Adobe After Effects is incredibly powerful software. It is used by thousands of post production professionals around the world in a range of creative disciplines.
In this video I give you an extensive overview of how to use After Effects for timelapse photography.
Download a free Adobe After Effects trial here.
How I use After Effects
- I use After Effects to render sequences of timelapse photos into high resolution video files.
- I use the built in Warp Stabiliser effect (as well as the other motion trackers) to stabilise hyperlapse footage.
- The built in clone stamp tool and other tools are used to clean up or correct timelapse footage.
An overview of the After Effects panels
After Effects can be very daunting when you open it for the first time. To keep things simple I'll list the four most commonly used windows or panels.
Make sure to set your Workspace to All Panels, as shown in the overview video. (Top menu bar > Window > Workspace > All Panels)
Project window: This panel or window is where you will find the footage that you import into the software, as well as other assets that are generated (for example: compositions or solids). The project window is often used to change certain effects parameters.
The viewer: The viewer allows you to inspect and review footage, compositions or layers.
The timeline: You can open compositions in the timeline and manipulate certain parameters or effects over time using keyframes. You'll also find the Render Queue here, where you can set up a batch export to run overnight.
Other panels: You'll find all other panels here. Effects, trackers, wiggler, fonts, formatting etc.
I highly recommend watching the overview video at the top of this article as I explain much more compared to what I've typed out here.
You can download a free Adobe After Effects trial here.
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Get all the best tools and techniques to become a great timelapse photographer.
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