After Effects in Production: A Companion for Creating Motion Graphics [With DVD]

by Trish Meyer and Chris Meyer

Book Overview

Take your After Effects skills to a new level Twelve step-by-step tutorials, designed by industry professionals, explore a variety of creative approaches as they teach useful design concepts and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578202647
• ISBN13: 9781578202645
• Release Date: December 2004
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 3.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

What a Way To Learn!

I have been studying computer Graphics and editing for years with books, CD's, tapes and professional classes and within minutes of working with The Myers' "After Effects In Production" I knew I had stumbled upon a true find! I have not even completed the book and felt compelled to write this. The organization of their tutorials both logically and graphically are without peer. I have spent literally hundreds of dollars on video tapes and there is a method to their teaching style that is so much more powerful and intuitive that I found myself not only picking up important tips, but more importantly retaining them through repitition. The included CD comes with terrific extras and great articles that will truly advance your overall understanding of Motion Graphics. I am confidant that my expertise as an After Effects Artist will be beyond my wildest dreams by the time I finish their book. You must buy this book if you want to let your creative juices really go wild.

Please keep writing books

When a new upgrade for a program comes out, most computer graphic authors just update their old book. Not these guys. This is a completely new book, that is everything that their old book wasn't. 'Creating Motion Graphics' was a thorough textbook for all the main features of the program. This book takes a different approach, offering 12 varied tutorials that help the reader master managing and problem-solving a project as well as learning version 5's new features.Version 5 features are covered very well. The examples of parenting and 3D and expressions are good pratical real world examples, not just -this how you can warp someones face digitally- like some authors do. There's also a case studies section at the back that focuses on projects from other graphic companies, which is great also. I particularly enjoyed the lesson on using After Effects to export a Flash Animation.If you don't have 'Creating Motion Graphics', I'd recommend that first, as all of its teachings are still valid (just no v5 features are covered). This book assumes a certain amount of experience, so if you're a beginner, classroom in a book would be more suitable.

Great follow up to their first book

As someone who teaches media, I have many of the books on AE out there and this is by far the most useful because it goes beyond the basics of the "how to use the program" while being detailed enought that those fairly new to the program, and the new features, can easily follow along. The case studies are especially useful as they detail the production process from concept to completion with suggestions on how to use these ideas in your own work. The tutorials and case studies are also for the most part very practical, make you realize just how powerful AE really is and the creative ways that others have used it (and helps me get out of some of my own creative stiffling ruts). Some books and videos show you how something works and what a slider does but you have no idea how you would ever actually use it in a real world production. Also, the book and CD are well laid out and the CD has some extra plugins, templates and additional articles.Got me excited about AE all over again!

Chris and Trish Meyer have done it again!

This book is absolutely wonderful. The tutorials are beautifully crafted and the case studies are extremely enlightening. There is a lot of good stuff in this book! The tutorials are somewhat complex (which is a good thing) but very easy to follow. Beginners might want to start with their previous book - Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects - because the new one assumes you at least know your way around the program. It would be impossible for even an intemediate/advanced user to go through this book without learning a LOT of new stuff.There is a lot to be impressed with here. Not only do you get to dive into some complex animations but the authors constantly point out little details to improve the look of the piece and its synchronization with audio. You come away with a feeling that you have not only learned a lot about the mechanics of creating a complicated piece but also something about the artistic side of motion graphics design as well.In addition, the CD (as with their previous book) is a treasure trove of goodies, including bonus tutorials and free plugins.One can only hope that this is the begining of a series of books like this...