Adobe After Effects 7.0 Studio Techniques

Adobe After Effects 7.0 Studio Techniques

by Mark Christiansen
Released May 2006
Publisher(s): Adobe Press
ISBN: 9780321385529

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Ready to learn the visual effects techniques used at such leading-edge studios as Industrial Light + Magic and The Orphanage? Adobe After Effects 7.0 Studio Techniques inspires you to take your work to the next level with real-world examples and insider techniques. With this under-the-hood, in-depth guide to Adobe's updated motion graphics and effects powerhouse, you'll get complete coverage of all the big features in After Effects 7.0: High dynamic range (HDR) 32 bit per channel color compositing, cinema preview and color management, a redesigned user interface, a new Graph Editor to animate using explicit translation curves, retiming effects using Timewarp, and dozens of other enhancements. Get blockbuster results without the big budget as you delve deep into the essence of visual effects. This book goes beyond conventional step-by-step instruction, teaching you bread-and-butter effects that you can adapt and combine for countless projects.
 
 

  • Real solutions from real professionals: learn the techniques and approach used to create shots for big-budget special effects films.

  • Compositing essentials: No matter how sophisticated the effect, they all begin with the same building blocks. Find out what you've been missing about color and light matching, keying, motion tracking, rotoscoping, working with film, and more.

  •  Advanced techniques: Your goal should be effects so good that no one notices them. From sky replacement to explosions, from smoke to fire, learn to bring your shots to life and enhance scenes without anyone ever knowing what they're seeing isn't 100% real.

  • Companion CD-ROM: Professional tools produce professional results. The book’s companion disc includes plenty of sample projects including HD footage from Pixel Corps and the Artbeats Digital Film Library, as well as more than a dozen plug-ins and programs that you can use to build up and customize your own effects.

