The Effect of After Effects

I have always been in awe of videos and animations that fellow peers were able to create. When it comes down to designing graphics, I feel that I stand a fair chance next to the people in the Graphic Communications major. However, when it comes to anything video or animation related, I feel that I am far behind on my skills. Anytime I scroll through my Instagram and see something done well, I make a mental note of the project, in hopes that one day I will be able to create similar content. Most of my mental notes include things presumably made using After Effects. My biggest goal for this semester was to figure out how to create some content using videos or animation. I was so happy to see After Effects listed on our Digital Media Design schedule because it meant I would at least have some basic knowledge to work towards my goal.

           I will admit I struggled a little working with After Effects for the first time and I had to call Rob over to show me where the text tool was. I was able to struggle through and get all of the basics that were taught down. I have been playing around for 15 minutes here and there to try to improve and learn more on my own. I have also been watching videos to get more inspiration and tutorials to help improve my skills.

I have been absolutely loved using this program. Honestly, everything I have created so far has been fairly basic and kind of choppy but I am still so proud to have started going after this goal and creating content without having a specific purpose. I think it is important to sometimes step back from assigned projects or tasks for work and create for fun and for yourself. I started falling in love with graphics because of the amazing content it enabled me to create. Recently, I have been less in love with individual projects because they all have felt somewhat mundane and basic. Working with a new program on projects that are simply for the purpose of creating has helped me get my groove back and fall back in love with creating and designing. I hope to continue furthering my knowledge with After Effects. In the future I hope to always remember that it is important to sometimes create just to create and to always go after new challenges I make for myself.