After Effects Fundamentals: Composition, Layers & Keyframe Animation
Objective. Students will create a new After Effects composition at broadcast specifications, import layered assets, and animate position, scale, and opacity using keyframes and easy-ease to produce a 10-second animated intro card.
This lesson, its worked examples and its practice questions has not yet been verified by an industry-certified professional or by a certification or approval body. It is a study draft and may contain errors. Do not use it as instructions for work on a job site or on live equipment. Always follow your instructor, your supervising professional, and current official references and regulations.
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After Effects Fundamentals: Composition, Layers & Keyframe Animation
What Is a Composition?
Adobe After Effects organizes all work inside a composition (comp). A composition is a self-contained container that holds layers, defines the frame size, frame rate, duration, and background color of your project. Think of it as a single canvas where every visual and audio element lives on its own layer, stacked in order from bottom to top.
For broadcast and most streaming deliverables, the standard composition settings are 1920 × 1080 pixels (Full HD), a frame rate of 29.97 fps (the NTSC standard for US broadcast), a pixel aspect ratio of Square Pixels (1.0), and whatever duration the piece requires — in today's exercise, 10 seconds. Getting these settings right before you build anything saves you from rescaling or re-rendering later. Create a new comp via Composition > New Composition or press Ctrl+N (Windows) / Cmd+N (Mac).
Importing and Inspecting a Layered Photoshop File
After Effects reads Photoshop (.psd) files in two ways: as a flattened image or as a composition with layers retained. Always choose Import as: Composition – Retain Layer Sizes when prompted. This preserves every Photoshop layer as a separate After Effects layer, complete with its original position and blending mode, saving you the work of rebuilding the layout.
Once imported, double-click the generated composition in the Project panel to open it. You will see each Photoshop layer listed in the Timeline panel in the same stacking order as in Photoshop. Layers are controlled using the small switches on the left (visibility eye, solo, lock) and transform properties on the right. Click the triangle/arrow next to any layer name to reveal its Transform group, which contains Anchor Point, Position, Scale, Rotation, and Opacity — the five core properties you will animate most often.
Understanding Keyframes
A keyframe marks the value of a property at a specific point in time. After Effects calculates all values between two keyframes automatically — this process is called interpolation. To set a keyframe, move the Current Time Indicator (CTI) to the desired frame, then click the stopwatch icon next to the property name. The stopwatch turns blue and a keyframe diamond appears on the timeline. Move the CTI to a different time, change the property value, and After Effects automatically adds a second keyframe. The layer will now animate between those two values across those frames.
Position is expressed as X, Y coordinates in pixels from the top-left origin. Scale is expressed as a percentage of the layer's original size. Opacity is expressed as a percentage from 0 (invisible) to 100 (fully opaque).
Easy Ease and the Graph Editor
Default keyframe interpolation is linear — the property value changes at a constant rate between keyframes, which looks mechanical and robotic. Easy Ease (keyboard shortcut F9) applies a Bezier interpolation that slows motion into and out of each keyframe, producing a more natural, polished feel. Select all keyframes you want to smooth (click and drag or press Ctrl+A in the timeline), then press F9. The keyframe diamonds change to an hourglass shape, indicating Easy Ease is applied.
Open the Graph Editor (the small graph icon at the top of the Timeline panel) to see the speed curve. A linear curve is a straight diagonal line. An Easy Ease curve looks like a gentle S-shape — it rises slowly, peaks in the middle, and tapers off. You can drag the Bezier handles in the Graph Editor to fine-tune the curve further if the default feel is too subtle or too dramatic.
RAM Preview and Timing Adjustments
After Effects does not play back in real time by default — it must render frames into your computer's RAM first. Press the spacebar or click the Play button in the Preview panel to start a RAM Preview. A green progress bar fills the timeline as frames are cached. After caching, playback runs at the correct frame rate so you can evaluate timing accurately.
If the animation starts too early, too late, or feels rushed, click and drag keyframes left or right in the timeline. You can also select a keyframe and use the comma and period keys to nudge it one frame at a time, or Shift+comma/period to move ten frames at a time.
Rendering a Lossless QuickTime MOV
When the comp is final, go to Composition > Add to Render Queue. In the Render Queue panel, click on the Output Module link and set the format to QuickTime with a lossless or high-quality codec such as Animation or Apple ProRes 4444 for instructor review. Click Output To to name and locate your file, then press Render. Alternatively, use Adobe Media Encoder by choosing Composition > Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue, which keeps After Effects free for other work while encoding runs in the background.
Workspace Safety Notes
Digital production workstations carry electrical and ergonomic risks. Keep liquids away from keyboards and workstations to prevent electrical hazard. Adjust your monitor height so the top of the screen is at or slightly below eye level to reduce neck strain. Take short breaks every 30–45 minutes to avoid repetitive strain injury from extended mouse and keyboard use. Before touching internal hardware on any workstation, power down and follow your lab's lockout/tagout procedure — never open a computer case while the machine is live. Save your project frequently (Ctrl+S / Cmd+S) to prevent data loss from unexpected shutdowns.
Key terms9
Materials: Adobe After Effects (current version), provided layered Photoshop assets, Adobe After Effects User Guide, RAM Preview and Graph Editor panels, QuickTime or Adobe Media Encoder for output
Check: Rendered MOV reviewed by instructor: animation must start and end on correct frames, Easy Ease must be visible in motion blur/curve, and all layers must be visible and correctly timed; students present the comp with a one-minute verbal walkthrough of their keyframe decisions; instructor uses a 10-point rubric, minimum 8/10 to pass.
Practice check8
Answer each question, then check it. Nothing is recorded; this is your own practice.
