Adobe After Effects Essentials | June 2025

Overview

This 2 day live tutor led course covers all of the basic skills needed to start using Adobe After Effects properly.
During the course you will learn to work with layers in After Effects, understand keyframing, control animations, work transparency, and better understand rendering and output.
By the end of the class you will be able to competently edit your video content using After Effects and applying best practice techniques taught by an Adobe Certified Instructor.

Learning Objectives

The After Effects Getting Started course introduces a wide range of skills aimed at those who are completely new to Adobe After Effects, teaching you best practice right from the start. You will learn to:

• Work with the After Effects workspaces
• Create an After Effects composition
• Import and manage assets
• Create and format text content
• Create a wide range of shapes
• Apply and edit effects
• Use masks and track mattes
• Parent one layer from another
• Work with keyframes to animate

Course Content

Preparing your project
Terminology – Resolution, Frames per second and more
Storyboarding
What assets are needed
What other skills are needed
After Effects user interface and animation
What is a project file and what is in it?
Workspaces
Tools and Panels
Importing Media into a Project
Creating a Composition
The Text Tool
Using the text tool
Formatting and editing text
Paragraph and Character panels
Create shapes from text
Creating shapes
Rectangle, Elipse, Polygon, Star
The pen tool
Editing shapes
The Timeline
Overview of the timeline
Switches and modes
Shy layers
Soloing
Reordering
Labels and Markers
Transform Options
Opacity
Rotation
Scale
Position
Anchor Point
Basic Animation
What is keyframing
Applying keyframes and adjusting keyframes
Duplicating keyframes
Easing
Intermediate Animation
Motion sketch
Roving keyframes
Wiggler
Motion Blur
Centering / Moving the anchor point
Masking v Track Mattes
Creating Masks
Creating Track Mattes
Keyframing masks
Keyframing track mattes
Using with Effects
Adjusting time
Time reverse
Slowing down
Speeding up
Effects
Colour Correction
Basic Keying
Simulating rainfall / snowfall
Presets
Modifying Effects using the Effects Control Panel
Animating Effects
Using Adjustment Layers
Rendering and Output
Dependancies
Add to Render Queue
Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue

Participant profile/Who can apply/Eligibility

This course is aimed at people working in the Cultural & Creative Industries looking to professionally edit and manipulate video files, adding post production effects to a high standard.
You should be comfortable using a computer for example to copy and paste or open files and applications, and an understanding of common video terminology is an advantage.

You will need to have a copy of Adobe After Effects software. If you do not have a copy you can download a 7 x day trial HERE

All enquiries should be directed to frankeaveney@furthr.ie

Tutor information

IT Training Solutions was established in 1992, and began life as an on-site computer training company in response to the business world’s growing demand for flexible, high-quality training at an affordable price.

Today, IT Training Solutions Ltd has grown in size and is one of the leading training providers in the North East, UK, , providing training courses on a large number of IT and personal development subjects.

Simon King, a trainer with ITTS, is an experienced and certified trainer with a strong background in creative software and technical training. With extensive experience in delivering training for a wide range of industries, Simon is passionate about empowering professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in their roles. He has a proven track record of delivering high-quality, hands-on training in software like Adobe After Effects, focusing on both foundational concepts and advanced techniques.

Simon has worked with a range of high-profile clients, including Disney, Police Scotland/England/Wales, Bet 365, Thomson Reuters, BBC Scotland/England at Manchester’s Media City, and Aardman Animation. His expertise extends across video editing, motion graphics, animation, and post-production workflows, equipping learners with the tools they need to achieve outstanding results.

As a certified instructor in Adobe software, Simon brings both practical expertise and a thorough understanding of the software’s capabilities. His approach combines theoretical understanding with practical applications, ensuring learners can immediately apply new skills to their work.

Simon has delivered successful training sessions to teams and individuals from various sectors, including film, television, advertising, and digital media. His focus is always on fostering a collaborative learning environment that is engaging, inclusive, and focused on real-world results. Whether delivering group workshops or one-on-one sessions, Simon is committed to ensuring each learner’s goals are met, whether it’s mastering AE for personal projects or enhancing team workflows.

When not teaching, Simon is an active participant in industry discussions, blogs, and webinars, sharing insights into the latest trends and best practices in creative software. He is also a keen practitioner of digital art creation, photography, and other creative disciplines, ensuring he stays up-to-date with the evolving digital landscape.

Venue/location

Online – Tutor led

Costs/fee

Course fee €285 per person. (Normally this workshop would cost €695 per person without CCIS support)

Deadline for course registration and payment

Thursday 5th June at 12noon or earlier if all places are booked.

Dates and times of the course

Wednesday 11th & Thursday 12th June 2025 from 10.00 to 17.00

Due to our funding, this course is only available to those resident in the Republic Of Ireland.
For any queries, please contact frankeaveney@furthr.ie

Please register & pay using the link below.

If the course is booked out or the date does not suit register HERE to join the waiting list or express your interest in participating on this course in the future. If we have sufficient interest we will run the course again soon.

CCIS will generally only accept requests for cancellation refunds up to 5 working days before the training course commences. CCIS may allow for refunds outside of this on a case-by-case basis. Any request for a refund must be made via email to seansmith@furthr.ie & insert the course name in the subject line.