Discover the Best After Effects Classes in NYC
Motion Graphics Designers and Special Effects Artists use Adobe After Effects (Ae) to create animated titles, graphics, and special effects viewers remember. With Ae you can create composites and blend multiple media elements like 2D and 3D images, text, and audio for compelling visuals. One of the best features of After Effects is the way it integrates with other Adobe products like Illustrator, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro. After Effects has been the industry standard when it comes to motion graphics and visual effects for many years. This powerful product can be challenging to learn, so many people prefer to sign up for a class.
Why Learn After Effects
After Effects is versatile. Because it is part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, it works well with other Adobe products. You can start with a photo from Photoshop, a drawing from Illustrator, or a video from Premiere Pro, then import the file into After Effects to add titles and other effects. For example, you can easily design infographics or animated GIFs for social media using After Effects and other Creative Cloud products. This is the most common way to work in Ae but some Animators use the program to create animated videos from start to finish.
After Effects is great for creating film titles and end credits for television and films. You can also add animation to logos and icons videos, websites, and mobile apps. Another common use for After Effects is to create composites from multiple frames or to remove a green screen in post-production. Other animation effects in After Effects are rotoscoping and motion tracking. Finally, you can create a library of plugin effects that you can use over and over in projects.
Best After Effects Classes & Schools in NYC
After Effects in a Day at Noble Desktop, 185 Madison Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016
This hands-on After Effects class covers the essentials, like the user interface, timeline, layering animation, fading in and out, and other effects. This class will get students started with animating photos, graphics, text, and videos, and adding a soundtrack.
Prerequisites: This is a course for beginners with no prior knowledge of Adobe After Effects. Basic Photoshop and Illustrator experience is helpful, as are design skills, but not required.
Duration: One 7-hour session
Cost: $425
Adobe After Effects Level 1 at Manhattan Edit Workshop, 119 W. 23rd St., Ste. 1000, New York, NY 10011
This is an introduction to Adobe After Effects, a powerful motion graphics and animation tool. The class is for beginners and will start with the After Effects workflow, fundamentals of motion graphics, creating basic animations with presets and effects, working with masks, animating text, working with shape layers, distortion and other effects, and rendering and exporting the finished project.
Prerequisites: There are no formal class prerequisites, although students will need basic knowledge of Mac OS X.
Duration: Three, full-time 8-hour sessions
Cost: $1,295
After Effects Bootcamp at Noble Desktop, 185 Madison Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016
This is an in-depth After Effects Bootcamp that aims to teach students to use Adobe After Effects to create animations from still images and add graphics and movement. This course is designed to take beginning students from learning the After Effects interface, timeline, and layers, to correcting color and adding audio to video footage. Class assignments are based on real-world tasks and when students complete the class, they will have a video that can be added to a demo reel or uploaded to social media.
Prerequisites: Before signing up for this class, students should be familiar with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, so plan to take those classes first if you have never used either tool. Basic knowledge of video editing and design skills are also helpful, but not required.
Duration: After Effects Bootcamp is taught in three, full-time 7-hour sessions or six, part-time 3-hour sessions.
Cost: $975
Motion Graphics Certificate at Noble Desktop, 185 Madison Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016
This Motion Graphics Certificate program goes beyond Adobe After Effects to prepare students for jobs as Motion Graphics Designers. In addition to After Effects, the course covers video editing with Premiere Pro which includes editing, adding music and voice overs, fixing dialogue, transitions between clips, and color correction. Then students will learn how to create animations with After Effects including animating text and graphics, greenscreen removal, replacing backgrounds, rotoscoping, and screen replacement. Students will also learn to make 3D models with Cinema 4D. Finally, students will get help with creating a demo reel including motion graphics projects that they can show to prospective employers and clients.
Prerequisite: There are no formal prerequisites for this class, but a working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and/or Illustrator and basic knowledge of video editing and design skills are helpful.
Duration:17, full-time 7-hour sessions or 34, part-time 3-hour sessions
Cost: $3,495
NYC Industries That Use After Effects
There are many employment opportunities for Motion Graphics Designers in New York City and nearby regions. Some industries that use motion graphics and animation in the area are television and film studios, advertising agencies, and motion graphics studios.
Television and Film
Television and film are often the first industries that come to mind when people think about tools like After Effect. Motion Graphics Designers create title and end credits for TV shows and feature films, as well as “lower third” effects like chyrons that scroll across the bottom of the screen and channel identification. Some television companies based in NYC are ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Cable channels ESPN, CNN, MSNBC, MTV, Fox News, and HBO. Some movie production companies located in New York include Paramount Pictures, Focus Features, 20th Century Studios, Sony Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, New York Motion Picture Company, RadicalMedia, Merchant Ivory Productions, Warner Brothers, and The Walt Disney Company.
It can be tough to break into the television and film industry. One place where many people with After Effects skills start is on sports and news shows. Another common task is screen replacement for cell phones, computers, and televisions.
Advertising
Many people with After Effects skills find work in advertising. Whether you work for an agency or in the advertising department of a company, Motion Graphics Designers are often hired to create animated logos, design moving text, and animate objects for ads on television, websites, mobile apps, and social media. People who know After Effects also work as freelancers to create motion graphics for small businesses. Some local media production companies in New York are DEG Productions, Beverly Boy Productions, and Soul Kitchen Creative.
Motion Graphics Studios
Some studios specialize in motion graphics and hire people who know how to use tools like Adobe After Effects. Some of these commercial production studios in NYC are Ultivid, Press to Play, Speedy Animation, StartupBug, and The Garden Creative.
After Effects Jobs & Salaries in NYC
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook lists New York City as the fourth highest metropolitan area for Special Effects Artists and Animators. There are more than 1,300 people currently employed in the field in NYC earning an annual mean wage of around $96,000.
