50 Essential After Effects Tips, Expressions and Shortcuts

  • Simon Brough
  • November 21, 2023
  • 18 min read

Creating cool animations in After Effects is often really quite straightforward, but to make things even easier you’ll want to be using these handy tips and expressions. We’ve spent years creating motion graphics and animated sequences, so we thought we’d share our go-to, time-saving pointers – the shortcuts we use all the time! Included in […]

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Applying Super 8 film effects in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • November 21, 2023
  • 5 min read

Turn your footage into 8mm film! In the realm of visual storytelling, the allure of vintage film formats endures, with 8 mm and Super 8 standing as iconic representatives of a bygone era. These compact films, once threaded through mechanical reels, capture moments with an intimate graininess that speaks to the artistry of analog recording. […]

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Creating a vintage film look in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • November 21, 2023
  • 5 min read

Turn your footage into a silent movie! Creating a vintage silent movie look in After Effects involves emulating the characteristics of early film, such as black and white imagery, vignetting and film grain. Here’s a step-by-step guide to achieve this effect: Step 1: Import Footage Step 2: Convert to Black and White Step 3: Adjust […]

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Creating Film Burn in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • November 17, 2023
  • 6 min read

How to Add a Film Burn Overlay | Video Tutorials | Free Overlays | Handy Templates What are film burns (light leaks)? Film burns and light leaks are visual artifacts that originated from the analog film era. These effects were unintended and often considered flaws, but in the digital age, they have become popular as […]

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Creating a VHS Effect using Adobe After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • November 16, 2023
  • 7 min read

Using After Effects to create the VHS effect Text Guide | Video Tutorials | Free Overlays | Handy Templates The VHS look refers to the distinctive visual characteristics associated with video recordings on VHS (Video Home System) tapes, a popular consumer video format during the late 20th century. This aesthetic has experienced a resurgence in […]

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Creating a Glitch Effect Logo Animation in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • November 8, 2023
  • 5 min read

If you want to add digital glitch effects to your text or logo then After Effects is the perfect place to do it. As a video manipulation program, creating digital distortions comes easy, and there are plenty of different techniques to choose from – all using After Effects’ built-in effects. Quick Links: Tutorial Text | […]

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How to make a dynamic text box in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • November 2, 2023
  • 2 min read

In this After Effects tutorial, we create a responsive box behind text using just the text layer itself. No shape layers are needed. Perfect for quick and easy social media caption overlays. Step 1: Add a Fill effect Add a Generate > Fill effect and choose your box color. Step 2: Add a Shift Channels […]

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Creating 3D Text in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • October 25, 2023
  • 5 min read

In this article we’ll look at creating 3D text inside After Effects using a variety of techniques and approaches. Text Guide | Video Guides Text Guide Creating real 3D text in After Effects involves using its built-in 3D capabilities and may require some knowledge of the software. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you achieve […]

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How to Replace Sky in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • October 25, 2023
  • 4 min read

Replacing a sky in After Effects is a powerful and creative technique that can completely transform the mood and atmosphere of your videos. Whether you want to replace a dull sky with a beautiful sunset or create a fantasy world in your footage, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it: Step 1: Prepare […]

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How to Crop Footage in After Effects

  • Simon Brough
  • October 25, 2023
  • 1 min read

Sometimes you only want to show part of your footage, revealing the underlying layer or transparency, or to mask off specific areas. Here’s a short After Effects basics video tutorial showing two ways to crop footage (or image) layers. Cropping Footage Using a Layer Mask Cropping Footage Using the Linear Wipe effect For a free […]

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