point on the time line and clicking the Set Out icon.

Place the video clip in the composition by clicking the Overlay Edit icon from the monitor
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8
In the My Composition window, select the video clip layer added in the previous step and press Shift and Ctrl and Alt and Right Arrow to place the composition cursor at the end of the video clip.

9
Double click the next video clip you wish to add to the composition.

10
Repeat steps 6 through 9 until you have assembled all the clips you want in your final video file.

11
Add a 10-frame dissolve from black on the first video clip in the composition by pressing the Home key to position the Current Time Indicator at the beginning of the composition.

12
Press the T key to open the Opacity controls for the layer. Click the "100%" opacity value and enter 0."

13
Click the key frame icon that looks like a stop watch next to the Opacity control.

14
Press Shift, then Alt, then J to go to a specific time in the composition window.

15
Enter 10 in the Go to Time window. The Current Time Indicator will now be positioned at 10 frames into the composition.

16
Click the "0%" opacity value and enter 100. You now have a 10-frame fade-up from black to the first video clip.

How to Split Video in After Effects

Adobe After Effects is what's known as a "composting" video program. Composting programs allow you to bring several disparate elements together, such as a 3-D computer model and live footage, and make it look as if they were all in the same video shot. Although the user interface may look complicated, there are a number of shortcuts to help users edit in After Effects. For example, it's possible to split video in After Effects into two layers with a few simple keystrokes.

Instructions
1.
o

1
Import your video into After Effects. Go to the "File" menu in the upper-left corner and select "Import." Navigate to your selected footage file and click "OK."

2
Drag the footage from the "Project" files box in the top-left corner of the screen to the "Composition" box at the bottom of the After Effects widow. The footage file will show up as a new layer in the "Composition" frame.
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3
Move the timeline marker to the point where you want to split the clip by dragging the handle at the top.

4
Press the "CTRL"+"SHIFT"+"D" ("CMD"+"SHIFT"+"D" on a Mac). The footage will split into two layers on your selected mark.

How to Trim Video in After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a robust graphics utility, used to add high quality effects and graphics to videos. And while After Effects is generally used on a video project after the editing process, the program is also a full-featured editor in its own right. And if you need to adjust the length of a video clip or layer in After Effects, you won't need to export the video or layer; you can trim them in After Effects.

Instructions
1.
o

1
Launch Adobe After Effects. Load your project into the program.

2
Select a video to trim. Double-click the video in the list of files below the "Project" heading; the video will load into After Effects' preview window.
o

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3
Drag the slider, in the timeline below the video, to the point where you'd like the video to begin. Click on the "{" icon, below the timeline, to mark the beginning or your video.

4
Drag the slider along the timeline, to the point where you want the video to end. Clic the "}" icon to mark the video's end point and to complete your trim. Alternatively, you can trim your video in the After Effect's video timeline.

5
Drag your video clip to the project timeline at the bottom of the program.

Drag the beginning of the video forward to adjust the video's start time. Drag the end of the video backward, to adjust the video clip's end point.

How to Adjust Resolution With Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a complicated animation and compositing program that can not easily be learned in a few steps. The best way to learn the program is to start simply, learn the basics, and build from there. One of the basic elements to understand is resolution. The resolution of your video is what will determine the dimension of your video in pixels. A low resolution will render faster, but have a more degraded quality, while a high resolution will take more time to render, but a higher quality.

Instructions
1.
o

1
Change your render settings. Go to the Edit menu at the top of the workspace and chose Templates, then Render Settings. Here you can set up a template that you may save and reuse as needed.

2
Choose a default template from the drop-down menu called Movie Default to change settings for the entire render, or you can choose settings for a single frame by choosing a template from Frame Default.
o

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3
Create a template from scratch. Under Settings click New. In the pop-up box you can specify the Resolution as Full, Half, Third, Quarter or Custom. Full is the full resolution of the footage as you have imported or digitized it, Half is the resolution of Full, Third is 1/3 the resolution of Full and Quarter is the resolution of Full. Click OK. Enter a name for the new template.

