Adobe After Effects 5.0: Classroom in a Book [Paperback]

Adobe Creative Team (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2001

You can sink the Titanic with it, but you don't have to. Filmmakers andTV-commercial directors have turned to Adobe After Effects for years tocreate sophisticated visual effects, but its fan club is rapidly expandingto include graphic designers who want to add motion graphics to their Websites. Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book takes theintimidation factor out of this moviemaking program without diminishing itspowerful potential. Developed by the experts at Adobe, this project-basedguide walks you through easy-to-follow lessons tested in the company's ownclassrooms.

Not assuming any prior After Effects knowledge, Adobe After Effects 5.0Classroom in a Book takes a building-block approach. The book isdesigned around one large and complex project that is broken down intomanageable lessons, each of which builds on topics covered in previoussections. The task-oriented format mimics a real-world work flow: Features,functions, and subjects are introduced as they come up during the course ofthe project. This edition of the book covers what's new and exciting inAfter Effects 5.0: 3D compositing, hierarchical layering, and powerfulanimation and masking enhancements. The accompanying cross-platform CDincludes all the files you need to complete the projects.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The depth of Adobe's After Effects is hidden by its seductive and unintimidating interface, which is why many new users quickly find themselves lost and full of questions. Adobe Press's Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book levels the learning curve and presents this complex program in manageable chapters.

Eleven lessons span the production of a single piece, from importing elements from other programs, to assembling these and other pieces into a final composition, through rendering for broadcast. Step-by-step guides walk you through each phase and plenty of screen shots help keep you on track.

This book is ideal for someone who has installed After Effects and toyed with it, but doesn't really know where to go from there. It expects some familiarity with the computer platform you're using, as well as some familiarity with external applications that use After Effects, such as Premiere, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

While an excellent book for beginners, it offers little information on using Expressions, and virtually nothing on audio filters. While After Effects is rarely used for tweaking audio, an appendix on the power of Expressions would have been welcome.

Looking at the finished product might seem a bit intimidating, but the team of authors are accomplished motion graphics professionals and have put together a solid body of work. While the early chapters seem wordy and visually boring, the pieces begin to fall into place once we begin rendering movies and using these movies as elements in a greater whole. Overall, the Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book is a valuable course in learning to harness the power of this impressive application. --Mike Caputo

From the Back Cover

Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a BookYou can sink the Titanic with it, but you don't have to. Filmmakers andTV-commercial directors have turned to Adobe After Effects for years tocreate sophisticated visual effects, but its fan club is rapidly expandingto include graphic designers who want to add motion graphics to their Websites. Adobe After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book takes theintimidation factor out of this moviemaking program without diminishing itspowerful potential. Developed by the experts at Adobe, this project-basedguide walks you through easy-to-follow lessons tested in the company's ownclassrooms.Not assuming any prior After Effects knowledge, Adobe After Effects 5.0Classroom in a Book takes a building-block approach. The book isdesigned around one large and complex project that is broken down intomanageable lessons, each of which builds on topics covered in previoussections. The task-oriented format mimics a real-world work flow: Features,functions, and subjects are introduced as they come up during the course ofthe project. This edition of the book covers what's new and exciting inAfter Effects 5.0: 3D compositing, hierarchical layering, and powerfulanimation and masking enhancements. The accompanying cross-platform CDincludes all the files you need to complete the projects.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Adobe Press (August 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201741318
• ISBN-13: 978-0201741315
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #759,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed - It's Not the Fastest or Easiest way to learn, September 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Adobe After Effects 5.0: Classroom in a Book (Paperback)

First of all, ignore the "Editorial Reviews from the back cover"- those comments may have applied to the Classroom in a Book for After FX Version 3 & 4, but certainly not Version 5. There is only ONE project in this book - each chapter is just one piece of the overall final project, NOT "each chapter contains a specific project" as the Editorial Review claims. The project itself is a very nice, very hip (a la MTV) 18 second Adobe Ad. 'Belief' (the design studio who came up with the project) did a GREAT job on it. The problem with this book is that it focuses heavily on the "razzle-dazzle" of After FX and not the basics of learning the software. For example, in one of the chapters, you import Motion Control Camera Data (vital to the project), which is nifty allright, but then the book explains in a sidebar that "it should not be attempted by the inexperienced..". Isn't that what this book is supposed to do - TEACH the inexperienced?. Do YOU have access to a Motion Control Camera? Yeah, me neither. For those who are already intermediate/advanced After FX users, this book may help you some. Not enough of the the new features in AE Version 5 were covered. I would have liked to see more instruction and explanation regarding 3D Layer interaction, expressions, motion tracking/stablizing (not just importing from some data file) heck- even some keying would have been welcome. The books method is too often "step one click this, step two click that.." and fails to really explain what is going on within the software and within the project. A few color illustrations wouldn't hurt either. After FX is one of the COOLEST software programs ever written. After FX 5 is a GREAT Upgrade. It needs a better Classroom in a Book for beginners wanting to learn After FX magic from square one, with shorter projects (and more than ONE project) covering the basics. It took me three days to work through the project, which if you follow the instructions is done at D1 quality (720X540 pixels), so expect some pretty serious rendering time, and you'll need LOTS of disk drive space and RAM!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Starter...., November 19, 2001

By 

Cal Johnson (Calgary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adobe After Effects 5.0: Classroom in a Book (Paperback)

There are some valid observations made by the other reviewers. I am new to After Effects, and started by buying the Visual Quick Pro Guide for 5.0. I soon realized that After Effects is a deep, complicated program, with little in common with Adobe Premiere. I didn't find the Quick Pro book at all helpful in getting started, though I am sure it will be a great reference book later. The Class Room in a book will get you going using After Effects right away. I guess you have to ask yourself how do you learn best? Buy reading a 600 page text cover to cover and then sitting down and hoping you can use the program, or by getting started on a practice project right this instant. I prefer the latter, hands-on method, and that is exactly what Classroom in a Book offers. I disagree with the comment that its only one project. It's many little projects that get combined into one large one, but the individual projects are useful to themselves. Ever wonder how to make a lens flare fade up and then down while moving across the screen? You'll find out in lesson 2, and believe me, its a useful thing to know. I think the book is great for what its purpose is, to get you using the program right away. I WOULD reccomend it as a first book, but you will need something more comprehensive later, like the Quick Pro Guide. Like the author states "Don't learn how to drive from A to Z, learn how to navigate". This book will get you driving right away, and when you're finished, you'll have a much better idea of where you want to go and how you'll get there with After Effects.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent place to start, November 25, 2001

By 

Jason White (London, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adobe After Effects 5.0: Classroom in a Book (Paperback)

This isn't the best book on After Effects available, but it is the best beginner book for learning AFX. Like all of Adobe's classroom in a book series, it starts at the basics and works towards more intermediate concepts. "Creating High Impact Motion Graphics" by Trish/Chris Meyer takes over from the intermediate stuff and takes the reader to and beyond the advanced parts of the program (without a doubt, the best book on AFX available -but too complex, and not intended for a beginner).

Anyway, back to this book, step by step instructions let you follow along at your own pace, and the CD-ROM provides you with the material. The book is not a reference book, and will only benefit you if you read it (ie. show up for the classes). But definately a good way to start learning After Effects.