Advanced After Effects: Working with Masks and Adjustment Layers

In this After Effects we re-capped how to use the program and also moved onto using masks and adjustment layers to create different effects. I'm actually glad we got the chance to re-cap the basics because, although I know how to use After Effects for animating, I can't say I've used the program for much since our last tutorial. First we were shown a very simple tutorial on how the masks and adjustment layers were used and then we were given our old friend the boat composition to work with and once we had it animated we were shown how to apply a mask and an adjustment layer to the composition and place effects within the composition.

Okay, so I didn't necessarily get this down straight away and I must admit I was getting really frustrated because I just couldn't get it to work as well as every one else. But I stuck to it and managed to create this by the end of the session. It's not the greatest I know, but I did manage to get a mask and an adjustment layer on there. Although I managed to use these tools, I think I need to practice a little more with them, as they may come in handy for future projects.

As a quick little add on at the end Mike decided to show us a new expression that we could use to make our object/ asset move randomly to make it look more natural if we ever needed to do this. I managed to do this task with a lot less hassle and I found it extremely easy. I'm not sure when I'd use this expression but it may come in handy at some point, either way it's still useful to know.