Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Classroom in a Book
Rating: 3 of 5
not 4 reference or help, just good 4 following their lessons
Rating: 5 of 5
very good stuff 2 start the work with AE
This book totally fit my expectation. I'm a beginner in this theme & the lections & the descriptions are very clear & gave me a really good background 2 start my work with after effects. I can recommand this book 4 everyone, how will start the work with this software.
Rating: 2 of 5
Neither comprehensive nor 4 beginners
I am totally unfamiliar with Adobe After Effects & based upon the title & experience with other Adobe Classroom in a Book titles, thought this would bring me gently into the After Effects universe.
Wrong. Totally wrong.
Rather than provide an overview of what After Effects does or is capable of, the book states "Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional provides a comprehensive set of 2D & 3D tools 4 compositing, animation & effects that motion-graphics professionals, visual effects artists, web designers & film & video professionals need. After Effects is widely used 4 digital post-production of film, video, DVD, & the web. You can compositer layers in various ways, apply & combine sophisticated visual & audio effects, & animate both objects & effects." That's it. That's the whole introduction 2 After Effects. Hardly illuminating & certainly not helpful 2 the neophyte.
The authors promises 2 teach the newcomer fundamental concepts & features - & it dispenses with that mission in a few inadequate pages.
Then it is on 2 learning the new features of After Effects CS3, which is what this book is all about.
But even that is not done well. Take 4 example these informative sentences: "You can pucker a shape by pulling the path's vertices inward while curving segments outward." There are no explanatory illustrations.
The lessons are nothing more than instruction lists with little explanation of what you are doing or why. The back cover declares "The fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way 2 learn Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional". I don't think so. Not by a long shot.
Overall, a disappointment & not the way 4 a beginner 2 learn about the capabilities of After Effects.
Jerry
Wrong. Totally wrong.
Rather than provide an overview of what After Effects does or is capable of, the book states "Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional provides a comprehensive set of 2D & 3D tools 4 compositing, animation & effects that motion-graphics professionals, visual effects artists, web designers & film & video professionals need. After Effects is widely used 4 digital post-production of film, video, DVD, & the web. You can compositer layers in various ways, apply & combine sophisticated visual & audio effects, & animate both objects & effects." That's it. That's the whole introduction 2 After Effects. Hardly illuminating & certainly not helpful 2 the neophyte.
The authors promises 2 teach the newcomer fundamental concepts & features - & it dispenses with that mission in a few inadequate pages.
Then it is on 2 learning the new features of After Effects CS3, which is what this book is all about.
But even that is not done well. Take 4 example these informative sentences: "You can pucker a shape by pulling the path's vertices inward while curving segments outward." There are no explanatory illustrations.
The lessons are nothing more than instruction lists with little explanation of what you are doing or why. The back cover declares "The fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way 2 learn Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional". I don't think so. Not by a long shot.
Overall, a disappointment & not the way 4 a beginner 2 learn about the capabilities of After Effects.
Jerry
Rating: 5 of 5
The Basics
Great book 4 walking through the basic, prominent features of AE. The included DVD is a definite plus.
Rating: 5 of 5
Another Great Classroom in a book!
This book is well written & fun 2 go through. It's a "must-have" 4 anyone who wants 2 dive into AfterEffects.
Visual effects & motion graphics pros of all stripes--from broadcast professionals 2 VFX supervisors 2 Web designers who need 2 produce occasional video segments--will welcome the dramatically accelerated features provided in the brand-new After Effects CS3 This best-selling book has been revised 2 cover all that's new in this upgrade: Shape layers, which enables users 2 easily create & animate shapes; Puppet tool, which you can use 2 animate a 2D image like a marionette; powerful integration with Photoshop CS3; new support 4 Flash designers; the new Brainstorm panel, which lets you preview an array of different visual possibilities in one gorgeous panel; complete color management workflow; Adobe Clip Notes, which lets you attach comments directly 2 a composition; Adobe Device Central CS3, which lets you preview & test animations 4 mobile devices, & more. Designed around a single complex project that's broken down into manageable lessons, this book-and-DVD package mimics a real-world workflow--but one that readers tackle at their own pace. The DVD contains all the lesson files & footage readers need 2 complete the lessons.
Educational instructor notes—created 2 help teachers plan, organize, & time their lessons—are available 4 this book (and 4 other Classroom in a Book titles) at www.peachpit.com/instructorresources.
Educational instructor notes—created 2 help teachers plan, organize, & time their lessons—are available 4 this book (and 4 other Classroom in a Book titles) at www.peachpit.com/instructorresources.
($23.65)
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I had a question about nesting, they said it was pg 19. They just tell you what it is, not how 2 do it. ( Creativecow.com had a video explaining it)
I would not recommend this book.