8 Things You Should STOP Doing in After Effects

[@BenMarriott]

Footnotes: 1. Motion Blur as a stylized 2D look is perfectly legal in most states. 2. Yes, I suppose this video does have the most unessesary "stuff" of anything I've ever made. 3. I will be randomly selecting 1 commenter's latest project file for public shaming in this regard. 4. Back in the day, traditional frame-by-frame animation was essentially 1 comp per frame. 5. The Creation of Adam shot was might be my greatest achievement. 6. Proportional grid is the most underrated grid of 2022. 7. If making it jankier makes your animation funnier, puppet pin away. 8. This is not easy for those like me, raised on the Snickers-first approach.

[@sandman589]

Motion blur should only be used for elements that are meant to be composited into live action footage. To make the viewer think the flying text was captured by the camera.

[@dr0mp507]

always optimise and resize pixel based images, no need for 6000px images in an 1080p composition, always check framerate, put a 25fps light leaks in a 30fps composition and suddenly x2 rendering time.

[@inawoodenhouse]

Extra tip for working with guides: You can right-click on a guide to see it's exact pixel location and even bring up a dialog window to enter a specific number! 960 & 540 for center guides in a 1920x1080 comp 😉

[@BenMarriott]

Now that's a gold class tip right there! :D

[@PhilippeMoesch]

Woho, I didnt know that! Great tip.

[@derAtze]

And to make it even easier: you can use basic math while putting in values for objects, effects and keyframes. So you can just go 1080/2 oder if you want to space something incrementally go 65.4691*2 and the next keyframe 65.4691*3 or whatever. Saved me lots of fiddeling

[@ludoviajante]

Love your work, Ben. Thanks to you I learned a lot of new things. Cheers from Brazil!

[@BenMarriott]

Obrigado meu amigo!

[@bryangrunauer]

Olá, pessoa amável da internet! :D

[@dopemotions]

the presentation of this video is so awesome mate!

[@jaretanderson]

this video contains a hidden underrated lesson, if it isn't entertaining to watch then people won't watch it! the difference between this being a boring bulleted list and a lively, funny, creative couple of minutes was surely a lot of extra effort, but that effort was well worth it.

[@dementedpenguinz]

I've said it on your channel before and I'll say it again! These tips (when generalised) are a great reminder for me as a music producer. Your videos are a constant source of inspo in my music. I love when creative tutorials can transcend medium and become applicable to all forms of art.

[@kaesekrustechannel]

Dude, lately your content even got better than usual, didn't think this was possible. Keep it up! :)

[@leomazzei2176]

Ben, this new editing style on your videos is absolutely BONKERS. That's the best word I found for it, sorry to disappoint. I lost it all with the floor cleaning scene.

[@JChaseFilms]

The B-roll in this video is glorious! 1:27 specifically really hit my funny bone. Great tips, Ben!

[@lopsangdlama]

I am guilty of few of these. The video was so captivating. Thank you so much.

[@BenMarriott]

While awaiting your trial for these heinous crimes... thank you. Your bail is set at $8

[@Fieldhouz]

I love how sophisticated your edits are. I can't get enough of them.

[@redtadpole]

Such a great list. I absolutely love how you've used generic stock video and tuned it in perfectly for your video. Always next level up in here.

[@TheVideoShopLondon]

03:00 absolutely. The first couple of shortcuts I show my students are CTRL + ALT + HOME to centre the anchor point of a selected object, then CTRL + HOME to centre that object in your comp window

[@Hoyts_Hillside_Farm]

You've always been good. But your camera presence is on another level these days. Very genuine and authentic. Just wanted to let you know you're doing great since being in the spotlight that contains so many trolls can impact one's self-image. Thanks for what you do!

[@brepazil]

Thank you, Ben Marriott, these things I subjective learned with years of work with After Effects. You synthesized/validated my thoughts and workflow in one video

[@hiatusonpluto5691]

i always love how you narrate and edit your videos, clearly a good amount of effort put in plus its funny and keeps me interested, keep it up!!

[@RobynO_O]

Love your editing for this one! You've got some great points here. Some of these are so taken for granted but you forget that when most of us started out we were making these mistakes 😅 I agree most wholeheartedly with "stop animating the fun stuff first". I try to drill that into interns we get and people I teach. You gotta do the boring work of building a sturdy foundation first on your motion graphics house before you do the fun stuff like decorating

[@Eden_GT]

I would also like to say from experience that motion blur can also distort some of the more important information such as text, especially during face-paced scenes; at least even tuning down the shutter angle will help a bit. Easily the largest guilty pleasure for me though.

