After Effects for Flash / Flash for After Effects: Dynamic Animation and Video with Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional [Perfect Paperback]

Richard Harrington (Author), Marcus Geduld (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321606078 | ISBN-13: 978-0321606075 | Publication Date: April 23, 2009 | Edition: 1

Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 brings together two powerful animation tools, each of which has its own specialized features and workflow. Learning to integrate Adobe After Effects and Adobe Flash Professional gives you more options for your animations and effects and the power to integrate video and motion graphics into a richer user experience. In this book, authors Richard Harrington and Marcus Geduld lead both types of users, those who are more familiar with either Flash or with After Effects, on using the programs together for maximum efficiency and creativity.

After walking you through the core features of both programs, the authors then explore advanced uses for each application. Each chapter focuses on a particular function of the program, teaching you how to create content for Flash with After Effects, enhance your projects using 3D environments, create professional-looking video with Adobe Media Encoder, and add interactivity, accessibility, and searchability to your video. You’ll also get hands-on experience using the project files on the accompanying DVD.

Within these easy-to-follow, step-by-step lessons, you'll learn to:

• Seamlessly exchange projects and assets between After Effects and Flash
• Shoot green screen material correctly, work with Keylight, and utilize embedded alpha channels
• Create dynamic text, vector-based animations, and “animated” video using the tools in Adobe Creative Suite 4
• Work with 3D cameras and lights and create 3D environments
• Convert Flash to broadcast and DVD standards with After Effects
• Use Adobe Media Encoder for professional results
• Create interactive controls and use cue points in your video
• Optimize video for accessibility and use Adobe® Soundbooth® for video transcription
• Use ActionScript in your projects for more innovative animations

 
Richard Harrington is a certified instructor for Adobe, Apple, and Avid, and an expert in motion graphic design and digital video. He is a regular contributor to Creative Cow, ProVideo Coalition, and numerous industry blogs and magazines. He also owns the visual communications company, RHED Pixel (www.rhedpixel.com) in Washington, DC. Rich is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team, chairs conferences for the National Association of Broadcasters, and has written numerous titles including Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS4, Photoshop for Video, and Broadcast Graphics on the Spot.

Marcus Geduld is a freelance programmer who teaches programming, design, animation, compositing, and video editing in New York City. He is the author of Premiere Pro Editing Workshop and After Effects Expressions and is the co-author of After Effects On the Spot. Marcus speaks on technical and artistic topics at numerous conferences and is an Adobe Certified Expert, a Macromedia Certified Developer, and an Avid Certified Instructor. He is artistic director of Folding Chair Classical Theatre, a New-York based company which he runs with his wife, actress Lisa Blankenship.

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A certified instructor for Adobe, Apple, and Avid, Rich Harrington is an expert in motion graphic design and digital video. His producing skills have been recognized by AV Video Multimedia Producer Magazine who named him as one of the Top Producers of 2004. Rich is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team, and a popular speaker on the digital video circuit. He has chaired conferences since 2003 for the National Association of Broadcasters.  Rich’s book, Photoshop for Video, was the first of its kind to focus on Photoshop’s use in the world of video. He is also a contributing author for After Effects On the Spot, After Effects at Work, and Producing Video Podcasts. Rich is also the author of Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS4: The Essential Techniques for Imaging Professionals.

Marcus Geduld works as a freelance (programmer and designer. He also teaches programming, design, animation, compositing and video editing at Future Media Concepts (www.fmctraining.com). He is the author of Premiere Pro Editing Workshop and After Effects Expressions and is the co-author of After Effects On the Spot. Marcus regularly speaks about technical and artistic topics at conferences around the country, including NAB and Macworld. He is an Adobe Certified Expert, a Macromedia Certified Developer, and an Avid Certified Instructor.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Adobe Press; 1 edition (April 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321606078
• ISBN-13: 978-0321606075
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Harrington

A certified instructor for Adobe and Apple, Rich Harrington is an expert in motion graphic design and digital video. His producing skills have been recognized by AV Video Multimedia Producer Magazine who named him as one of the Top Producers of 2004.

Rich is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team, and a popular speaker on the digital video circuit. He has managed conferences since 2003 for the National Association of Broadcasters.

