After Effects 6.5 for Windows and Macintosh

Tough motion-graphics and effects production challenges require bold solutions, and Adobe's completely overhauled After Effects 6.0 ($699, Standard Edition; $999, Professional Edition) has a bushel of them! Here to get you up to speed on it--perhaps in time to meet your next deadline!--is everyone's favorite task-based guide. Employing the same concise instructions and visual approach as Peachpit's popular Visual QuickStart Guides but geared toward more advanced users, this Visual QuickPro Guide covers all the improvements that make this version of Adobe's motion-graphics and effects program such a boon to video pros of all stripes: a revolutionary text engine, support for OpenGL (which greatly accelerates 2D and 3D graphics rendering), new vector paint tools (which allow painting on layers), a faster and more accurate motion tracker, advanced keying tools, and more. Through step-by-step instructions, enhanced by plenty of tips and sidebars, veteran video editor Antony Bolante will have you effectively and efficiently importing and managing footage, viewing and editing layers, applying effects, animating type, and more in no time.

1. The Big Picture.


2. Importing Footage into a Project.


3. Managing Footage.


4. Compositions.


5. Layer Basics.


6. Layer Editing.


7. Properties and Keyframes.


8. Playback, Previews, and RAM.


9. Mask Essentials.


10. Effects Fundamentals.


11. Standard Effects in Action.


12. Creating and Animating Text.


13. Painting on a Layer.


14. 12 More Layer techniques.


15. 13 Keyframe Interpolation.


16. 14 3D Layers.


17. 15 Complex Projects.


18. 17 Output.

• NEW - Updated for After Effect 6—More features, speedier performance, and tighter integration with Adobe's other Video Collection apps (including Premiere Pro, Encore DVD, and Audition).

• Companion CD-ROM—Contains After Effects project files.

• Task-based information is broken down into concise, one and two-page tasks.

• Step-by-Step with numbered, easy-to-follow instructions.

• Visual Reference—Plenty of screen shots illustrate the step-by-step instructions.

• Quick Reference Tabs—Tabs on each page identify the task.

• Shaded sidebars and tips.

• Industry-leading authors.

Antony Bolante is a Bay Area video editor and designer who has taught video editing to graduate and undergraduate students using Avid Media Composer, Media 100, and Premiere. He has contributed to Adobe documentation and is also the author of Premiere Pro for Windows XP: Visual QuickPro Guide.

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