Exercise 1 · Move It, Feel It

Project 1 · Kinetic Typography Quote · Week 1 · Keyframes · ~45 min

Practice goal: Touch all five transform properties in an on/travel/off animation, then make it feel good with easing, anticipation, follow-through and the Graph Editor.

Set up: New project. No external assets.

Steps

  1. New composition, 1920×1080, 30 fps, 10 s; name it Main.
  2. Draw a shape layer (rounded rectangle or star); rename it “Card”; center its anchor point (Layer ▸ Transform ▸ Center Anchor Point in Layer Content). Reveal P / S / R / T.
  3. Animate on (0–1 s): at 0:00 set Position off-screen left, Scale 50%, Rotation −15°, Opacity 0% (stopwatch all four); at 1:00 set center, 100%, 0°, 100% — all five transform properties in play.
  4. On-screen journey (1–9 s): keyframe a path that stays in frame — e.g., 3:00 up-right at Scale 115%, 5:00 down-left at Rotation 20°, 7:00 drifting back, 9:00 settled at center.
  5. Exit (9–10 s): at 9:00 (center) → 10:00 slide off-screen right and Opacity 0%.
  6. Select all keyframes and apply Easy Ease (F9); preview — note where the motion still dead-stops.
  7. Open the Graph Editor and smooth the 1–9 s journey so it flows continuously instead of stopping at each waypoint.
  8. Add anticipation to the entrance: a small keyframe just before the entrance move that nudges the card the opposite way first (a windup).
  9. Add follow-through to the exit: let the card overshoot slightly past its target, then settle back.
  10. Switch to the Speed Graph and shape the velocity so the fast parts are fast and the ends ease; remove any divots.
  11. Press U to reveal all keyframes; verify the three phases (on 0–1, journey 1–9, exit 9–10).
  12. RAM-preview the full 10 s, then save & render (see naming page). Versions: _001, _002 …

Free tutorials & references

Done when

The card animates on with all five transform properties, travels while on-screen, and exits — with easing, an anticipation windup and an overshoot/settle smoothed in the Graph Editor.

Files

Pittman_Ex01_MoveAndFeel.aep → render Pittman_Ex01_MoveAndFeel.mov · versions Pittman_Ex01_MoveAndFeel_001.aep

This drill is your in-class activity for the week; it ladders directly into the project.