Rich's book, Photoshop for Video, was the first of its kind to focus on Photoshop's use in the world of video. He is also a contributing author for From Still to Motion, Video Made on a Mac, and Producing Video Podcasts. Rich is also the author of Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS5: The Essential Techniques for Imaging Professionals.

A Masters Degree in Project Management fills out Rich's broad spectrum of experience.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars powerful commonality of integration, May 17, 2009

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: After Effects for Flash / Flash for After Effects: Dynamic Animation and Video with Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional (Perfect Paperback)

Adobe seems to be doing a comprehensive job of tying together its tool portfolio. This book describes the integration of After Effects and Flash. Each is treated separately, at first. So if you wish, you can just focus on learning each tool in standalone mode. At this level, there is plenty to keep you busy. But it should be said that if you just want to deal with each in separation, try consulting the books in this Adobe series that deal just with each, Adobe Flash CS4 Professional Classroom in a Book and Adobe After Effects CS4 Classroom in a Book.

The current book has several projects (aka. case studies) that demonstrate how to tie together both tools. The topics covered are broad, and range from handling analog film clips (and converting these into digital form) to vector drawing and raster animation. Much thought appears to have gone into designing projects that emphasise a powerful commonality of integration.

The final product can also have a high degree of interactivity. This involves actual programming, using ActionScript code, and may appeal to those readers coming from a computing background, as opposed to a graphics background. Here, too, if you need a definitive ActionScript text, try this other book, ActionScript 3.0 for Adobe Flash CS4 Professional Classroom in a Book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dynamic interactive guide (with DVD) perfect for any Flash user, July 18, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: After Effects for Flash / Flash for After Effects: Dynamic Animation and Video with Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional (Perfect Paperback)

Any seeking to learn Adobe Creative Suite 4 will find it holds powerful animation tools which offers specialized features and make for integration challenges and options. Basic and advanced uses for each application in the suite are covered in chapters which teach how to create content, manage projects, and create professional-looking videos with polished results. From creating 3D environments to converting Flash to broadcast and creating interactive controls, this is a dynamic interactive guide (with DVD) perfect for any Flash user.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book - Few "recipes" and Much Information, May 4, 2011

By 

R. Canino (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After Effects for Flash / Flash for After Effects: Dynamic Animation and Video with Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional (Perfect Paperback)

So many teaching books boil down to: Here's what you'll create, how's how to create it. In between the steps you may get a few insights into why the author chose a particular approach over another but generally you're left with more questions than answers. Luckily there are a few books out there that address the "why" and the "what is...?" as much as they do the "here's how" and Mr. Harrington and Mr. Geduld's book is one of them.

This book will serve a beginner but it's best in the hands of an advanced amateur, someone who can "wing it" and create animated titles or flip-books in AfterFX, who can draw and animate vector shapes in Flash, who can even author a DVD without burning coasters. But to go from "winging it" to "skillful" you'll have to be proficient with +all+ the tools that are available. You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of each program and establish an efficient work flow. You should know what to expect from the various file types you'll encounter, when and how best to transcode your video assets and which program is better suited for a particular aspect of your project. To accomplish this takes time and practice. With experience you'll know how files behave inside these programs and what advantages each one offers. This is especially important for video files. Codecs and containers all have their idiosyncrasies; some are easier to work with in Flash, some in AfterFX. Knowing how to incorporate Adobe Media Encoder (or Handbrake, QT, Squeeze etc.) is an important part of the work flow. This book is a great shortcut to understanding all of that because it explains and illustrates the process so well.

If you find yourself changing your work flow from one project to the next, or you don't know the best way to render/publish your files, whether for DVD, mobile phone or the cloud, or if you simply suspect there are better, more refined ways to accomplish your goals inside AfterFX (using expressions perhaps?) and Flash (IK? AS?), this book is for you. It will be an invaluable part of the foundation you'll build as you progress in digital content creation.

After completing this book - and especially if you build the projects outlined in it - you'll have a firm grasp of all the tools available inside Flash and AfterFX. You'll be able to create Flash-based games and vector animations that are interactive; you'll know how to composite and "sync" videos you create so that music and narration happens when you want it to. You'll understand the core concepts of video including aspect ratio, resolution, square and non-square pixels, progressive vs interlaced frames and much more.

My only regret is that I didn't buy this book sooner.