    •

    Table of contents

    1. Table of Contents (1/2)
    2. Table of Contents (2/2)
    3. Copyright
      1. Dedication
    4. About the Authors
    5. Acknowledgments
    6. I. Introduction
      1. Why This Book?
      2. The Cult of Magic
      3. Truly Challenging
      4. The Keys
        1. “That Looks Fake”
        2. What Compositing Can (and Can’t) Do
      5. About This Book
        1. Understanding Is Preferable to Knowledge
      6. If You’ve Used Other Compositing Programs
      7. What’s On the DVD
      8. The Bottom Line
    7. Section I. Working Foundations
      1. Chapter 1. The 7.0 Workflow
        1. Workspaces and Panels (1/2)
        2. Workspaces and Panels (2/2)
          1. Customizing Your Workspace
            1. Docking, Grouping, Rearranging, Resizing Panels
            2. Floating Panels and Multiple Monitors
            3. Saving and Resetting Workspaces
        3. Making the Most of the UI (1/2)
        4. Making the Most of the UI (2/2)
          1. Importing Source
          2. The Well-Organized Project
          3. Context-Clicking (and Keyboard Shortcuts)
          4. Keeping Sources Linked
            1. Collect Files
            2. Import One Project into Another
            3. Reduce Project and Consolidate All Footage
          5. Advanced Save Options
        5. Settings: Project, Footage, Composition (1/2)
        6. Settings: Project, Footage, Composition (2/2)
          1. Project Settings
          2. Interpret Footage
            1. Alpha
            2. Frame Rate
            3. Fields, Pulldown, Pixel Aspect Ratio (PAR)
          3. Digital Source Formats
            1. Adobe Formats
          4. Composition Settings
        7. Previews and OpenGL (1/3)
        8. Previews and OpenGL (2/3)
        9. Previews and OpenGL (3/3)
          1. Resolution and Quality
            1. Reducing Things Further
          2. Maintaining Interactivity
          3. Caching and Previewing
            1. Preview Settings
            2. What’s Your Background?
            3. To the Fore
            4. Change the Channel
          4. OpenGL
        10. Effects & Presets
          1. Types of Effects
          2. Animation Presets
        11. Output: The Render Queue (1/2)
        12. Output: The Render Queue (2/2)
          1. Placing an Item in the Queue
          2. Render Settings: Your Manual Overrides
          3. Output Modules: As Many as You Need
            1. Optimizing Output Settings
        13. Study a Shot like an Effects Artist
      2. Chapter 2. The Timeline
        1. Organization (1/2)
        2. Organization (2/2)
          1. Column Views
            1. Comments and Color
            2. Solo, Lock, and Shy
          2. Navigation and Shortcuts
            1. Time Navigation
            2. Make Layers Behave
            3. Timeline View Options
            4. Replacing Layers
        3. Animation Methods
        4. Keyframes and The Graph Editor (1/3)
        5. Keyframes and The Graph Editor (2/3)
        6. Keyframes and The Graph Editor (3/3)
          1. Learn to Use The Graph Editor
            1. Show Properties
            2. Graph Options
            3. The Transform Box
          2. Temporal Data and Eases
            1. Easy Ease
          3. Holds
          4. Spatial Data and Curves
          5. Copying and Pasting Trickery
          6. Real-World Graph Editor
        7. Über-mastery
          1. Dissecting a Project
          2. Keyframe Navigation and Selection
          3. Keyframe Offsets
        8. Transform Offsets
          1. Editing the Anchor Point
          2. Editing the Parent Hierarchy
        9. Motion Blur
          1. What the Settings Mean
        10. Manipulating Time Itself (1/2)
        11. Manipulating Time Itself (2/2)
          1. Absolute (Not Relative) Time
          2. Time Stretch
            1. Frame Blending
            2. Time Reversal and Freeze Frame
            3. Time Stretch and Nested Compositions
          3. Time Remap
          4. Timewarp
        12. In Conclusion
      3. Chapter 3. Selections: The Key to Compositing
        1. The Many Ways to Create Selections
          1. Pull a Matte
          2. Use an Existing Alpha Channel
          3. Create a Mask (or Several)
          4. Use Blending Modes Instead
          5. Use an Effect
          6. Combine Techniques
          7. So What’s the Big Deal?
        2. Compositing: Science and Nature
          1. Bitmap Alpha
          2. Feathered Alpha
          3. Opacity
        3. Alpha Channels and Premultiplication
          1. Premultiplication Illustrated
          2. Getting It Right on Import
          3. Solving the Problem Internally
        4. Masks
          1. Typical Mask Workflow
          2. Drawing Bezier Masks
        5. Combining Multiple Masks
          1. Managing Density
          2. Managing Multiple Masks
        6. Putting Masks in Motion
          1. Interpolation Basics
          2. Moving, Copying, Pasting, and Masks
            1. First Vertex
        7. Blending Modes: The Real Deal (1/2)
        8. Blending Modes: The Real Deal (2/2)
          1. Add and Screen
          2. Multiply
          3. Overlay and the Light Modes
          4. Difference
          5. HSB and Color Modes
          6. Stencil and Silhouette
          7. Alpha Add and Luminescent Premultiply
        9. Track Mattes
          1. Why They’re Useful
          2. Why They’re Occasionally Tricky
            1. Render Order
      4. Chapter 4. Optimizing Your Projects
        1. Navigating Multiple Compositions
