Adobe After Effects 6.5 Studio Techniques [With DVD]

Practical is without doubt the best way to describe 'Studio Techniques.' Christiansen has written a book filled with very practical and powerful advice that is sure to delight. Learning to create effects is fundamentally all about two things: 1) Learning to think like a visual effects artist and 2) Learning to think like After Effects Christiansen does a superb job of melding these two together. His examples, while very useful for their specific results alone, are perhaps more useful in learning how to approach problems and solve them in the After Effects paradigm. As an added bonus, 'Studio Techniques' is also riddled with very useful tips and notes that provide additional creative insight and warnings on oddities that occur, their cause, and how to solve them.

Excellent book! Good quality examples and excellent instruction for those who are looking for a slightly more advanced book and don't want to read 1/2 book on the interface. The author really knows his stuff and it's evident in the text. There are lost of useful things on the DVD too

This is the only book I've come across that is really pushing me beyond the basics of AE and I know I will be referencing it for years to come. Rather than offering specific tutorials, it addresses the fundimentals of what a good comp is and offers techniques that I readily use every day on my current indie feature "Ocatilla Flat". I originally picked up Studio Techniques for 6.5 and was uncertain if it would be worthwhile buying this edition for 7.0, but this current version is one of the best investment I've ever made in respect to my education in AE.

Do you want to know how to create visual effects in detail?Then buy this excellent book that demistifies the realm of visual effects,this book is full of magic (isn't that what you'll want to be "a visual effects magician?") Section I "Working foundations" reviews fundamentals of AE ,from page 4 till 133 he revisited the effects toolset,the timeline,selections(the key to compositing)and in chapter four(page115)"Optimizing the pipeline"the author examines the flow of data trough AE in specific detail;understanding how to use multiple compositions,knowing when to pre-compose and optimizing the rendering time;this is a great chapter while he explains you the workflow of your project(s) and time saving techniques to organize multiple compositions. At the end of section I you'll be able to wring the most out of AE and continue in Section II with "Effects Compositing Essentials"(page 137-353)Color and light:adjusting and matching,color keying,rotoscoping and paint,effective motion tracking,virtual cinematography,expressions and issues specific to film and HDR images(chapter wrote by Brendan Bolles). After this section(where you learned all the stuff and tips and tricks) jump to the final "Creative explorations"(page 375-497) and meet the "real world"where you apply all the techniques you learned in the 371 previous pages. Work with light and then create natural elements: replacement skies,mist,fog,smoke,effects of wind and water; create fire effects and explosions,sci-fi weaponry a.s.o(all believable footage!)In the final chapter wrote by Stu Maschwitz)"Learning to See" he focuses on some techniques for honing your eye; this means no compositing techniques but "lifestyle techniques" seeing the shot every time as if for the first time and using the left brain to understand what the right brain sees. AE Studio Techniques is an amazing book,extremely well colour illustrated and full of notes and tips in the margin and the author Mark Christiansen, the number-one beta tester for AE6.5 gives you a professional approach from within the program,he knows what a visual effects artist needs and he tells it all to us like a magician who want to deal with his public all his knowledge.Thanks Mark! ps:demo versions of professional tools like AE 6.5 ,Andersson technologies,Red Giant,Artbeats and Trapcode are on the companion cdrom to enhance our work.