[@BenMarriott]

That's a great point. Another reason to remove it entirely!

[@jacoboswald5731]

These videos look better and better every time I check one out Thank you for your ALWAYS helpful tips and tricks! :D

[@JoshPaulie]

Ben!!! Your visuals are such quality! I loved the mopping an organized project, and the creating of Adam reference!

[@hvanjos]

More cheers from Brazil! Love your work, it was essential on my decision to make a career in motion! AND awesome video!

[@nethstar]

The Plugin's tip is a bit of a funny one. I spent my early years in AE avoiding plugins because i didn't want to HAVE to fall back on them as well as just the fear of having to learn a new toolset while just learning AE. However, as soon as I landed my first job the first thing they asked was: "So we're working on this project. Do you know these plugins?". So i spent the first week not actually doing the work, but franticly learning the project and the plugin at the same time, taking my evenings to look up tutorials and working out some methods to best use it. This. Has. Never. Changed. So, while it's a great tip (and I still have that urge inside of me not to use plugins), the excessive use of it in industry sort of makes you fall into that habit by force. Though if you're doing your own work, freelance work direct to client, etc. This is all good and you can work at whatever pace and plugin's work for you.

[@inawoodenhouse]

I've noticed this even as a freelancer, when I go to any motion design meetups there's always some conversation about plugins 😂 "What plugins do you use for X?" Uhhhh.... none 😅

[@lokapormusik]

While it's true that it's better to do effects manually so you can learn what each tool does and master it, it takes more time and time's precious when working on the industry with tight deadlines, so plugins are used as a shortcut to make complex effects and present a decent project in a short amount of time, so that may be one of the reasons why they asked you about knowing "x" plugins lol, that or some even give you better results than whatever can be done manually with just AE alone.

[@juantoledo5248]

Your videos are so short and sweet! Just how I like em.

[@hethfilms]

This video should be a mandatory viewing within After Effects when you first open it on any given day. Great job :)

[@foxtrooper34]

Dude that's a little masterpiece of editing ! Definetely digging these small animations / integrations on top ! 💥💥 That was SO pleasing to watch and even though it might be so long to come up with great ideas (finding great footages, comparisons etc.), we need more videos with this editing approach 💜💚💛

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks so much! I'm glad those little touches didn't go unnoticed. Took me around 10x longer to make than a standard tutorial XD

[@foxtrooper34]

@@BenMarriott i feel you ahah x) Details like these are always valuable 😌

[@ThatGuy-ix4jw]

incredible integration of the stock footage!!

[@cliffhanger9460]

Man, I love your style! Great stroytelling and corresponding visuals! Keep it up :) Also I can happily report, I try usually accomplish most of those tipps already. Ka-ching! ✨

[@adamgreen9771]

Ben, your tutorials keep stepping up EVERY TIME! Super engaging, useful, and fun. Keep it up, dude!

[@FernandaHaiabe]

I love your channel and I have learned so many techniques that I use on my own work now! Thank you so much!!!!

[@terencemoore554]

Great video as always! I’ve been a bit paranoid that I’ve been using motion blur a bit lavishly so this was a good reminder to bear it in mind!

[@clovermk1635]

You are keep getting better at your videos! really loving them.

[@prbmotion]

All great advice! One caveat to precomping: I feel like I see people pre-comp too much, instead of not enough. It can help to organize shots/scenes, especially in a longer video, but I think precomping can sometimes overcomplicate your project file if things are nested too deep. Something I highly recommend to Ae artists is to build a habit of naming and trimming every layer when it's no longer needed (ie; 0% opacity/scale or out of frame). This helps make the different moments within the timeline more visually clear, and doesn't require a pre comp. It's certainly not as clean, but you can clean it up with things like shy layers and color coding. I believe this can also remove any unnecessary calculations for Ae, since only the necessary layers will exist on any given frame. I like this approach, because I'm often referencing different layers with expressions as I jump around, and also for quick copy/pasting and stuff like that. As always, though, this video is fantastic! Thanks for sharing

[@ed_vs4155]

100% agreed here, people precomp way too much, what we need is reduce them I think. When some precomps only have one layer, my question is whyyyy? Drives me crazy.

[@alistairgeorge5082]

@@ed_vs4155 I really wish you could just place multiple clips in one layer in the first place. You avoid this whole problem entirely then.