          1. Project Template Benefits
          2. Working with Tabs
          3. Where Am I?
            1. Descriptive Names
        2. Precomposing and Nesting (1/2)
        3. Precomposing and Nesting (2/2)
          1. Why Do It?
          2. Options and Gotchas
            1. Layer Duration Confusion
            2. The Missing Option
            3. Data Pass Through
          3. The Cool Way Time Is Nested
            1. The Advanced Tab
        4. Adjustment and Guide Layers
          1. Adjustment Layers
          2. Guide Layers
        5. Understanding Rendering Order (1/2)
        6. Understanding Rendering Order (2/2)
          1. Optimizing Previews and Renders
          2. Post-Render Options
            1. Proxies
          3. Network Renders
            1. Multiple Copies of After Effects
        7. Optimizing After Effects
          1. Setting Preferences and Project Settings
          2. Memory Management
        8. Onward to Effects
    8. Section II. Effects Compositing Essentials
      1. Chapter 5. Color Correction
        1. Optimizing Plate Levels (1/8)
        2. Optimizing Plate Levels (2/8)
        3. Optimizing Plate Levels (3/8)
        4. Optimizing Plate Levels (4/8)
        5. Optimizing Plate Levels (5/8)
        6. Optimizing Plate Levels (6/8)
        7. Optimizing Plate Levels (7/8)
        8. Optimizing Plate Levels (8/8)
          1. Levels
            1. Contrast: Input and Output Levels
            2. Brightness: Gamma
          2. Individual Channels
          3. The Levels Histogram
            1. Problem Solving with the Histogram
          4. Perfecting Brightness with Curves
          5. Just for Color: Hue/Saturation
          6. More Color Tools and Techniques
        9. Color Matching (1/3)
        10. Color Matching (2/3)
        11. Color Matching (3/3)
          1. The Fundamental Technique
            1. Ordinary lighting
            2. Dramatic Lighting
            3. When There’s No Clear Reference
          2. Gamma Slamming
        12. Beyond the Basics
      2. Chapter 6. Color Keying
        1. Good Habits and Best Practices
        2. Linear Keyers and Hi-Con Mattes
          1. Linear Color Key and Extract
            1. Extract
            2. Linear Color Key
          2. Difference Mattes
        3. Blue-Screen and Green-Screen Keying (1/2)
        4. Blue-Screen and Green-Screen Keying (2/2)
          1. Generalized Keying Methodology
          2. Using Keylight
        5. Understanding and Optimizing Keylight (1/2)
        6. Understanding and Optimizing Keylight (2/2)
          1. The Inner Workings of Keylight
            1. Screen Gain
            2. Screen Balance
            3. Bias
          2. Focusing In: Clean-Up Tools
            1. Holes and Edges
            2. Noise Suppression
            3. Fringing and Choking
            4. Spill Suppression
        7. Fixing Typical Problems (1/2)
        8. Fixing Typical Problems (2/2)
          1. On Set
          2. Matte Problems
            1. Edge Selection
            2. Matte Holes
            3. Matte Fringing
          3. Color Spill
        9. Conclusion
      3. Chapter 7. Rotoscoping and Paint
        1. Articulated Mattes (1/2)
        2. Articulated Mattes (2/2)
          1. RotoBeziers
            1. Strategies for Complex Shapes
        3. Working Around Limitations
          1. Tracking and Translating
            1. Auto-trace
          2. Masking Motion Blur
        4. Morphing (1/2)
        5. Morphing (2/2)
          1. Using Reshape to Morph
            1. First Vertex
        6. Paint and Cloning (1/2)
        7. Paint and Cloning (2/2)
          1. Paint Fundamentals
          2. Cloning Fundamentals
            1. Tricks and Gotchas
            2. Tracking Strokes
            3. Wire Removal
            4. Plate Restoration via Cloning
        8. Conclusion
      4. Chapter 8. Effective Motion Tracking
        1. The Essentials (1/4)
        2. The Essentials (2/4)
        3. The Essentials (3/4)
        4. The Essentials (4/4)
          1. Choosing a Good Reference Point
            1. No Good Reference Point in Sight
          2. Optimizing Tracker Options
            1. Typology
            2. Rotation and Scale
            3. Confidence
            4. Other Options
          3. Fixing Tracks That Go Wrong
          4. Using the Timeline
          5. Matching Motion Blur
          6. Use Nulls to Solve Transform Problems
        5. Optimizing Tracking Using 3D (1/3)
        6. Optimizing Tracking Using 3D (2/3)
        7. Optimizing Tracking Using 3D (3/3)
          1. The 3D Camera: The One-Stop Solution
            1. Fake 3D Tracking
          2. Smooth a Moving Camera
        8. Extending a Track with Expressions
        9. Tracking for Rotoscoping
        10. Using 3D Tracking Data
          1. Working with 3D Tracking Data
            1. Importing a Maya Scene
            2. Try It Out for Yourself
        11. Conclusion
      5. Chapter 9. Virtual Cinematography
        1. 2.5D: Pick Up the Camera (1/3)
        2. 2.5D: Pick Up the Camera (2/3)
        3. 2.5D: Pick Up the Camera (3/3)
          1. Understand the After Effects Camera
            1. Lens Settings
            2. Real-World Camera Settings
            3. Make Your Adjustments
          2. Emulate a Real Camera
            1. Make Use of a Camera Report
            2. Lens Distortion
          3. Mixing 2D and 3D
        4. Storytelling and the Camera
          1. Moving the Camera
            1. Camera Orientation
            2. Push versus Zoom
            3. Push It Good
