The Motion Path

Pick one real school event (a game, a club meeting, an assembly). Write a shot list of 8 shots you'd need to capture it well, then sketch a 6-panel storyboard for a 30-second recap edit using only those shots.

Write out captions (not subtitles) for 30 seconds of imagined dialogue from a short scene, including at least 2 non-speech sound cues in brackets, like [phone buzzing] or [crowd cheering].

List 3 real short video ideas a student might make for a class project. For each, identify every permission it would actually need in the real world (talent releases, location release, licensed music, stock footage license) before it could be published publicly.

Watch 60 seconds of any professionally edited interview (a news clip, a YouTube video) and try to spot one real L-cut or J-cut — a moment where the audio and video don't cut at exactly the same frame. Describe what you noticed.

Create a new project. Inside it, create 2 sequences using different presets — one standard 16:9 HD, one vertical 9:16 — and name each one clearly by its intended platform (e.g. “YouTube_16x9,” “Reels_9x16”).

Switch between the Editing, Color, and Audio workspaces and note which panels change each time. Save a custom workspace of your own with just the panels you actually used.

Import any clip to the timeline. Practice JKL navigation exclusively (no mouse dragging) to scrub to 3 different points, adding a marker at each one with a short note describing what's happening there.

Import 3-4 clips using the Media Browser. Move one of the original files on your computer (outside Premiere) and reopen the project — confirm you see the Media Offline placeholder, then relink it back to its file.

Import 6+ clips. Create 2 bins (e.g. “Interviews” and “B-Roll”), sort every clip into the correct one, and apply a different color label to each bin's clips.

Build a short sequence with at least 2 video tracks (one clip on each, overlapping in time) and 1 audio track. Select the whole sequence and nest it, confirming it now behaves as a single clip that can be dragged as one unit into a new, larger sequence.

Using 4-5 clips, mark In/Out points in the Source Monitor for each and build a 30-45 second rough cut using Insert edits only. Then practice Lift vs. Extract by removing one clip both ways and comparing the resulting gap.

Record or use an existing clip with spoken dialogue. Generate a transcript, identify and remove at least 3 filler words using the text panel, and export the transcript to a text file.

Add a Point Text title to a clip and style it (font, size, color) using the Essential Graphics panel. Then create a lower third using a shape and text combined, positioned in the lower-left third of frame.

Place a clip shot in one orientation into a sequence of the opposite orientation. Try both solutions: letterboxing it as-is, and scaling/repositioning it to fill the frame. Apply time remapping to a 3-second section of any clip, ramping from normal speed to 25% speed.

Apply Basic Correction in the Lumetri panel to one clip, adjusting exposure and white balance. Create an adjustment layer above 3+ clips and apply a single creative color look to it, confirming it affects all 3 clips underneath at once.

Apply the Motion effect to a clip. Set a Scale keyframe at 50% at the start of the clip and 100% at the end, and a Position keyframe moving it from off-screen to centered. Play it back and confirm it animates smoothly.

Add a dialogue clip and a music clip to the same sequence. Tag each correctly in the Essential Sound panel, enable Auto Ducking on the music, and confirm it dips automatically under the dialogue. Add an audio fade-out to the end of the music clip.

Take any sequence you've built. Deliberately leave a 1-second gap in it, then do a full real-speed playback and confirm you catch the resulting black flash. Fix it, then do a final real-speed check.

Take a 16:9 sequence with a clear moving subject and use Auto Reframe to generate a 9:16 version. Review the result and manually fix at least one moment where the automatic crop chose poorly.

Export a short sequence two ways: once using Quick Export, once by sending it to Adobe Media Encoder's queue with a different format. Use the Project Manager to consolidate the project, keeping only the media actually used.

Pick one simple character or logo. Describe, in writing, how you'd animate it two different ways for two different audiences (e.g. a kids' app vs. a professional loading screen) — speed, exaggeration, and color choices for each.

Sketch 6 thumbnail versions of a simple animated logo reveal in under 2 minutes total — the goal is speed and idea volume, not finished art. Circle your favorite and explain your choice in one sentence.

Find one real example each of a public domain work and a Creative Commons–licensed work (a search filter on most stock/image sites can find these). Write down exactly what each license does and doesn't allow.

Sketch a 4-frame walk cycle for a simple stick figure, then redraw all 4 frames arranged in a single grid, like a real sprite sheet, labeling each frame's number.

Sketch one single animation frame (a character mid-action, in an environment) and circle its intended focal point. Redraw it a second time with a deliberately weaker, unclear focal point, and compare the two.

Draw a 3-pose sequence of a ball bouncing (top of arc, mid-fall, impact/squash) that demonstrates both Squash & Stretch and Anticipation. Label which pose demonstrates which principle.

Create a new HTML5 Canvas document. Set its frame rate to 24fps and its Stage size to a common web dimension (e.g. 800×600). Change the Stage color to something other than white.

Place a simple shape on the Pasteboard, just outside the Stage edge. Add a ruler guide at the Stage's horizontal center. Practice switching between 2 saved workspaces and note which panels change.

Draw a simple shape, animate it across 8 frames, and convert it once to a Graphic symbol and once (a separate copy) to a Movie Clip symbol. Scrub the main timeline for both and describe, in your own words, the difference in how each behaves.

Draw a simple curved line with the Pen or Pencil tool. Use the Width tool to add 3-4 points of varying thickness along it. Separately, apply a radial gradient to a filled shape and use the Gradient Transform tool to adjust its center point.