[@obv_design9310]

Editing level - God! 😁😁😁 Your videos are literally the best, Ben!

[@nilekroner7209]

im so glad u exist this is the content i need while drinking my morning coffee.

[@UlyssesStudios]

Great tips! Thank you

[@gareso]

Ben! Love seeing how your content just keeps getting better! You are just mastering every single aspect of content creation. This was very entertaining :) Keep it up my friend!

[@jrckyt]

Video's a banger Ben! I've been wanting to get back at motion graphics lately. What/where do you thinnk is the best way to start with? Shape animations? Texts? Transitions? Vfx? A little advice would be plenty!

[@Sasmo87]

Thanks for this. I've just started learning After Effects and this channels is going to be a great help.

[@GavStrange]

Love your work Ben, not only are you a killer animator & designer and your tips and tricks are the best in the busdiness. you just make everything funny too! It's much appreciated man, thank you!

[@bclarklax]

Great video Ben! Packed with solid tips stitched together with hilarious B Roll, Audio, and subtle nuances. I was hooked on the whole thing. Bravo.

[@mmarrotte101]

Ben, you are the patron saint of AE Knowledge - brilliant work and thank you as always for the fact that you do this fo free. You're making the world a better place my man.

[@usefhussain2183]

This is beyond brilliant 🤩 thank you so much for everything you do !! You are a true inspiration to us design students 🙇

[@grace-wl7vv]

Very helpful tips Ben! 👍

[@SiHargreaves]

Good stuff Ben, learned so much from you...

[@nahidhassan8982]

Really loved these fun humor video style with fully jam packed information👌👌

[@stanculescus]

Thank you for the tips, Ben!!! You never disappoint. Greetings from Romania :)

[@carinabravin]

Hi Ben! Thank you so much for everything you create! You are a huge inspiration to me. Love from Brazil :)

[@calebhinrichs7736]

This is next level 😂 Love all the little moments and references. Also I'm SUPER guilty of keeping everything in 1 comp 🤦‍♂️ Thanks as always Ben!

[@amatita401]

What a great video. The production reached an outstanding level, same as the contents. Really useful tips for any motion designer to step up the game!! P.S. (Oh wow, it’s me!! 😍🙈😍 what an honor! ❤️)

[@BenMarriott]

Dawwww thank you! I gotta feature the best ;)

[@simoneblax]

Hahaha I appreciate a lot the extra effort on making these videos recently! 🔥 I knew pretty much everything but it still helped me in some ways. Loved your humor as always. Thanks dude, keep going 💪🏼

[@FieldofKarpos]

Thank YOU! I learn so much from you, currently in Design School, your such an inspiration.

[@BenMarriott]

Thank YOU for watching! I couldn't do this at all if no-one watched :D

[@alejandraduquelopera4711]

You are just amazing, great video 🥰

[@merav1589]

Great video! Also I loved taking your course even though I didn't finish in time! I got hired (as a junior motion designer) a couple of weeks in and it's helped me so much in the new job! Especially the organization and KNOWING HOW TO USE THE GRAPH EDITOR.

[@fry9638]

Thanks Ben I enjoy every video that you share 👏

[@aaronsugar7228]

I found that combining DUIK's "bones" system with the Puppet Pin tool is a good way of rigging a solid piece of artwork.

[@JakeInMotion]

I vividly remember the day I was told to stop using motion blur. It felt like I had been lied to my whole life.

[@BenMarriott]

I had to shake my head from side to side as fast as I could to confirm it even exists in real life.

[@Video.vision]

Love it, keep posting!

[@jippalippa]

Motion blur is a tool, just like framerate is. In my work I animated often at 12,14,15,24,30 and 60fps, and I chose each framerate for a specific look.

[@hendraafrians7452]

Thanks Ben, you always amazed me

[@901D]

that's good advice Ben, well done!

[@MotionHatch]

I totally added motion blur to everything when I started too! How embarrassing 😳

[@cenkozmercan]

Some really smart ideas in the design of this video, my fav being 1:30. Looks really neat too. Having said that AE's align tool is for some reason still broken and you should to do a video for adobe but I'm not sure they care for it since it's 2022 and it still does funky stuff.

[@unoqueen_]

Hi, so I was wondering if I put multiple scenes in different comps, how do I put them together in the end?

[@TheRustedPixel]

The Seinfeld joke at the end really got me. Great video man. Fantastic tips.

[@almin1724]

this is one the most creative videos I've every watched.

