After Effects 5.5 Magic

In the right hands, After Effects can be a creatively enabling motion design tool. With After Effects 5.5 Magic, you can leverage its capabilities. Written by motion graphics experts, who have themselves transitioned from other fields, this book provides the kind of first-hand advice and practiced techniques that can improve your efficiency and help you hone your skills. Divided into practical, visual tutorials written and illustrated by experts in various areas of motion graphics, this book takes you through various techniques while providing you with expert tips. After Effects 5.5 Magic can be used in conjunction with the Standard Edition or more advanced Production Bundle. Growing numbers of digital media artists are attempting to learn techniques practiced by professional studios. In this innovative book, motion design professionals share their expertise on such methods.

Table of Contents

Introduction.
1. Cel-Style Animation Tricks.
2. Algorithmic Video Distortion.
3. SWF Export from After Effects.
4. Green-Screen Compositing and Other Keying Techniques.
5. Adding a Realistic Touch to a Composite.
6. Animating Layers from Photoshop and Illustrator.
7. Logo Animation with 3D.
8. 3D Images and 3D Layers.
9. Building Virtual Sets.
10. Motion Graphics-The Next Level.
11. 3D Match Moves Using 2D Tracking.
12. Elementary Expressions.
13. Using Arrays, Math, and Loops in Expressions.
14. Randomization with Expressions.
15. Animating Without Keyframes.
16. How to Draw with Spirograph!
17. Synchronizing Motion with Audio.
Appendix A. What's on the CD.
Index.

Appendixes on the CD-ROM.

Appendix B. The Digital Motion Design Studio.
Appendix C. The NTSC DV Video Standard and QuickTime.
Appendix D. Expressions Explained.
Appendix E. Difference Mattes.
Appendix F. No Budget? Build a Do-It-Yourself Green Screen!