Discover the Best After Effects Classes in San Diego
If you want to work in video production, learning Adobe After Effects can be a good choice. After Effects allows you to create motion graphics for videos in the form of animated titles, credits, and special effects. After Effects works well with other Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, or Premiere Pro. You can transfer a photo file from Photoshop into After Effects to animate it, add movement to logos and text, import videos from Premiere Pro into After Effects, and add many different special effects as well as music and sounds.
People with After Effects skills often work as part of a video production team. They are called Special Effects Artists and Animators and often work in the film, television, and advertising industries. Companies outside these industries also hire people to create videos and animation projects for training or information purposes using After Effects.
If you want to switch to a career as a Special Effects Artist and Animator, signing up for After Effects classes is a good way to start. Many people find taking a class to be a more efficient way to learn a new skill like motion graphics. Here are some in-person classes offered in the San Diego area, but you can also sign up for live online sessions that run in a similar way.
Best After Effects Classes & Schools in San Diego
Ledet Training offers an in-person class on After Effects in San Diego. After students complete the course, they can take the Adobe Certified Expert exam. After Effects Introduction is a class for beginners that takes students through the foundational skills in After Effects such as getting started with the user interface and workflow, using masking and layering tools, and rendering and outputting the final project.
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this class.
Duration: This is a full-time class over three days.
Cost: The cost for this course is $1,299.
For a more in-depth After Effects course, Ledet Training also offers Video Tools Bootcamp. This intermediate course includes instruction on the video tools available in Adobe’s Premiere Pro and After Effects. The course covers the essentials of video editing and then moves on to adding motion and special effects.
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this class.
Duration: This is a full-time class over five days.
Cost: The cost for this course is $2,199.
Another choice for in-person training on After Effects in San Diego comes from American Media Training. After Effects Level 1 is abeginner’s course presenting an introduction to video animation. Students study the After Effects workflow and use preset effects to create animation. Students create animated multimedia projects using animated text along with layers, masks, and distortion tools. While the course touches on more advanced techniques like 3-D animation, compositing, rotoscoping, and color correction, these topics are covered in more depth in America Media Training’s more advanced classes.
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this class.
Duration: This is a full-time class over two days.
Cost: The cost for this course is $895.
Live online classes run in much the same way as in-person sessions, except you don’t have to travel to class. You can log on from anywhere with a stable internet connection. After Effects Bootcamp from Noble Desktop is a live online course for students who want to learn how to create animation and motion graphics techniques in videos. The class begins with the basics, like using the After Effects workspace and importing and managing files, and then progresses to animation, motion, and 3D effects. Later on, more advanced techniques are covered, including rotoscoping, compositing, and adding sound. are included. At the conclusion of the course, students learn how to render the final video project.
Prerequisites: Students will be more successful if they have a working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop. Knowledge of Premiere Pro is helpful but not required.
Duration: This is a three-day full-time class.
Cost: The cost for this course is $975.
For a more succinct introduction, try After Effects in a Day, also from Noble Desktop. This one-day course covers video editing and animation basics, from the essentials of using After Effects interface and timeline, plus basic video editing techniques like cuts, fades and eases. During class, students will import photos and logos, add animation, and then add a soundtrack.
Prerequisites: Experience with Adobe products like Photoshop and Illustrator is helpful, but not required. Students who have never used these products might want to take a Photoshop or Illustrator class before signing up for an After Effects class. Design skills are also helpful.
Duration: This is a one-day, six-hour class.
Cost: The cost for this course is $425.
San Diego Industries That Use After Effects
San Diego’s economy was once heavily reliant on the military but tech companies and tourism have moved up on the list of major Industries in the area. Top employers are involved in aerospace, cleantech, cybersecurity, defense, manufacturing, tech, software, and tourism. Companies in these industries often hire people with After Effects skills to create information or training videos. Although not as plentiful as Los Angeles, there are companies involved in television and video production in San Diego.
After Effects Jobs & Salaries in San Diego
Special Effects Artists and Animators in San Diego earn a median salary of roughly $71,000 a year, with a range between $55,000 and $92,000. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 5 to 12 percent growth nationally in jobs for Special Effects Artists and Animators over the next ten years. The national median pay for Special Effects Artists and Animators is around $78,000.
