Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book (2015 release)

Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book (2015 release)

Released December 2015
Publisher(s): Adobe Press
ISBN: 9780134306834

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Book description

This is the Rough Cut version of the printed book.

Creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe After Effects CC choose Adobe After Effects CC: Classroom in a Book from Adobe Press. The project-based lessons in this book show you step-by-step everything you need to know in order to use After Effects CC to create cinematic visual effects and sophisticated motion graphics.

The 14 project-based lessons in this book show students step-by-step the key techniques for working in After Effects and how to work efficiently and deliver in the widest possible range of media types.

In addition to learning the key elements of the After Effects interface, this revised edition (updated for the 2015 release of After Effects CC) covers new features and techniques, including the innovative Adobe Character Animator, Face Tracking, uninterrupted Preview with user-configurable behaviors, Creative Cloud Libraries (for sharing assets among multiple users and CC applications), and more.

Students redeem a unique code provided inside the book that grants them access to the downloadable lesson files they need to work through the projects in the book, and to electronic book updates covering new features that Adobe releases for Creative Cloud customers.

Students redeem a unique code provided inside the book that grants them access to the online companion files, including lesson files (allowing them to work along with the step-by-step tutorials in the book) as well as updates when Adobe releases new features. And new to this release, all buyers of the book get full access to the Web Edition: a Web version of the ebook enhanced by embedded videos and interactive multiple-choice quizzes. As always with the Classroom in a Book series, Instructor Notes are available to teachers by download from adobepress.com.

