Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book (2017 release): (Classroom in a Book)

Creative professionals seeking the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive way to learn Adobe After Effects CC (2017 release) choose Adobe After Effects CC Classroom in a Book (2017 release) from Adobe Press. The 14 project-based lessons in this book show users step-by-step the key techniques for working in After Effects. Learn how to create, manipulate, and optimize motion graphics for film, video, DVD, the web, and mobile devices. Gain hands-on experience animating text and images, customizing a wide range of effects, tracking and syncing content, rotoscoping, and correcting color. Learn to create 3D content with both After Effects and Maxon Cinema 4D Lite (included with the software).   The online companion files include all the necessary assets for readers to complete the projects featured in each chapter as well as ebook updates when Adobe releases new features for Creative Cloud customers. All buyers of the book get full access to the Web Edition: a Web-based version of the complete ebook enhanced with video and interactive multiple-choice quizzes. As always with the Classroom in a Book, Instructor Notes are available for teachers to download.

Table of Contents:
Getting Started                                                                                                                                 About Classroom in a Book Prerequisites Installing After Effects and Bridge Optimizing performance Restoring default preferences Online content How to use these lessons Additional resources Adobe Authorized Training Centers 1       Getting to Know the Workflow                                                                                   About the After Effects work area Getting started Creating a project and importing footage Creating a composition and arranging layers About layers Adding effects and modifying layer properties Animating the composition About the Tools panel About timecode and duration About the Timeline panel Previewing your work Optimizing performance in After Effects Rendering and exporting your composition Customizing workspaces Controlling the brightness of the user interface Finding resources for using After Effects Review questions and answers 2       Creating a Basic Animation Using Effects and Presets                                 Getting started Importing footage using Adobe Bridge Creating a new composition Working with imported Illustrator layers Applying effects to a layer Applying and controlling effects Applying an animation preset Previewing the effects Adding transparency Rendering the composition Review questions and answers 3       Animating Text                                                                                                                          Getting started About text layers Installing a font using Typekit Creating and formatting point text Using a text animation preset Animating with scale keyframes Animating using parenting About parent and child layers Animating imported Photoshop text Animating type tracking Animating text opacity Using a text animator group About text animator groups Animating a layer’s position Timing layer animations Adding motion blur Review questions and answers 4       Working with Shape Layers                                                                                              Getting started Adding a shape layer Creating custom shapes Duplicating shapes Duplicating and modifying a composition Positioning layers with snapping Adding compositions to a 3D project Adding the finishing touches Extra credit Review questions and answers 5       Animating a Multimedia Presentation                                                                   Getting started Using Creative Cloud Libraries in After Effects Adjusting anchor points Parenting layers Precomposing layers Keyframing a motion path Animating additional elements Applying an effect About solid-color layers Animating precomposed layers Animating the background Adding an audio track Supported audio file formats Editing audio files in Adobe Audition Review questions and answers 6       Animating Layers                                                                                                                     Getting started Preparing layered Photoshop files About Photoshop layer styles Simulating lighting changes Duplicating an animation using the pick whip About expressions Animating movement in the scenery Adjusting the layers and creating a track matte About track mattes and traveling mattes Animating the shadows Adding a lens flare effect Adding a video animation Rendering the animation Retiming the composition Review questions and answers 7       Working with Masks                                                                                                             About masks Getting started Creating a mask with the Pen tool Editing a mask About mask modes Creating a Bezier mask Feathering the edges of a mask Replacing the content of the mask Zooming and panning by touch Adding a reflection Creating a vignette Using the Rectangle and Ellipse tools Adjusting the timing Tips for creating masks Trimming the work area Review questions and answers 8       Distorting Objects with the Puppet Tools                                                             Getting started About the Puppet tools Adding Deform pins Defining areas of overlap Stiffening an area Animating pin positions Squash and stretch Recording animation Act it out with Adobe Character Animator Review questions and answers   9       Using the Roto Brush Tool                                                                                                About rotoscoping Getting started Creating a segmentation boundary Using Adobe Premiere Pro with After Effects Fine-tuning the matte Refine Soft Matte and Refine Hard Matte effects Freezing your Roto Brush tool results Changing the background Adding animated text Outputting your project Extra credit Review questions and answers 10    Performing Color Correction                                                                                       Getting started Previewing your project on a video monitor Adjusting color balance with levels Adjusting color balance with Color Finesse 3 Replacing the background Color-correcting using Auto Levels Motion tracking the clouds Replacing the sky in the second clip Color grading Extra Credit Review questions and answers 11    Using 3D Features                                                                                                                    Getting started Creating 3D text Using 3D views Importing a background Adding 3D lights Adding a camera Extruding text in After Effects Working with Cinema 4D Lite Integrating the C4D layer in After Effects Finishing the project Review questions and answers 12    Working with the 3D Camera Tracker                                                                       About the 3D Camera Tracker effect Getting started Repairing rolling shutter distortions Tracking the footage Creating a ground plane, a camera, and the initial text Creating realistic shadows Adding ambient light Creating additional text elements Locking a layer to a plane with a null object Animating the text Adjusting the camera’s depth of field Rendering the composition Review questions and answers 13    Advanced Editing Techniques                                                                                         Getting started Using Warp Stabilizer VFX Bicubic scaling Warp Stabilizer VFX settings Using single-point motion tracking Checking for drift Moving and resizing the track points Using multipoint tracking mocha for After Effects Creating a particle simulation Understanding Particle Systems II properties About high dynamic range (HDR) footage Review questions and answers   14    Rendering and Outputting                                                                                                Getting started Creating templates for the Render Queue About compression Exporting using the Render Queue Preparing movies for mobile devices Rendering movies with Adobe Media Encoder Preparing a movie for broadcast output Review questions and answers   Appendix: General keyboard shortcuts                                                                              

About the Author :
Lisa Fridsma has long loved the process of teaching others to use Adobe products. She has written, edited, and designed over thirty books in the Classroom in a Book series over the last decade and a half (including books on Photoshop and After Effects), going back to her time on-staff at Adobe. She’s currently the owner of Darlington Hill Productions (Informational illustrations and publishing). Lisa lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with her family and two above-average dogs.   Brie Gyncild aims to make technical information accessible to those who need it. Brie wrote The Photoshop CS5 Pocket Guide and The Photoshop Elements 8 Pocket Guide. She has also co-written The Photoshop Show Starring Russell Brown; numerous editions of the Classroom in a Book series on Photoshop, After Effects, Flash, and Acrobat; and several editions of the How to Wow series. Brie lives in Seattle with two cats and an overgrown garden.