Have to do some basic HD animations... what's the easiest way?

[M A V I C]

We're doing a bunch of video and Flash work using Maya and After Effects. I also need to create two accompanying pieces that will go along with it. They will be mostly text, but probably a couple basic graphics as well.

I was thinking of using LiveType, with which I have limited experience. I have After Effects as well but have never used it. I'm guessing Keynote could also be used for this, but I have never used it.

The final out put for these needs to be HD (720p.)

Thanks.

[clay]

I would probably use either Motion or AfterEffects. I haven't used LiveType for much, but only because it felt so limited to me when compared to Motion or AfterEffects.

good luck

[M A V I C]

Thanks. I don't have Motion and can't justify the cost at this time. Keynote might actually cut it, especially as one is is a bar chart.

[mikebw]

You can set After Effects to render to most resolutions, so 720 isn't a problem, but if you've never used it, well... Are you asking which program you need to learn? What do you already know to use?

[M A V I C]

I know photoshop very well. Same with iMovie and iPhoto. I used to know Dreamweaver and GoLive very well too. InDesign I'm good at. With Illustrator I'm capable but not an expert, same with Flash. I know FinalCut fairly well.

A friend described AE as being like photoshop with keyframes.

I have pretty much been able to get one sequence done with Keynote. I wish it had layers and I can't get it to autostart even though it's set to autostart. Its output is acceptable.

The other sequence is going to be more difficult.

[mikebw]

I know you can do some kinds of text animations in Final Cut, but I have no experience with that personally.

Does Keynote support alpha channels? If it does you could render multiple sequences and then composite them in Final Cut or AE.

If you have the time it would probably be best to read up on a few After Effects tutorials involving text and basic animations / keyframing. It's really not that complicated, much easier to get started with than say Maya would be. The best thing you can do to learn AE is get a cheat sheet of all the keyboard commands, knowing those makes things a lot easier.

[x-uri]

I am coming in late on this conversation, but it would help -- I think -- to know a little more about what it is you are trying to do, and what versions of After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. you have available.

After Effects is a little more than "photoshop with keyframes" but if you are trying to do motion graphics, then it is the most powerful of the applications you've mentioned.

The learning curve is pretty steep, "...never used it" is a challenging place from which to start if you are doing something for a client, but there are good tutorials available on line. Trish and Chris Meyer's book Creating Motion Graphics With After Effects" is a good mix of tutorials and reference, and might get you to a point where you could fake it. I can also recommend the After Effects Visual QuickPro Guide, as a handy reference.

Good luck.

http://www.creativecow.net/articles/aftereffects.html

http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorials.html

http://aefreemart.com/category/tutorial/

[M A V I C]

Thanks.

I guess I'll install AE and give it a whirl. I have AE 7. I also have CS3 Design Premium.