Type-Heavy Video – Tutorial

This After Effects tutorial will show you how to plan for, concept, and create a typographic animated video. We’ll concept in Photoshop, animate/create your video in After Effects, and render (export) your final .mp4 video in Adobe Media Encoder.

Read through this entire tutorial and learn how I created the 8 OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH video example shown below. Then, choose your own get-healthy inspired message and create your own 30–60-second video.

You DO NOT have to create the example video before you begin yours. It’s okay to review this page, watch the videos, and then jump right into creating your video.

HELPFUL OPTION: You can make a copy of your 15-second video from my Design Fundamentals class and use that as your starting point to create this video. Some of you might find that easier. Personally, I prefer to start from scratch each time. Do what works best for you.

My Process

Message

After reading and understanding your article, write down your main marketing message. 3–5 words.

What are you trying to communicate to your audience with your animated video?

Audience

Write down who you feel your main audience is.

You may also write down a few characteristics that describe your audience. Age range, hobbies, job, family, beliefs, values, location, living situations, smartphone users, etc.

Storyboard your story

Write headlines that tell your story and communicate your message. Make each headline 1–3 words long. These headlines will be the foundation of your video. I also wrote subheads to expand on my headlines.

Next, sketch how you would tell your story (communicate your message) with type, colors, art/photos, motion, and layout.

Example

Here’s an example of my planning, copywriting, and storyboarding on one sheet.

Download the concepting and storyboard sheet here:

Concepting-and-Storyboard-Sheet Download

Gather your assets

Wherever possible, you can use your own illustrations, photos, videos, and sound clips.

Otherwise, get them from these free websites:

Free Photos
Find one video or photo to represent each headline. You may also want additional videos or photos for your introduction and final scenes.

Make sure each photo is copyright free and large enough for your needs. Get your photos from unsplash.com, pexels.com, pixabay.com.

Free Video Clips
Get your free video clips from pexels.com or pixabay.com

Free Music Clips
Find a sound file to go with your video. Get them from bensound.com

Color Themes & Harmonies
Remember you can always use color.adobe.com (https://color.adobe.com/trends) to help build your color scheme.

Keep the original files/videos/photos for ALL your assets. You’ll need them when you animate your video.

Storyboard in Photoshop or Illustrator (0ptional)

To further buff out your storyboard sketches, you can open Photoshop or Illustrator and create a document 1080×1080 pixels, RGB, 72ppi.

Create a slide for each scene in your storyboard sketch. These should be high-resolution, buffed-out, developed, and look just like your final.

Animate in After Effects

The video tutorial below shows my exact workflow in After Effects while creating the sample 8 Outdoor Activities to Improve Your Health video.

My Full Workflow Tutorial

Here’s a full video of me animating this project from start to finish. Follow it and replay it as many times as you need to understand it and the workflow. I show you and narrate each step with helpful comments and tips along the way.

1:08:00

Make a Transparent Gradient
6:05
These six minutes are copied from the full workflow video above

Draw and Alter Custom Vector Shapes
7:47
These seven minutes are copied from the full workflow video above

Render your final video in Adobe Media Encoder

FYI: I also show you how to do this in the video above.

In order to use your final video, or upload it to YouTube as most people do, you have to render it into a commonly used format. This last step compiles all your type, shapes, drawings, photos, sound, videos, and effects and makes your final video. We will render a .mp4 format that you can use almost anywhere.

My final Media Encoder settings

To render:

Open your final, completed video in After Effects
File > Export > Add To Adobe Media Encoder Que…
Be patient, this may take a few seconds.
This window (inside of Adobe Media Encoder) will open:

In the upper right pane, make sure H.264 is selected
Under Preset, select Match Source – High Bitrate
Then click on Match Source – High Bitrate
The window below will pop up. Enter or double-check the settings marked below.

Next, click on the blue type under Output File and name your final video and tell it where to save it.

Lastly, click the little green play arrow to render your video.