Getting started – Creating Motion Graphics Templates

Lesson overview

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do the following:

• Add controls to the Essential Graphics panel.
• Protect portions of a project from time-stretching.
• Export a Motion Graphics template (.mogrt) file.
• Allow image replacement in a .mogrt file.
• Create essential properties for layers in nested compositions.
• Work with a Motion Graphics template in Adobe Premiere Pro.

This lesson will take about an hour to complete. If you haven’t already done so, download the project files for this lesson from peachpit.com/AfterEffectsCIB2024, following the instructions in the Getting Started section under “Accessing the lesson files and Web Edition.”

PROJECT: MOTION GRAPHICS TEMPLATE FOR TV SHOW TITLE SEQUENCE

With Motion Graphics templates, you can preserve the style and settings for a project while giving colleagues control over specific editorial decisions in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Getting started

Using the Essential Graphics panel in After Effects, you can create Motion Graphics templates that let your colleagues edit aspects of the composition in Adobe Premiere Pro. You decide which properties are editable as you create the template, and then you can share the template using Creative Cloud libraries or by sending your colleague the Motion Graphics template (.mogrt) file. You can also use the Essential Graphics panel to create essential properties within nested compositions.

You’ll create a Motion Graphics template for the title sequence of a noir television show in which the main title text needs to remain constant but the episode subtitle, background images, and effect settings can change.

First, you’ll preview the sample movie and then set up the project.

1. Make sure the following files are in the Lessons/Lesson11 folder on your hard disk, or download them from peachpit.com now:
   • In the Assets folder: Embrace.psd, Holding_gun.psd, Man_Hat.psd, and Stylized_scene.psd
   • In the Sample_Movie folder: Lesson11.mp4
2. Open and play the Lesson11.mp4 sample movie in Windows Movies & TV or QuickTime Player to see what you will create in this lesson. When you are done, close Windows Movies & TV or QuickTime Player. You may delete the sample movie from your hard disk if you have limited storage space.
   When you begin this lesson, restore the default application settings for After Effects. See “Restoring default preferences” on page 3.
3. Start After Effects, and then immediately hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (macOS). In the Startup Repair Options dialog box, click Reset Preferences. Click New Project in the Home window.
   After Effects opens to display an empty, untitled project.
4. Choose File > Save As > Save As.
5. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the Lessons/Lesson11/Finished_Project folder. Name the project Lesson11_Finished.aep, and click Save.

Preparing a master composition
To create a template, you first need to create an After Effects composition upon which the template will be based. You’ll create a master composition that contains the background image assets and an animated title and subtitle.