          2. Camera Projection
        5. Camera Blur (1/2)
        6. Camera Blur (2/2)
          1. Image Planes and Rack Focus
          2. Boke Blur
            1. Go for Boke
        7. The Role of Grain (1/2)
        8. The Role of Grain (2/2)
          1. Grain Management Strategies
          2. Grain Removal
          3. When to Employ Grain Strategies
        9. Film and Video Looks
          1. Garbage In, Garbage Out
          2. Frame Rate Matters
          3. Format Matters
          4. Color Affects Story
        10. Conclusion
      6. Chapter 10. Expressions
        1. Logic and Grammar
          1. What Can’t Expressions Do?
        2. Muting Keyframes
        3. Linking Animation Data
          1. Tracking Brushes and Effects
            1. Offsetting an Element
            2. One Channel Only
          2. Building Your Own Controls
        4. Looping Animations (1/2)
        5. Looping Animations (2/2)
          1. Continue Loops
        6. Smoothing and Destabilizing
          1. Steadicam and Camera Shake
        7. Offsetting Layers and Time
          1. Grain Averaging
        8. Conditionals and Triggers (1/2)
        9. Conditionals and Triggers (2/2)
          1. Trigger a Dissolve
          2. Conditionals
          3. Conditional Triggers
        10. Tell Me More
      7. Chapter 11. Film, HDR, and 32 Bit Compositing
        1. Details
        2. Film 101
          1. Working with Cineon Files
        3. Dynamic Range
        4. Cineon Log Space
          1. Digital Film
        5. Video Gamma Space
        6. Battle of the Color Spaces
        7. Floating Point
        8. 32 Bits per Channel (1/3)
        9. 32 Bits per Channel (2/3)
        10. 32 Bits per Channel (3/3)
          1. Welcome to the World of HDR
          2. Linear Blending
            1. Color Management
            2. The Project Working Space
            3. Theater Preview
          3. Meanwhile, Back in the Real World…
            1. Project Setup: Color Profile Converter
            2. Incompatible Effects
            3. Output
        11. Conclusion
    9. Section III. Creative Explorations
      1. Chapter 12. Working with Light
        1. Light Source and Direction (1/2)
        2. Light Source and Direction (2/2)
          1. Location and Quality
          2. Heightening Drama with Light
          3. Neutralizing Light Direction
          4. Leveling Uneven Light and Hotspots
        3. Creating a Look with Color (1/2)
        4. Creating a Look with Color (2/2)
          1. Using a Solid
            1. Day for Night
          2. Using Effects
            1. Three-Way Color Correction
        5. Backlighting, Flares, Light Volume (1/2)
        6. Backlighting, Flares, Light Volume (2/2)
          1. Backlighting and Light Wrap
          2. Glints and Flares
            1. Glints
          3. Light Scattering and Volume
        7. Shadows and Reflected Light
          1. Creating Shadows
          2. Reflected and Interactive Light
        8. HDR Lighting (1/2)
        9. HDR Lighting (2/2)
          1. Dynamic Range
          2. A New Day
        10. Conclusion
      2. Chapter 13. Climate: Air, Water, Smoke, Clouds
        1. Particulate Matter (1/2)
        2. Particulate Matter (2/2)
          1. Match an Existing Shot
          2. Creating a New Shot
        3. Sky Replacement
          1. The Sky Is Not (Quite) a Blue Screen
          2. Infinite Depth
        4. The Fog, Smoke, or Mist Rolls In
          1. Masking and Adjusting
          2. Moving Through the Mist
        5. Billowing Smoke (1/2)
        6. Billowing Smoke (2/2)
          1. Mesh Warp
          2. Liquify
            1. Combining Techniques
          3. Smoke Trails
        7. Wind
          1. Adding and Articulating Elements
          2. Indirect Effects
        8. Water
          1. Precipitation
          2. Creating the Element
          3. Compositing the Element
        9. Conclusion
      3. Chapter 14. Pyrotechnics: Fire, Explosions, Energy Phenomena
        1. Firearms (1/2)
        2. Firearms (2/2)
          1. Ready, Fire, Aim
            1. Muzzle Flash and Smoke
            2. Shells and Interactive Light
          2. Bullet Hits
        3. Sci-Fi Weaponry
          1. Full Control
        4. Heat Distortion
          1. What Is Actually Happening
          2. How to Re-create It
        5. Fire
          1. Creating and Using Fire Elements
          2. Hang Fire
          3. Light Interacts
          4. Into the Third Dimension (and Beyond!)
        6. Explosions
          1. Light and Chunky
        7. In a Blaze of Glory
      4. Chapter 15. Learning to See
        1. Why Doesn’t This Shot Look Real?
          1. Seeing the Shot
          2. Analyzing What You See
          3. Knowing What You Know
        2. All Hail Reference (1/2)
        3. All Hail Reference (2/2)
          1. Putting Reference to Use
          2. Integration
          3. Emotional Truth
        4. Rolling Thine Own
        5. Not a Conclusion
    10. Appendix What’s on the DVD?
    11. Index
      1. SYMBOL
      2. A
      3. B
      4. C
      5. D
      6. E
      7. F
      8. G
      9. H
      10. I
      11. J
      12. K
      13. L
      14. M
      15. N
      16. O
      17. P
      18. Q
      19. R
      20. S
      21. T
      22. U
      23. V
      24. W
      25. X
      26. Y

    Product information

    • Title: Adobe After Effects 7.0 Studio Techniques
    • Author(s): Mark Christiansen
    • Release date: May 2006
    • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
    • ISBN: 9780321385529