Workshop: Motion Graphics – After Effects

Date: 11/11/25

This session ended up being one of my favourites so far. We were focusing on title sequences, and Jon showed us how they’ve evolved over time in film and TV. Seeing how motion, typography, colour and pacing all set the tone before anything even starts was actually really interesting it made me look at title design differently.

Jon walked us through a series of small tasks to build the sequence step by step. We all started with the exact same clip of a man walking and followed the same instructions. The main technique we focused on was rotoscoping. Using the rotobrush, we cut the man out from the background so we could duplicate him and place things behind him. It was a clean introduction to compositing and understanding how layers actually interact in motion graphics.

What I found sick was how, the second we were allowed to customise things, everyone’s work instantly went in different directions even though we all started from the same place. That really showed how personal design becomes once you make your own decisions.

For my version, I changed the background completely and made the character red. It instantly gave the sequence a more classy, stylised feel. It showed me how a simple shift in colour can completely change the atmosphere of a motion piece.

This workshop opened my eyes to how powerful After Effects can be for my own style. Even small decisions in motion graphics can completely flip the mood of a piece, which is something I definitely want to explore more in my own brand visuals and content.