Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Classroom in a Book for Windows and Mac OS

Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Classroom in a Book for Windows and Mac OS

Released July 2007
Publisher(s): Adobe Press
ISBN: 9780321499790

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Book description

Visual effects and motion graphics pros of all stripes--from broadcast professionals to VFX supervisors to Web designers who need to produce occasional video segments--will welcome the dramatically accelerated features provided in the brand-new After Effects CS3 This best-selling book has been revised to cover all that's new in this upgrade: Shape layers, which enables users to easily create and animate shapes; Puppet tool, which you can use to animate a 2D image like a marionette; powerful integration with Photoshop CS3; new support for Flash designers; the new Brainstorm panel, which lets you preview an array of different visual possibilities in one gorgeous panel; complete color management workflow; Adobe Clip Notes, which lets you attach comments directly to a composition; Adobe Device Central CS3, which lets you preview and test animations for mobile devices, and more. Designed around a single complex project that's broken down into manageable lessons, this book-and-DVD package mimics a real-world workflow--but one that readers tackle at their own pace. The DVD contains all the lesson files and footage readers need to complete the lessons.


Educational instructor notes—created to help teachers plan, organize, and time their lessons—are available for this book (and for other Classroom in a Book titles) at www.peachpit.com/instructorresources.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. From the Authors
  3. Getting Started
    1. About Classroom in a Book
    2. Prerequisites
    3. Installing After Effects
    4. Optimizing performance
      1. OpenGL support
      2. Color management
    5. Installing lesson fonts
    6. What’s on the DVD
      1. Lesson files . . . and so much more
    7. Restoring default preferences
    8. Copying the lesson files
      1. About copying the sample movies and projects
    9. How to use these lessons
    10. Additional resources
    11. Adobe Certification
  4. 1. Getting to Know the Workflow
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
    3. Creating a project and importing footage
    4. Creating a composition and arranging layers
    5. 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
    6. Animating the composition
      1. Preparing the text composition
      2. Adding the text
      3. Animating with Position keyframes
      4. Adding ease in
      5. Adding an animation preset
    7. Previewing your work
      1. Using standard preview
      2. Using RAM preview
    8. Exporting your composition
    9. Customizing the workspace
      1. Using predefined workspaces
      2. Saving a custom workspace
    10. Controlling the brightness of the user interface
    11. Using After Effects Help
      1. Searching Help topics
      2. Checking for updates
    12. Using Adobe online services
    13. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  5. 2. Creating a Basic Animation Using Effects and Presets
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
    3. Setting up the project
    4. Importing footage using Adobe Bridge
    5. Creating the composition
      1. Importing the foreground element
    6. Working with imported Illustrator layers
    7. Applying effects to a layer
    8. Applying an animation preset
      1. Precomposing layers for a new animation
    9. Previewing the effects
    10. Adding transparency
    11. Rendering the composition
      1. Rendering broadcast-quality output
      2. Exporting a composition for the web
    12. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  6. 3. Animating Text
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
    3. About text layers
    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 presets
      2. Previewing a range of frames
      3. Customizing an animation preset
    6. Animating with scale keyframes
      1. Soloing a layer
      2. Creating the scale keyframes
      3. Previewing the scale animation
      4. Adding Easy Ease
    7. Animating using parenting
    8. Animating imported Photoshop text
      1. Importing the credits
      2. Editing imported text
      3. Animating the subtitle
    9. Animating text using a path preset
      1. Customizing the preset path
    10. Animating type tracking
      1. Customizing placeholder text
      2. Applying a tracking preset
      3. Customizing the tracking preset
    11. Animating the letters’ opacity
    12. Using a text animator group
      1. Skewing the range of text
      2. Preview the entire composition
    13. Cleaning up the path animation
    14. Animating the dragonfly
      1. Copying the mask shape
      2. Orienting the dragonfly
      3. Coordinating the text and dragonfly timing
    15. Adding motion blur
    16. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  7. 4. Working with Shape Layers
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Creating the composition
    3. Adding a shape layer
      1. About shapes
      2. Drawing a shape
      3. Applying a gradient fill
      4. Modifying the gradient settings
    4. Creating custom shapes
      1. Drawing a polygon
      2. Twisting the shape
      3. Repeating the shape
      4. Rotating shapes
      5. Blending shapes with the background
    5. Creating stars
      1. Drawing a star
      2. Applying Pucker & Bloat
      3. Duplicating shapes
      4. Rotating shapes
    6. Incorporating video and audio layers
      1. Adding audio and video files
      2. Trimming the work area
    7. Adding a title bar
      1. Creating a self-animating shape
      2. Adding text
    8. Using Brainstorm to experiment
    9. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  8. 5. Animating a Multimedia Presentation
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
    3. Animating the scenery using parenting
      1. Setting up parenting
      2. Animating the parent layer
      3. Animating the bee’s position
      4. Trimming a layer
      5. Applying motion blur
      6. Previewing the animation
    4. Adjusting an anchor point
    5. Masking video using vector shapes
      1. Creating a new composition
      2. Using animation presets with shape layers
      3. Constraining a layer with an alpha matte
      4. Swapping a composition into a layer
    6. Keyframing a motion path
      1. Keyframing scale and rotation transformations
      2. Adding motion blur
      3. Previewing your work
    7. Animating additional elements
      1. Animating the passing traffic
      2. Animating the buildings
      3. Adding Easy Ease
      4. Copying the building animation
    8. Applying an effect
      1. Adding a solid-color layer
      2. Applying the effect
    9. Creating an animated slide show
      1. Importing the slides
      2. Making a new composition
      3. Positioning the slide show
      4. Fading in the first slide
    10. Adding an audio track
      1. Looping the audio track
    11. Zooming in for a final close-up
      1. Previewing the entire composition
    12. Sending the project to reviewers