[@LorencMemaga]

Great stuff. And btw Homer’s Web Page is 🔥

[@mr_budo]

The amount of effort in this video is insane.

[@madebydbm]

😂😂 The Plexus shot when you were talking about not stuffing work full of unnecessary tricks made me proper LOL

[@abrarahmedfidvi]

these are really good tips.... helped me a lot ❤️

[@NLENinjaEffects]

It took me a minute to learn some of these tips. Glad I know them now

[@markthefilmmaker2613]

I feel so called out by this hahaha great work!

[@Ziqver]

Thanks, just what I wanted to hear about plugins.

[@nickeyd1ckery]

You're hands down one of the best AE/motion graphic content creators out there man I love your stuff and this video is no different, especially love the cyberpunk bit at the end I almost did a spit take all over my monitor lol

[@amrakram8894]

really useful, i appreciate it!

[@sepehrtash5215]

Thanks for the video. I really liked the edit (more than the tips :) ). Can you tell me how much time you spent on editing this video?

[@ivanpalmer2989]

I was surprised to see I wasn't guilty of any of these now but it did take me a while to wean myself off motion blaring everything.

[@stumpy5353]

At last someone clear precise and still gets to show his face - excellent tutorial SUBSCRIBED Dont you hate blah blah blah videos

[@CodingWithLewis]

Triggered me with the Mario 64 best level comment 😢. Amazing video. This one was really engaging.

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks mate :D I've got the Dire Dire Docks music repeating in my head at all times

[@sheltonmukewa734]

The background voice "somebody please think of the children"" 😂😂😂😂state of the art humor

[@bradbrownanimator]

When I first used After Effects in college, my mentor's very first lesson was trying to keep everything in your project window organised. He was dead on right, the more you work on your project the more chaotic your project window becomes. Pretty soon, you're wasting time trying to find files than working on the project itself. Also great video! I full heartedly agree with every point you've made. That "everything in one comp" is a mistake I've definitely made in the past.

[@EclipseMall]

Thanks m8 for refreshing!

[@lordbored2706]

Hey Ben. My AE mentor has been getting taken for a ride by a freelance client. This might not be along the scope of your usual content, but have you ever considered a guide on how to write a contract?

[@featuringjulia8009]

damn! your videos are just getting better and better

[@x-forcefpv9620]

Always master advice!!!

[@RCSXDV]

I loved all these tips. And you're right about that "motion blur" option. I always thought I had to set it on EVERY video animation I had. Until you mentioned how it can slow rendering times down, and doesn't always make your whole animation look neat (for SOME peoples). So I will learned remember to use it when I NEED too.

[@zahraranjbarian3946]

hi! i really enjoyed your video :)) also i have a question ... what plugin or script can i use for screen key press shownig in after effects?

[@AuliShifa.Sahra09]

wow. thank you for the amazing video

[@paucho]

thank you so much ben

[@PhilippeMoesch]

haha. love the motion blur transition at 0:40!

[@ed61730]

Thanks for this :) Plugins are a great way to save time but as you say it's good to learn how to do the elements without it first. My save plugins are motion tools, ease-copy and true comp duplicator. Save me hours of time per week so I can focus on animating.

[@Sybessy]

I feel so called out😅 great video, always a nice reminder1

[@xyrmaeatsome8314]

good one, thank you!

[@BenMarriott]

Thanks Xyrma :)

[@evegoncalves_]

this video is a masterpiece!

[@clarencehon1795]

thank you for your help!:3 i’m going to make kity drawing!

[@nubenegra809]

awesome man!

[@1445nada]

Thank you your video really helped me

[@NachoJoshas]

I agree with all the points you made

[@sandman589]

I’ve got another tip that will help people. Master the shortcut that you use the most to cut down on your keystrokes and clicks. Copy paste is something we all use. But but we all use it 100’s of times a day. I’ve mapped copy and paste to the left and right flicks of my scroll wheel on my gaming mouse. Along with Command + tab, [, ], command + [, command + ], marker, AND easy ease. Those are my most used keyboard shortcuts and they are mapped to my mouse. This changes the game for me a couple years ago. Also mastering Command + option + home, Command + home, command + option + G (or H) are among my most recommended. I hope this helps someone out there.

[@DaleBoyce2012]

The word 'punk' in Papyrus! Point taken!

[@14onyx]

Do you have any tutorial on how to animate correctly? with larger motions to smoothing out, treating the little details? as you said