After Effects. Easy?

[NoRemorse]

I am strongly considering purchasing Adobe After Effects, are rather large investment forme.What I was wondering was: will i be able to use it? I mean, is it very tricky to get the hang of or is it relatively simple?

[ipon70]

I understand Adobe Pro really well, but After Effects I have no clue....hard in my book

[justsomeguy]

just download the demo and see if you like it

[I3lade203]

Good idea. AE is not your only program for composting. Try downloading AE and see how you like it.

[Skitz-O-Phrenia]

we use AE for making multiple people in one shot and for walking into walls and such... I think it is a fairly easy program to use. But like the others suggested, download the trial then find some tutorials and work with it and see how you like it.

[Nomaden]

AE is not very different from other compositing programs, although how hard it is to use, depends highly on what you are going to do with it. Some things are achieved easy, some aren't...

[I3lade203]

It's not a matter of it being hard or easy. It's a matter of you being comfterbale with the layout, and basic flow of the program. Thats why I suggest downloading it. But as always, all programs will be confusing at first, so give it some time before throwing it away.

[santi]

Go to Adobe site and order a free cd with video tutorials that explains basis of AE.
AE requiers some trainig at the beginning but it's very powerfull tool and quite simple. I tried to work with Combustion and it's to complicated for me (maybe I'm Adobe addicted) If you're expecting something like AlamDV - forget it. Not this kind of software. Try it. Download trial or order free cd. Search the web - theres a plenty of step-by-step tutorials. I've procesed every shot of my latest school film in AE.

[ALove]

try a lightsaber tutorial, very helpful for learning keyframing and masking. great beginner effect.

[Epsilon]

...or is it relatively simple?

Ooohh not really... Let's put it this way: You should spend a good couple days with it playing around before you really catch onto the interface. It's a little tricky for starters, but once you know it, you'll be fine.

[NoRemorse]

And what about Adobe Premiere? Is that the same, difficulty-wise?

[I3lade203]

Premiere's same thing. Same thing for any program. First time use takes a few days to get use to , then your fine after you know it. You can't expect to pick up a new softwear and know it in 10 min. Your not going to find that!

[NoRemorse]

Okay, I got Adobe Premiere, and I can use that easily. Before, I was using Pinnacle Studio, which was rather limiting. What can I do on After Effects that I can't do on Premiere?

[I3lade203]

Compositing.

[santi]

Premiere is an editing program: cutting, color corretion, transitions and that kind of stuff. AE is advanced program to composing - it's simmilar to the Photoshop a little bit. You can control every pixel of the screen. It's dedicatet to creating special effects. Download a trial and you'll see the difference.

[I3lade203]

Yeah, theres really only 5 kinds of programs you'll ever need - Basic editing ( Such as premiere ) Composting ( Such as AE ) 3D (Such as 3ds max ) DVD Authrization ( Making dvds obviously ) and Audio Editing ( Such as audition )

[Epsilon]

All you really need is just a camcorder! lol Softeware only widens the options towards professionalism. I found After Effects much more difficult to start off than I did Premiere.

[I3lade203]

Softwear is a tool - don't get carried away. Don't use the tool to make the film, make the film and use the tool. I had an equally easy time with premiere and AE when I started off.

[NoRemorse]

Well, I only really need to create muzzle flashes. What program would I need to do that?

[I3lade203]

You can do that in premiere if you wish. Althougth After effects and photoshop can do it as well.

[Epsilon]

I create all my flashes in Premiere Pro, I think they come out great! This EXAMPLE was done with compositing stock flashes , keying, and some opacity adjustments. Plus compositing a few tracers I drew up in Paint. It's pretty simple in the end. The head shot is the same with a blood spray I rendered out in Max. Just a little practice will get it looking fairly nice.

[Mrdodobird]

heh. I dunno, AE is fairly easy. I figured out the basic basics in about an hour, then you just keep learning.
I personally would highly suggest it. It's been one of the best programs I've ever purchased.

[NoRemorse]

Don't suppose anyone could give me an ultra-simple tutorial for muzzle flashes in Premiere Pro. And when I say simple, I mean as if you were trying to teach a baby, since I'm a complete duffer at this effects stuff.

[UFProductions]

Take yourself over to the tutorials section. There's a recently done one right up at the top.

[2nd_Recon]

I believe there is a basic muzzle flash tutorial on this site... Lets see if I can provide a link...Ahh, yes. Try here

And if you have any problems, PM me, and I'm sure we can get this figured out.