Advanced Motion Methods

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A Master Class For After Effects Animations

An Animation Master Class

You’ve got the basics down, and now you’re ready to get serious. You want your work to look like the stuff coming out of top studios. You want to be able to pull off amazing transitions, technical wizardry, and gorgeous movement.

Well, there’s a bit of a problem. To go from good-to-great, you really need to be able to learn under an experienced pro. You need to look over the shoulder of someone who has animated for the best studios in the world and has developed insane chops.

The Art & Science of Motion

Sander van Dijk is one of the top After Effects animators in the world. He’s worked for many incredible clients and production studios. He’s developed tools for animators, and is as in-demand as they come.

In this class, Sander takes you under his wing to teach you everything he knows about creating killer work in After Effects. You’ll learn how to structure animations according to geometric proportions found in nature, deal with complexity, create cool transitions, and more. It’s a trip through the unique mind of an incredible animator.

What will you learn in Advanced Motion Methods?

Structure

Create a framework for your animation

Eye Trace

Dive deep into this powerful idea

Transitions

Think up and execute clever transitions

Problem Solving

Bend After Effects to your will

Complexity

Learn to manage complex scenes and movement

Pro Tips

See how the top animators do it

Sander van Dijk

Course Instructor

Sander is an animator who loves propelling the Motion Design industry forward by cultivating the MoGraph community and building tools for After Effects, including Ray Dynamic Color and Texture. He’s also one of the co-founders of the überpopular conference, Blend. He is widely recognized as one of the top After Effects artists in the world.

He believes that motion design is an incredible tool to communicate ideas and can be used for the betterment of society, so he chooses to work with clients and projects who help shape a better world. He hopes that by sharing his knowledge, he’ll be able to inspire creativity, individuality and confidence in other creatives. To see more of Sander’s work and philosophy, visit sandervandijk.tv.

Sander's Clients Include:

Course Format

Animate designs from amazing artists

This course throws you into the world of animation at a top studio. You’ll be working on realistic projects with artwork from some of the best designers in the game, including Illo, Sarah Beth Morgan, Lucas Brooking, and Gareth O’Brien.

You’ll be given animation challenges that would freak out most artists… but by the end of this course you’ll be able to complete them all.

Vent, celebrate, and create with your peers

Going through a School of Motion course is a one-of-a-kind experience. You’ll be hanging out (virtually, of course) with a group of other aspiring MoGraphers in a private Facebook Group. You’ll be inspired, encouraged, and even critiqued by your fellow students and TAs.

You’ll have support and a large group of new friends to connect with, and you’ll also benefit from looking at tons of work. You’ll see dozens of other takes on the same project, plus concepts and designs to inspire you.

Vent, celebrate, and create with your peers

Personalized, Actionable Feedback

Every student is assigned a Teaching Assistant who will follow you every step of the way and who will provide guidance, feedback, and answers to any questions you may have. You can lean on them when the going gets tough (and it will).

You’ll regularly upload work-in-progress to our Homework Locker and get precise comments and draw-overs on your work. You’ll get suggestions and notes that will push your work to the next level and give you a taste of the revision process.

Check in with The Sequence

Each Wednesday you’ll check out The Sequence, a video series that peeks in on your session’s work and highlights some of the best stuff produced in the class. Your instructor, Sander, will also dive a bit deeper into each topic.

The Sequence is a time to celebrate wins, learn a bit more, and go even deeper into the theories behind Sander’s animation techniques.

Insights and Tips from MoGraph Legends

As with all of our courses, we’ve put together an Advanced Motion Methods podcast series that fills in the gaps in your knowledge and keeps you inspired. This series features insights from Sander, as well as interviews with Gunner, Illo, Rachel Yonda, and Michelle Higa Fox.

Access Hundreds of Project Files

With every student completing something unique, you’ll see a lot of amazing work that you’ll be curious about. If you see something you like (or don’t know how to pull off) you can download any students’ project files via the Homework Locker.

This is an opportunity that you won’t get in any other setting, take full advantage of it!

Course Schedule

Orientation

Meet your classmates, get comfy with the course format, and dive right in with your first project which will get those creative juices flowing right off the bat.

A Solid Structure

Learn how to create a strong foundation by building a blueprint for your animations. Then, complete a project using eye-trace and other advanced techniques.

Transitory States

How do you animate from one design to the next? This week is all about planning and executing those beautiful, clever transitions that we all know and love.

Focus & Organize

As your animation gets more complex, so do your project files. This week lets you focus on your assignments and learn about how the pros stay organized.

Managing Complexity

Speaking of complexity, how do you manage really tricky animations with lots of moving parts? This week is all about the fine art of animating complexity.

Focus & Improve

Taking on new and difficult challenges can make you feel out of your depth. In this second Focus Week we’ll give you actionable tips to help you overcome your fear of failure while you focus on getting your exercises completed.

The Sum of All Parts

Let’s take what you’ve learned and put it to the test with a full set of boards that will challenge you to use every animation skill you possess. This final project is no joke.

Extended Critique

You’ve got an additional 2 weeks to finish your final project and to get targeted feedback from your Teaching Assistant. This piece should be a great one for your reel, so take advantage of the resources available to you in Advanced Motion Methods!

And once you’ve reached the end?

At the end of Bootcamp you are inducted into the Alumni Facebook Group where you can post your final projects, meet students from previous sessions, and continue to keep in touch with your new compadres. The networking that takes place in this group is priceless, and many students have gotten work from the connections they’ve made in this group.

Have more Questions?

What's included with the course?

Advanced Motion Methods is jam-packed with lessons, project files and content. You won’t know what hit you.