Customer Reviews
Apprentice to Alchemy 
2008-07-30
With Rich Media leading the wave in Internet development these days, how's a busy Web Designer supposed to keep up ? Well, if you want to add After Effects to your toolbox, reading this book by Chris and Trish Meyer is a great 'ramp up' .
At WebForU2 we focus on small business and giving our clients an edge. A smarter, friendlier Website, that comes alive is critical.
The 'Apprentice' After Effects Apprentice (DV Expert Series)takes you through the basics of AE but it has a wonderful blend of practical, illustrative exercises that highlight the lesson's focus while leading you into the next. Products like AE are notorious for having so many bells and whistles, infinite possibilities yet lot's of things can be missing when your results aren't just right. Chris and Trish point out all the 'gothchas' creating close up views of the 'exact' steps and detail, the 'holding your mouth right' subtleties that make the difference in adding the new step or effect successfully.
Perhaps the icing on this cake is their genuine enthusiasm for the product and the practice. They have been using After Effects since it first appeared in 1993 and give testimony to how After Effects (and others products like it) have brought Hollywood within the reach of the personal computer creating a new culture of Artists and creativity.
Rock On !
Solid Book For AE Users! 2008-07-18
This book and media, After Effects Apprentice, was a great introduction to Adobe After Effects CS3. The tutorials were well thought out and taught solid AE skills.
Highly recommended!
Good and fast delivery 2008-07-17
I received this product pretty quickly and it was in very good condition!
Seller, keep up you good service! you got a 5 star from me!
Excellent! 2008-07-07
Clear, methodical approach to training on this difficult application. I highly recommend the book! And--there's some video gems on the DVD too!
Fantastic Learning Tool 2008-06-02
A hands on approach to learning Adobe After Effects software. An excellent choice for anyone who wants to jump right into After Effects and for those of us who learn the best by examples and using the software right away.
Fantastic beginner's guide! 2008-04-23
If youre new to After Effects and want to get up to speed quickly, After Effects Apprentice was created just for you. With 11 core lessons plus a fun final project, youll quickly get into the program and learn how to tap its potential whether you want to create motion graphics for a network program, your companys video, or your own independent production.
In this book, youll get a professional perspective on the most important features a motion graphics artist needs to learn to use this program effectively. Youll learn to creatively edit and combine layers, animate eye-catching titles, replace a screen on a computer monitor, place a studio shot in anew environment, manipulate 3D space, and use effects to generate excitement or enhance the realism of a scene. Easy to follow step-by-step instructions take you through each technique, including projects that encourage you to express it in your own way. Youll learn more than just the tools; youll learn skills that you can immediately put to work in your own projects.
Topics include how to:
* Animate, layer, and composite images and text.
* Manipulate keyframes to create more refined animations.
* Use masks, mattes, stencils and modes to add depth.
* Manage layers to make them easier to coordinate.
* Add 3D to your animations.
* Use tracking and keying to create special effects.
* Includes new CS3 features; Shape layers, the Puppet tool, Brainstorm, and Per-Character 3D Text.
DVD contains: All exercise source material and projects in AE7 and CS3, video guided tours, and movies of the finished projects.
* Full color presentation of professional workflows
* Core motion graphic techniques in 12 engaging lessons
* Companion DVD features QuickTime movies and lesson media
Indispensable reference 2008-04-20
For anyone wanting to learn professional After Effects techniques, starting from scratch, this book is the one book I would recommend. Should be required reading for any motion graphics artist.
I also recommend ALL the other books by Chris and Trish Meyer.
Written in an engaging and readable style, the book nonetheless documents all the important functions of Adobe After Effects up to and including CS3, as well as including some secrets that are not easily discovered from reading the manual.
Some of the tips, individually, are worth the price of the book.
A genuine bargain, interesting presentation, and contains tips and details you may not find elsewhere.
Good for beginner, to high-intermediate level after effects users.
Includes information on incorporating the rest of Adobe's Creative Suite products into the workflow.
Great Book For Beginners and Novice Users of AE 2008-04-05
I bought this book because it was a required text for my After Effects class in junior college. This book is geared more towards beginner and intermediate users of After Effects CS3 and is written by Chris and Trish Meyer who have written many other books on After Effects and are two of the best motion graphics artists around. So if you're looking for an organized book to learn the ins and outs of After Effects then I would definately give this book a try.
adobe after effect cs3 
2008-04-04
clear explanation and good instruction. However, too many hints diverse readers from what they are reading.
They did it again 2008-03-31
I have read several of the Meyer's books and they are excellent on the subject matter. If you have a desire to learn Adobe After Effects, start here and then move on to one of their books on motion graphics. Trust me, this book is more than worth the money.
