At least not when you’re first starting out in film and video. To be honest, After Effects is not for everyone. However, while Premiere Pro is a great NLE (non-linear editor) for editing your video projects on a straightforward timeline and with some basic effects, After Effects is a far superior editing system that offers much more in terms of visual effects, motion graphics and compositing. (And if you’re curious, here’s a helpful guide to Premiere Pro from the pros which you should bookmark for future reference.) What sets After Effects apart from Adobe Premiere Pro?Īs we’ve covered in the past, Premiere Pro is another legacy video editing software offered by Adobe which is a true mainstay in the film and video industry.

Looking specifically at After Effects, having this cross-functionality is especially key for the creation and editing of different assets which you might need to move across apps. Joining the Creative Cloud will allow you to instantly access, install and even jump between the different Adobe platforms like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Media Composer. (This is what the CC stands for in case you were wondering.) To use After Effects you will either need to purchase it directly, or you will need to subscribe to the Creative Cloud – which is how most of its users pay for the app. If you aren’t familiar, After Effects is a part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. A brief introduction to the Adobe Creative Cloud After Effects is indeed a very powerful application, however its main functionalities are all centered around empowering visual creators with enough tools and controls to quickly and easily create video compositions which can be both quite basic as well as advanced. So, before you dive into After Effects for the first time, take a deep breath, fill your lungs with willful and positive air, and follow along with this ultimate guide to getting started with Adobe After Effects… How do I get started in After Effects?Īs with any video editing platform, the trick to learning After Effects is to simply understand why it exists and what makes it so unique. There’s a lot to take in.īut, don’t let Adobe’s visual effects, motion graphics and compositing software freak you out too much, underneath its complex-looking interface there is actually a quite intuitive design that is surprisingly easy to learn. Looking to get started with Adobe After Effects? For those beginning their video editing journey, there might not be anything scarier than opening AE for the first time.

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