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. How to Get Your Lesson Files
    1. What to do with the Lesson files once you’ve downloaded them
    2. Important!
  4. Contents
  5. Getting Started
    1. About Classroom in a Book
    2. Prerequisites
    3. Installing After Effects and Bridge
    4. Optimizing performance
    5. Restoring default preferences
    6. Accessing the Classroom in a Book files
      1. About copying the sample movies and projects
      2. Web Edition
    7. How to use these lessons
    8. Additional resources
    9. Adobe Authorized Training Centers
  6. 1. Getting to Know the Workflow
    1. Getting started
    2. Creating a project and importing footage
    3. Creating a composition and arranging layers
    4. Adding effects and modifying layer properties
      1. Preparing the layers
      2. Adding a Radial Blur effect
      3. Adding an exposure effect
      4. Transforming layer properties
    5. Animating the composition
      1. Preparing the text composition
      2. Animating text with animation presets
      3. Changing preset settings in the Effect Controls panel
    6. Previewing your work
    7. Optimizing performance in After Effects
    8. Rendering and exporting your composition
    9. Customizing workspaces
      1. Using predefined workspaces
      2. Saving a custom workspace
    10. Controlling the brightness of the user interface
    11. Finding resources for using After Effects
    12. Review questions
    13. Review answers
  7. 2. Creating a Basic Animation Using Effects and Presets
    1. Getting started
    2. Importing footage using Adobe Bridge
    3. Creating a new composition
      1. Importing the foreground element
    4. Working with imported Illustrator layers
    5. Applying effects to a layer
    6. Applying an animation preset
      1. Precomposing layers for a new animation
    7. Previewing the effects
    8. Adding transparency
    9. Rendering the composition
    10. Review questions
    11. Review answers
  8. 3. Animating Text
    1. Getting started
      1. Importing the footage
      2. Creating the composition
    2. About text layers
    3. Installing a font using Typekit
    4. Creating and formatting point text
      1. Using the Character panel
      2. Using the Paragraph panel
      3. Positioning the type
    5. Using a text animation preset
      1. Browsing animation presets
      2. Previewing a range of frames
      3. Customizing an animation preset
    6. Animating with scale keyframes
      1. Previewing the scale animation
      2. Adding Easy Ease
    7. Animating using parenting
    8. Animating imported Photoshop text
      1. Importing text
      2. Editing imported text
      3. Animating the subtitle
    9. Animating type tracking
      1. Customizing placeholder text
      2. Applying a tracking preset
      3. Customizing the tracking animation preset
    10. Animating text opacity
    11. Using a text animator group
      1. Skewing the range of text
    12. Animating a layer’s position
    13. Timing layer animations
    14. Adding motion blur
    15. Review questions
    16. Review answers
  9. 4. Working with Shape Layers
    1. Getting started
      1. Creating the composition
    2. Adding a shape layer
      1. Drawing a shape
      2. Applying a fill and stroke
      3. Twisting a shape
    3. Creating custom shapes
      1. Drawing a shape with the Pen tool
      2. Creating a self-animating shape
    4. Duplicating shapes
    5. Duplicating and modifying a composition
    6. Positioning layers with snapping
      1. Creating a new composition
      2. Snapping layers into position
    7. Adding compositions to a 3D project
    8. Adding the finishing touches
    9. Review questions
    10. Review answers
  10. 5. Animating a Multimedia Presentation
    1. Getting started
      1. Importing the footage
      2. Creating the composition
    2. Adjusting anchor points
    3. Parenting layers
    4. Precomposing layers
    5. Keyframing a motion path
      1. Copying layers into a composition
      2. Placing initial keyframes
      3. Customizing a motion path
      4. Using Bezier handles to smooth a motion path
    6. Animating additional elements
      1. Duplicating keyframes to repeat an animation
      2. Positioning and duplicating a video
    7. Applying an effect
      1. Adding a solid-color layer
      2. Applying the effects
    8. Animating precomposed layers
      1. Adding an adjustment layer
      2. Trimming a layer
    9. Animating the background
    10. Adding an audio track
    11. Review questions
    12. Review answers
  11. 6. Animating Layers
    1. Getting started
      1. Importing the footage
      2. Creating the composition
    2. Simulating lighting changes
    3. Duplicating an animation using the pick whip
    4. Animating movement in the scenery
      1. Animating the sun
      2. Animating the birds
      3. Animating the clouds
      4. Previewing the animation
    5. Adjusting the layers and creating a track matte
      1. Precomposing layers
      2. Creating the track matte
      3. Adding motion blur
    6. Animating the shadows
    7. Adding a lens flare effect
    8. Adding a video animation
    9. Rendering the animation
    10. Retiming the composition
      1. Viewing time remapping in the Graph Editor
      2. Using the Graph Editor to remap time
      3. Adding an Easy Ease Out
      4. Scaling the animation in time
    11. Review questions
    12. Review answers
  12. 7. Working with Masks
    1. About masks
    2. Getting started
      1. Creating the composition
    3. Creating a mask with the Pen tool
    4. Editing a mask
      1. Inverting the mask
      2. Creating curved masks
      3. Breaking direction handles
    5. Feathering the edges of a mask
    6. Replacing the content of the mask
      1. Repositioning and resizing the clip
      2. Rotating the clip
    7. Adding a reflection
      1. Applying a blending mode
    8. Creating a vignette
    9. Adjusting the timing
    10. Trimming the work area
    11. Review questions
    12. Review answers
  13. 8. Distorting Objects with the Puppet Tools
    1. Getting started
      1. Importing footage
      2. Creating the composition
      3. Adding the background
      4. Scaling an object
      5. Adding the character
    2. About the Puppet tools
    3. Adding Deform pins
    4. Defining areas of overlap
    5. Stiffening an area
    6. Animating pin positions
      1. Creating a walking cycle
      2. Animating a slip
      3. Moving an object
    7. Recording animation
    8. Review questions
    9. Review answers
  14. 9. Using the Roto Brush Tool
    1. About rotoscoping
    2. Getting started
      1. Creating the composition
    3. Creating a segmentation boundary
      1. Creating a base frame
      2. Refining the boundary across the initial span
      3. Adding new base frames
    4. Fine-tuning the matte
      1. Adjusting the Roto Brush & Refine Edge effect
      2. Using the Refine Edge tool
    5. Freezing your Roto Brush tool results
    6. Changing the background
    7. Adding animated text
    8. Outputting your project
    9. Review questions
    10. Review answers
  15. 10. Performing Color Correction
    1. Getting started
      1. Creating the composition
    2. Adjusting color balance with levels
    3. Adjusting color balance with Color Finesse 3
    4. Replacing the background
      1. Using the mask tracker
      2. Keying out the sky with Keylight (1.2)
      3. Adding a new background
    5. Color-correcting using Auto Levels
    6. Motion tracking the clouds
    7. Replacing the sky in the second clip
      1. Creating the masks
      2. Keying out an area with the Color Range effect
      3. Adding a new background
      4. Motion tracking the shot
    8. Color grading
      1. Using CC Toner to map colors
      2. Adding a blur
      3. Adding a vignette
    9. Review questions
    10. Review answers
  16. 11. Using 3D Features
    1. Getting started
    2. Creating 3D text
    3. Using 3D views
    4. Importing a background
    5. Adding 3D lights
      1. Creating a light layer
      2. Positioning the spotlight
      3. Creating and positioning the fill light
      4. Casting shadows and setting material properties
    6. Adding a camera
    7. Repositioning layers
    8. Adding a text layer
    9. Working with Cinema 4D Lite
      1. Exporting a scene file
      2. Creating 3D Text in Cinema 4D
      3. Surfacing the object
      4. Updating the project in After Effects
    10. Review questions
    11. Review answers
  17. 12. Working with the 3D Camera Tracker
    1. About the 3D Camera Tracker effect
    2. Getting started
      1. Importing the footage
      2. Creating the composition
    3. Tracking the footage
    4. Creating a ground plane, a camera, and the initial text
    5. Creating realistic shadows
    6. Adding ambient light
    7. Creating additional text elements
    8. Locking a layer to a plane with a null object
    9. Animating the text
      1. Animating the first text elements
      2. Copying the animation to other text elements
    10. Adjusting the camera’s depth of field
    11. Rendering the composition
    12. Review questions
    13. Review answers
  18. 13. Advanced Editing Techniques
    1. Getting started
    2. Using Warp Stabilizer VFX
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
      4. Applying Warp Stabilizer VFX
      5. Adjusting the Warp Stabilizer VFX settings
      6. Fine-tuning the results
    3. Using single-point motion tracking
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Creating the composition
      3. Creating a shape layer
      4. Positioning the track point
      5. Analyzing and applying tracking
    4. Using multipoint tracking
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Positioning the track points
      3. Applying the multipoint tracker
    5. Creating a particle simulation
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Creating a particle system
      3. Customizing the particle effect
      4. Creating the sun
      5. Lighting the darkness
      6. Adding a lens flare
    6. Retiming playback using the Timewarp effect
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Using Timewarp
    7. Review questions
    8. Review answers
  19. 14. Rendering and Outputting
    1. Getting started
    2. Creating templates for the Render Queue
      1. Creating a render-settings template for test renderings
      2. Creating templates for output modules
    3. Exporting using the Render Queue
    4. Rendering movies with Adobe Media Encoder
      1. Rendering a broadcast-quality movie
      2. Adding another encoding preset to the queue
      3. Rendering movies
      4. Creating custom presets for Adobe Media Encoder
    5. Review questions
    6. Review answers
  20. Appendix: General keyboard shortcuts
  21. Index
  22. Production Notes
    1. Typefaces used
    2. Team credits
  23. Contributors
    1. Special Thanks

Product information

  • Title: Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book (2015 release)
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: December 2015
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780134306834