Create 3 layers. On the first, draw a shape and insert a keyframe at frame 12 with a different pose. Convert the second layer to a Guide layer and sketch a rough reference on it. Rename all 3 layers clearly.

Draw a detailed shape or scene on one layer. On a layer above it, draw a small circle and convert that layer to a Mask layer linked to the scene below. Animate the circle moving across the Stage over 24 frames, creating a moving “spotlight” effect.

Draw two overlapping circles with Object Drawing Mode off, and confirm they merge/cut into each other. Undo, turn Object Drawing Mode on, and draw the same two circles — confirm they now stay fully independent and movable.

Create one Static Text label reading “Score:”, one Dynamic Text field next to it displaying a number, and give the Dynamic Text field a clear instance name. Add an Input Text field below both for a player name.

Draw a rectangle. Using only the Selection tool (no Subselection tool), hover near one edge and drag to bow it into a curve. Then use the Subselection tool to select and drag one individual anchor point on a different shape.

Build a simple scene with 3-4 objects. Add a Camera layer and keyframe it zooming in on one part of the scene over 24 frames. Separately, draw a rough freehand line and apply Smoothing to it twice, comparing the result.

Draw a shape and try applying a Drop Shadow filter directly to it — confirm the option isn't available. Convert it to a Movie Clip symbol and apply the same filter, confirming it now works.

Convert a shape to a Movie Clip symbol and apply a Motion Tween moving it across the Stage with easing. On a separate layer, draw a raw circle and Shape Tween it into a star over 12 frames. Note which technique worked for which kind of content.

Create a Button symbol with distinct artwork for its Up, Over, and Down states, and a Hit state slightly larger than the visible button. Using the Code Snippets panel, add a “go to frame and stop” action on click.

Import a short audio clip to the timeline. Set its sync to Stream and scrub the timeline, confirming the audio scrubs with it. Change sync to Event and compare the difference in behavior.

Take a document with at least one interactive button. Use Test Movie to confirm the button actually responds correctly, then deliberately break the button's code and Test Movie again to see how the error surfaces.

Take a simple looping animation (no interactivity needed) and export it two ways: once as an Animated GIF, once as HTML5/JS. Open both results and compare file size and what each format did or didn't preserve.

Write a short, one-paragraph creative brief for an imagined 15-second brand animation, including its goal, audience, and one real constraint (budget, deadline, or platform). Sketch 4 storyboard panels that would form the basis of its animatic.

Imagine you're a freelance motion designer finishing a work-for-hire project for a client. List 2 specific things you'd want to negotiate into the contract before signing, given that the client will own the final work.

Recall the 12 principles of animation from 7.6. Pick 3 of them and describe, specifically, how each would still apply to a motion graphics animation (like an animated logo) even though it has no traditional character.

Create a new composition at 1920×1080, 24fps, 10 seconds long. Narrow the Work Area bar to just the first 3 seconds and generate a RAM preview, noting how much faster it renders than the full 10 seconds would.

Add a solid layer to a composition and apply any effect to it. Adjust that effect's properties directly in the Effect Controls panel, then select a different layer and confirm the panel's content updates.

Create a placeholder for a 5-second clip you don't have yet, matching your composition's frame size. Build a simple title animation timed around it. Later, import a real clip and replace the placeholder, confirming the timing still holds.

Create 3 shape layers and a null object. Parent all 3 shapes to the null. Animate the null's position across the composition and confirm all 3 shapes move together while keeping their individual positions relative to each other.

Draw a mask directly on a solid layer and feather its edge. Separately, create a text layer and a video layer beneath it, then set the video layer's track matte to use the text layer's alpha, confirming the video now only shows through the letter shapes.

Build a simple animated lower-third with a name text layer and a colored shape. In the Essential Graphics panel, add the text layer and a fill color as editable properties, then export it as a MOGRT.

Place a clip in a composition and trim its In/Out points. Split it into two layers at its midpoint, and apply a different Scale value to each half, confirming they now behave fully independently.

Enable the 3D switch on 3 flat layers and position them at different Z depths. Add a camera layer and animate it moving forward, confirming the layers show real parallax relative to each other as the camera passes.

Apply a Glow effect to a layer. Keyframe its Glow Intensity property from 0 at the start of the composition to a high value 2 seconds in, confirming the glow visibly builds over time.

Keyframe a layer's position across the composition. Apply Easy Ease to both keyframes, then open the Graph Editor and manually adjust the speed curve to create a more exaggerated, bouncy ease-out. Enable Motion Blur and compare the result with it on and off.

Apply a Wiggle expression to a layer's Position property and preview the resulting randomized movement. On a separate layer, use the Pick Whip to link its Opacity to another layer's Position value, and observe the (likely strange) result.

Draw a small circular mask on a layer and keyframe its path growing larger over 2 seconds, creating a reveal effect. Separately, set up a Luma matte between two layers and animate a wipe by keyframing the matte source layer.

Create a text layer with a short phrase. Add a Text Animator for Opacity, set Based On to Characters, and animate the Range Selector's Start value across 2 seconds so letters appear to type on one at a time. Duplicate the layer and change Based On to Words, comparing the feel.

Take a composition using at least 2 imported files. Run Collect Files and confirm the resulting folder contains both the project file and every dependency it needs.

Build a simple animated graphic with a transparent background. Export it twice from the Render Queue: once with the alpha channel included, once without. Compare both files when placed over a background layer.