Edit an existing template by choosing it from the Settings Name menu. Click Edit and adjust the render settings as needed.

How to Speed Up Video in After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a digital video editing suite that allows users to modify various aspects of video clips. With After Effects a user can change the way a video looks when played back, including color correction, light balancing and special effects. After Effects also has the ability to change the speed at which a video plays back. A user can use After Effects to raise or lower the number of frames per second, in effect altering the video playback speed, by using the time stretch function

Instructions
1.
o

1
Start After Effects and import the video you wish to alter into your Timeline as a new layer. If necessary, follow the onscreen prompts to create a new project. The video will appear in the Preview window and in the Timeline at the bottom of the screen.

2
Select the clip you want to edit in the Timeframe by clicking on the desired layer's name. This will ensure that any changes you make will be applied to the correct clip.
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3
Select the "Layer" menu to display the different effects that can be applied to an individual layer. It is located on the Main Menu bar at the top of the After Effects window.

4
Select "Time Stretch" under the "Layer" menu. This will bring up the "Time Stretch" dialog box.

5
Set the desired factor you wish the video's speed to be altered by. The "Time Stretch" window will have a percentage bar set at 100 percent, representing the current speed. The speed will change in relation to that percentage. To increase the speed increase the percentage. The dialog box also gives you the option to set the exact time you wish the clip to be.

6
Select the RAM preview option under the "Time Control" menu. This will allow you to view the changes to your clip.

7
Fine tune the speed higher or lower to achieve the desired speed up result. It may take several attempts to get the speed correctly set. Make sure not to increase the speed too high, or significant loss of quality could result.

How to Split Video in After Effects

Adobe After Effects is what's known as a "composting" video program. Composting programs allow you to bring several disparate elements together, such as a 3-D computer model and live footage, and make it look as if they were all in the same video shot. Although the user interface may look complicated, there are a number of shortcuts to help users edit in After Effects. For example, it's possible to split video in After Effects into two layers with a few simple keystrokes.

Instructions
1.
o

1
Import your video into After Effects. Go to the "File" menu in the upper-left corner and select "Import." Navigate to your selected footage file and click "OK."

2
Drag the footage from the "Project" files box in the top-left corner of the screen to the "Composition" box at the bottom of the After Effects widow. The footage file will show up as a new layer in the "Composition" frame.
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3
Move the timeline marker to the point where you want to split the clip by dragging the handle at the top.

4
Press the "CTRL"+"SHIFT"+"D" ("CMD"+"SHIFT"+"D" on a Mac). The footage will split into two layers on your selected mark.

How to Crop a Video in After Effects

Adobe After Effects is one of the most popular software tools available for video processing. Not strictly an editing package, After Effects is geared more toward adding effects and processing the footage, allowing the user to alter ambient light, apply color filters, manipulate the speed of the footage and more. Resizing and cropping video is a really useful way of correcting minor errors in framing and composition. It can be used to cut out distracting background action or to hide some feature of the scenery not meant to appear in the video.

Instructions
1.
o

1
Launch After Effects and click "File," then "Import." Upon clicking this, the downloader will scan for storage devices connected to your PC. Select your video camera from the drop-down field at the top of the dialog box and choose a disk location where the photos will be stored. Finally, click "Get Photos."

2
Click "File" followed by "Open In Camera Raw" after the files have downloaded onto your machine. This allows you to edit the raw footage that After Effects will reference. Be aware that changes you make to your raw footage will effect all the clips in your After Effects project that use that raw footage.

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3
Select the "Crop" tool from the "Camera Raw" dialog box. It looks like two "L" shapes, one inverted, overlapping to form a square. Drag a box over your preview window, don't worry if it isn't right straight away, click and drag the small nodes on the border of your selection, this will allow you to edit the box you have drawn.

4
Double-click in the preview window once you are happy with the cropped area. The dimmed area outside the crop-box will be discarded. Save changes with the "File" menu if satisfied.