      1. Exporting the composition as a PDF file
      2. Importing Clip Notes into After Effects projects
    13. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  9. 6. Animating Layers
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
    3. Simulating lighting changes
    4. Duplicating an animation using the pick whip
    5. Animating movement in the scenery
      1. Animating the sun
      2. Animating the birds
      3. Animating the clouds
      4. Previewing the animation
    6. Adjusting the layers and creating a track matte
      1. Precomposing layers
      2. Creating the track matte
      3. Adding motion blur
    7. Animating the shadows
    8. Adding a lens flare effect
    9. Animating the clock
      1. 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
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  10. 7. Working with Masks
    1. Lesson overview
    2. About masks
    3. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
    4. Creating a mask with the Pen tool
    5. Editing a mask
      1. Inverting the mask
      2. Creating curved masks
      3. Breaking direction handles
    6. Feathering the edges of a mask
    7. Replacing the content of the mask
      1. Repositioning and resizing the news clip
      2. Rotating the clip
    8. Adding a reflection
      1. Applying a blending mode
    9. Creating a vignette
    10. Adjusting the color
    11. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  11. 8. Distorting Objects with the Puppet Tools
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing footage
      3. Creating the composition
      4. Adding the background
      5. Adding the banana peel
      6. Adding the character
    3. About the Puppet tools
    4. Adding Deform pins
    5. Defining areas of overlap
    6. Stiffening an area
    7. Animating pin positions
      1. Creating a walking cycle
      2. Animating a slip
      3. Moving an object
    8. Recording animation
    9. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  12. 9. Keying
    1. Lesson overview
    2. About keying
    3. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
    4. Changing the background color
    5. Adding the foreground subject
    6. Creating a garbage mask
    7. Applying the Color Difference Key effect
      1. Checking the alpha channel for errors
    8. Choking the matte
    9. Removing spill
    10. Adjusting contrast
    11. Adding the background animation
    12. Adding the title
      1. Stylizing the title
      2. Checking placement
      3. Adding a drop shadow
    13. Adding the animated logo
    14. Copying effects across two layers
    15. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  13. 10. Performing Color Correction
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
    3. Adjusting color balance
      1. Masking the grass
      2. Brightening the dark grass
    4. Replacing an element of the shot
      1. Adding the clouds
      2. Color-correcting the clouds
      3. Masking the sky
      4. Cleaning up the mask
    5. Lightening other dark areas
      1. Masking the shrub and tree
      2. Removing stray sky elements and copying effects
    6. Correcting a range of colors
    7. Warming colors with the Photo Filter effect
    8. Removing unwanted elements
      1. Preparing the workspace
      2. Painting across time
      3. Checking your work
    9. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  14. 11. Building and Animating a 3D Object
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Creating the composition
      3. Importing assets
    3. Animating a building in 3D space
      1. Making a layer three-dimensional
      2. Animating the layer in space
    4. Using 3D views
    5. Flipping the layer
      1. Moving the layer’s anchor point
      2. Flipping the roof on its back
      3. Rotating the roof
      4. Adding pauses
    6. Adding the street
      1. Creating the street
      2. Positioning the street
      3. Animating the street
      4. Adding the grid to the street
    7. Adding sides to the building
      1. Adding the first side
      2. Duplicating the sides
    8. Working with a null object
      1. Creating a null object
      2. Animating the null object
    9. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  15. 12. Using 3D Features
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
    3. Using 3D lights
      1. Creating a light layer
      2. Adjusting the point of interest
      3. Positioning the spotlight
    4. Turning on shadows
    5. Adding a camera
      1. Setting the camera’s point of interest
      2. Animating the camera
    6. Adding an animated sphere
      1. Creating the sphere
      2. Positioning the sphere
      3. Moving the sphere
    7. Adding 3D text
    8. Previewing the entire animation
    9. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  16. 13. Advanced Editing Techniques
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
    3. Using motion stabilization
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
      4. Positioning the track points
      5. Analyzing and applying stabilization
      6. Scaling the layer
    4. Using single-point motion tracking
      1. Preparing the text layer
      2. Positioning the track point
      3. Analyzing and applying tracking
    5. Using multipoint tracking
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage
      3. Creating the composition
      4. Positioning the track points
      5. Applying the multipoint tracker
      6. Adding a drop shadow and blur effect
    6. Creating a particle system
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Creating the composition
      3. Creating a particle system
      4. Customizing the particle effect
      5. Creating the sun
      6. Lighting the darkness
      7. Adding a lens flare
    7. Retiming playback using the Timewarp effect
      1. Setting up the project
      2. Importing the footage and creating the composition
      3. Using Timewarp
    8. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  17. 14. Rendering and Outputting
    1. Lesson overview
    2. Getting started
      1. Setting up the project
    3. Creating templates for the rendering process
      1. Creating a render-settings template for full resolution
      2. Creating a render-settings template for test renderings
    4. Creating templates for output modules
      1. Creating an output-module template for broadcast renderings
      2. Creating a low-resolution output-module template
    5. Rendering to different output media
      1. Preparing to render a test movie
      2. Working with multiple output modules
      3. Preparing the composition for full-resolution rendering
      4. Using pixel aspect ratio correction
      5. Rendering the final movie for broadcast
    6. Review
      1. Review questions
      2. Review answers
  18. Color Management in After Effects CS3
    1. About color management
    2. Using color management in After Effects CS3
  19. Contributors

Product information

  • Title: Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Classroom in a Book for Windows and Mac OS
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: July 2007
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780321499790