Workflow into and out of After Effects

Question

I’m just starting to learn how to use After Effects CC, with the help of the associated Adobe “Classroom In A Book” to get me started.  Naturally, I’m keen to start using AE myself with my own projects, but this raised a question I can’t find the answer to.
First, apologies if I’ve posted to the wrong forum, I’ve target the AE forum because this is where I’ve become stuck, and hence the question.  Basically it’s about overall workflow.  Before I ever used After Effects, I’d organise my video clips, and do whatever was needed completely within Premiere Pro. Ultimately, my finished Premiere Pro project would be exported off to Media Encoder and job done!
If I’m working on a clip in Premiere Pro that I feel needs work done to it in After Effects, do I stop working in Premiere Pro and work on that clip in After Effects, bringing the finished clip back to Premiere Pro?  Do I complete my project in Premiere Pro, and import the finished video into After Effects, resuming work on the sections of the finished video that require it?
Workflow wise, I’m just not sure how the process should be followed.  I always work out in advance what I want my (finished) video to be, and when I was working just with Premiere Pro, it was pretty straightforward. I’m just now sure how to proceed efficiently when After Effects becomes involved.
Any advice most welcome.
Steve

Answer 1

As Mylenium said, you basically work on your effects shots the way effects shots have always been worked on. Since the days of Georges Méliès and other pioneers in the film industry, you edit the material you have to create your first cut or rough cut of your movie, then you decide what shots or sequences need effects, then you send those shots to the effects department for them to work on it. Only the tools have changed. What was originally a couple of rewinds, a viewer and a splicing block has become the NLE. Animators, matte painters, and special effects departments have been changed to compositing and motion graphics products like AE and Nuke. The workflow, has not changed. Beginners usually foul up the workflow and don't work as efficiently as they could, but an efficient production process is still the same. Script, plan, schedule, rehearse, block, shoot, rough cut, add special effects, refine the cut, do the final sound mix, do the final color grading, and render the movie.
For simple effects you can use dynamic link to simplify moving your effects work to AE and back to Premiere Pro, but I would recommend that any effects shot that requires more than a half hour to complete be rendered and the footage in AE be replaced with your render. Make sure you include enough handles on your effects shots so you can fine tune the editing for the final cut.