How to Rotate a Video in After Effects

After Effects was created by the Company of Science and Arts in January 1993. As of 2011, the program is manufactured and sold by Adobe. After Effects is digital motion graphics and composition software that offers high-quality editing and visual effects creation capabilities for videos. Since the program offers extensive complex options, it is important to learn the basic operations to get the most out of this motion graphics software

Instructions
1.
o

1
Click the "File" button and choose "New" on the top menu bar once you have opened Adobe After Effects. Select the "New Project" button.

2
Click the "File" button, then select "Import." Browse to your video file, and select to import it. Place the video or object on the composition platform of After Effects.
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o

3
Click the video and hold the mouse button down to drag the video from the composition placement to the time line. Click on the video name in the time line window and press the "R" key. This adds a rotation directly under the video.

4
Click the stopwatch beside the rotation. See two numbers; leave the first at "0" if you want to start the rotation from the beginning of the video. If you want to rotate an object or portion of the video after the start of the video, the first number represents the number of times the object will complete a 360-degree rotation.

5
Click the second number, which has a degree sign, and set the number for the degree of rotation. For example, if you need the entire video turned, select 90 degrees and press "Enter."

6
Click on the outside of the video, and drag the entire corner to adjust the screen to original size. Click "File" and choose "Save As." Select a name for the video project and continue with any other effects.

How to Loop Video in After Effects

Described as the "Photoshop of dynamic media" by After Effects 7: Visual Quick Pro Guide author, Anthony Bolante, After Effects has become one of the best tools for allowing a motion artist to create amazing effects. But on the rare occasion that some footage must be extended, which actually happens more than you would think, After Effects CS3 has a few ways of looping that footage. This won't only save you time, but now you can keep the hair you would have pulled out in frustration

Instructions
1. Quick Footage Loop
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Drag the footage onto the After Effects icon. This should open up After Effects with that footage in the Project Panel.
o

2
Select this footage, and go to "File," "Interpret Footage," "Main." An Interpret Footage Window should appear. There should be four boxes within this window. Your only concern will be with the last one. This is the "Other Options" box.
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3
Type in the number 2 with in the Loop Times box. For complete cycles type in whole numbers, and if you want partial cycles, use decimals. Then click "OK."

4
"Double click" on the footage to open it up in another window. Hit the space bar to see it loop twice. You can do this as many times as you wish.

2. Expression Aided Footage Loop

o

5
Leaving After Effects open. Create a new composition by going to "Composition," "New," then click "OK."

6
Go to "Layer," "New Solid," and press "OK." Create a Square Mask by clicking on the square icon next to the Pen Tool icon in the Tools panel. Click on your solid in the middle composition panel. Drag across until you are happy with the size of the square.

7
Click on the Solid Layer in the timeline below the Composition window and type "P" to reveal the position property. Click on the Stopwatch Icon next to "Position." This will add a key frame, or a marker that will allow you to animate this solid across time. Move the time indicator 20 frames, and move the square across the screen. Now it is time for an expression.

Select the Position Property Name on the TimeLine, and hold down Shift + Option + Equal Sign (for Mac) or Shift + Alt + Equal Sign (for PC). This will add an expression box.
o

9
Type "loop_out("cycle",0)" within the box. Hit your space bar to see the square animation loop.

How to Add Footage With Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a complicated animation and compositing program that can't be easily learned in a few steps. The best way to learn the program is to start simply, learn the basics and build from there. After you create a composition and choose settings for it, you will need to add footage to your project to begin working

Instructions
1.
o

1
Go to the "File Menu" at the top of your workspace. Then go to "File" and "Import File." Here you will need to search for your video or animation footage. Select it with your mouse and click "OK."

2
When your files are imported, they will appear as a list in your Project Panel. Each file that you imported will appear with its name and file extension to the right of the footage type icon. Your Composition will also appear in the Project Panel, either under the name you gave it or Comp 1 if you did not name it.

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You can also add footage to your Project using Windows Explorer. For example, if your files are saved in My Documents, you can locate your file there--click on it with your mouse, then drag it directly to the Project Panel.
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4
You can add all types of graphics to After Effects, including video, still images and animation.