Customer Reviews

After Effects On the Spot: Time-Saving Tips and Shortcuts from the Pros

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been using After Effects since version 2, which is probably the last time I picked up the manual. Unfortunately Jean-Jacques Rousseau's quote suits me perfectly: "Men will always prefer a worse way of knowing to a better way of learning." Skimming this book pointed out shortcuts and reminded me how to use features I tiptoe around. It filled in my After Effects knowledge painlessly. This veteran finds it handy.

What a little treasure this is! TONS of great tips and tricks. The B&W pages and lack of DVD-ROM keep the price right! Easy to pick up and absorb when you have a few spare minutes (great for bathroom reading), and keep it handy by your workstation for a bit of reading during renders. Some of the tips I knew, but had forgotten and fell out of using, others were new to me! Great value!

This book is a gem for After Effects users. After Effects' features go so deep no one can remember every shortcut, filter or technique! That's where this book comes in. Keep it in your suite, it is a quick reference guide to almost every helpful bit of information you'd need. Some tips are simple, some take you deeper into filters you didn't know had greater depth. From navigating the interface to optimizing your render que. This book will improve the look of your work and the speed at which you do it! Did you know After Effects can call your cell phone when a render is done? It's in there! A must for any compositing or graphics suite.

This book is a great help I found other after effects books overwhelming but this one is really helpful and gives information in a really simple way.

After reading other books on how to use After Effects, this is the only book I found that gave really great how-to tips and tricks that I can easily apply to future projects. I didn't have time to read another huge manual, but flipping through chapters in this book was a breeze. I highly recommend this to anyone using After Effects, whether you are a novice user or a pro, everyone can benefit!

As an After Effects instructor I'm always on the look-out for new tips and techniques. While this book provides information on some of the new features found in After Effects 6.5, there is little here that can't be culled from online sources and the product manuals. This book may be good for beginners but offers little for the Intermediate or Advanced user of the software. The authors need a proof reader, there are many typo's and ommisions, in fact the instructions in some sections are just plain incorrect. Screen shots are blurry and indecipherable, the production values are poor, looks like it was printed on a 300dpi laser. If you're looking for great After Effects training you can't go wrong with Trish and Chris Meyer's books.

There are lots of excellent books for new users getting into AE. Take a look ay books by Taylor and Harlan for example. This book is targeted for Intermediate to Advanced users looking to take their skills and speed up a notch. The negative review is unwarranted.

Click on the Search Inside the Book button and you will see the Table of Contents, the back cover, and a chapter excerpt. The title says it all "Time-Saving Tips and Shortcuts from the Pros." If you look at the sample pages and index, you discover that this book is DEFINITELY for the intermediate to Advanced user. Don't knock the book becuase you clicked buy before looking at it.

Its not the publishers fault that the book is above your level. Put it on the shelf, pick up the AE classroom in a book, Angie Taylor's, Rod Harlan's, or the Meyer's volume 1 as a place to start. No matter what your level, this book will make you faster and showcases several techniques that all levels of users can enjoy. But tips and shortcuts do not take a beginner into the land of being a full fledged user.

AE is a great program... stick to it and you'll be rewarded!

These On The Spot books are great!
What a great little reference.
Organized and well thought out.
I use so many different software packages that it's almost impossible to keep it all in my head. I mostly use Final Cut Pro but there are times when I do need to switch over to AE. Thank God for this book other wise I'd be spending hours trying to dig through internet sites and specialized how 2 to find the feature that I need.
This book gives me the information I need in a fast easy to find format so that I can concentrate on being creative rather than finding the menu option.

I bought this book and keep it by the computer for ready reference. The best use is that when I finish working on a film and get back to After Effects that I can scan the highlights to refresh my brain and get back to work. Using little tabs with notes is also extremely helpful in making a great book even more accessible. There aren't really chapters but successive hints with succinct explanations. Very practical and easy.

I do not care for this book at all. I didn't find any of the tips and shortcuts to be for anything I use after effects for (special effects). I don't have an answer as to what book I will purchase next, but save a tree and pass this one by.