Customer Reviews

Apple Pro Training Series: Motion 3

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I picked up Final Cut Studio 2 I have to say I really wanted it for Final Cut Pro. That is until I saw the power Motion 3 has! Being a longtime After Effects user I was hesitant to get into Motion 3. I'm glad I did. Motion 3 is extremely powerful.

When I looked for the best training option I chose Apple Pro Training Series: Motion 3 by Damian Allen, Mark Spencer, Bryce Button. I have been an avid fan of Mark Spencer's since I first saw him on MacBreak. I plan on getting Apple Certified in Motion and this book will take me there. It's well written, has real world examples in the lessons, and hits every aspect you need to know to be proficient in Motion 3.

This book has some really practical examples and tutorials. It's written in a direct way which makes it easier to follow and understand all the steps since English is not my first language and is really pleasing to read through this manual, and be able to easily accomplish the goals. Really helpful, regardless of your previous experience with the program, and worth recommending.

The tutorials are easy to follow and well put together. They keep repeating the shortcuts which is very helpful. I give the author and content 5 stars.

The binding is awful. After one week it came apart and just now, it broke in another place. I haven't been any rougher on this book than I am on the hundreds of others that I own. I need to get some glue and put it back together. This binding brings down the rating.

I struggled with whether to give this a 2 or 3 star rating...

Motion is a big beast with lots of complexity and I wasn't expecting for an introductory book to give me a complete view. This book did do a good job of surveying Motion. The examples/samples are generally pretty interesting.

However, I have similar comments to the other reviewers here...

1. The binding is bad. I am very careful with my books. I went through the book once and on opening it within a few days to refer to a section, the back half detached from the cover.

2. There are many errors in the book. When this happened, I would assume I had missed something and would then go back, restart the example and carefully follow ALL of the instructions. The bulk of the time, the error was in missing steps or in reversed steps. I think I remember a good half a dozen errors like this. (To the authors' credit, they have put in some helpful tips like 'if BLAH happens, remember to do BLAH' or 'don't forget to BLAH'.)

The other PeachPit Press Apple Pro Training books that I have gone through are very good - excellent really. When I got through those, I really felt prepared and able to use the tool. This one does not live up to those standards - book physical quality and proof reading and preparation for use of the tool. Again, beyond those issues, I would have liked a more detailed book giving me a deeper understanding to Motion but I understand the difficulty of that.

The book works acceptably as a survey of the tool, just don't get too frustrated by the errors.

I've been using Motion since it came out several years ago and I've only used it sparingly. When Motion 3 was released I decided to really jump into it. Then I realized how little I understood the software, or the 3D world. I searched the internet for a book that would give me the most bang for my buck and decided on the Apple Pro Training Series. This book comes with plenty of color screen captures which gave me a visual reference relating to the software. Lesson reviews after each chapter to remind me what I just learned, and plenty of quick tips embedded within the chapters. Also included with the book is a DVD that includes the clips that accompany the lessons, starting with the first chapter "A Taste of Motion" to the last "Adding Audio Tracks." This book taught me how to do the stunning visuals that my clients want to see.

This is a great book for anyone that wants to learn how to use Motion. I don't have any complaints. There are 14 ch.'s that cover every aspect of the program. After going through the chapters it's amazing what you can create from scratch in a matter of minutes or even seconds! I don't think Motion will be taking over After Effects but it can do some things better and faster than After Effects can.

I recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn an excellent motion graphics program!

Now that Motion has 3D and doesn't crash, I thought, what the heck, I'll learn it. This book is great. Motion is a much deeper graphics app than I ever gave it credit for. I used to look at it as a big plug-in with some nifty effects. This book changed that thinking. It got me to stop tinkering with the program and really use it in production. I tend to loath step by step tutorials, but this book uses them well and does not forget to teach a broad understanding of the topics. So, no, it's not at all like following a recipe, it definitely teaches, reinforces (they do a great job repeating short cut keys) and leaves me feeling like a super power user wizard. Chapters are concise, projects are real world (sorry no flying saucer tutorials in this one) and its one of the few training books that I actually read cover to cover. Kudos and thanks to the writers!

Apple Motion 3.0 is a true 3-D compositing masterpiece. It may not overtake Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional [Mac] or Apple Shake 4.1 Visual Effects (Mac) yet, but with a refined yet straightforward interface it is possible to do amazing things. But how can you learn to use it? Enter Apple Pro Training Series: Motion 3.0. This book starts from scratch, yet by the end (if you really study) your ready to take the Apple Certified User test for Motion. This looks great on a resumé.

Seriously, you can really learn to do compositing with this training book. If you are creative enough you can do most everything that After Effects can do, and once you get really good, pick up After Effects or Shake and really go crazy.

If you have ever read an Apple Pro Training book, you know that each chapter is a complete lesson. Just put a bookmark in it and come back when you get off work. Even if you get lost, most lessons have updated project file available mid-way through to pick up where you left off.

If you own Motion, or want to learn compositing you are required to get this book. Just go ahead and buy it, you will not be disappointed.

Apple Pro Training Series: Motion 3 book is a solid foundation into the introduction of the use of the Apple Motion software package version 3. It is well written, is easy to follow and well laid out as well.

It covers the GUI, the use of adding effects, time-remapping, baking clips out of motion, basic use of the replicator, basic use of the particle emissions. As well as going from Final cut pro to motion and out to dvd studio pro. Other topics include match moving and keying and audio effects.

Overall, its a solid book and well worth the money giving the user enough knowledge and confidence to further explore the software without guidance.

My personal quibbles:

3/4 of the projects work a lot with dvd design and I see that the last thing I would use motion for. Would have liked to see a more broadcast approach to all the projects.

The replicator and particle emissions and the paint tool deserved detailed use of there applications in an appendix to the book. They are perhaps the most useful tools that motion has to offer.

The Optical flow example (time-remapping) did not work well in the book example it looked like a displacement effect added to the work. It looked worse than the frame blending workflow.

this book is very good. the explanation is very clear. nothing beats this book. just follow the tutorials and by the end of this book you will excel at motion. easy step by step system will not only teach you basics of motion but you will pick up shortcuts on the way naturally. quickly become comfortable with motion as if you were using it for years.