CONTENTS
1 GETTING TO KNOW THE WORKFLOW
Creating a project and importing footage
Creating a composition and arranging layers
Adding effects and modifying layer properties
Optimizing performance in After Effects
Rendering and exporting your composition
Controlling the brightness of the user interface
Finding resources for using After Effects
2 CREATING A BASIC ANIMATION USING EFFECTS AND PRESETS
Importing footage using Adobe Bridge
Working with imported Illustrator layers
Creating and formatting point text
Animating with scale keyframes
Animating imported Photoshop text
Animating text using a path animation preset
Cleaning up the path animation
Animating a nontext layer along a motion path
Incorporating video and audio layers
Using Brainstorm to experiment
5 ANIMATING A MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION
Animating the scenery using parenting
Masking video using vector shapes
Creating an animated slide show
Zooming in for a final close-up
Duplicating an animation using the pick whip
Animating movement in the scenery
Adjusting the layers and creating a track matte
Creating a mask with the Pen tool
Feathering the edges of a mask
Replacing the content of the mask
8 DISTORTING OBJECTS WITH THE PUPPET TOOLS
Warming colors with the Photo Filter effect
Creating a backdrop for 3D animation
Adding reflections to 3D objects
Previewing the entire animation
12 WORKING WITH THE 3D CAMERA TRACKER
About the 3D Camera Tracker effect
Creating a camera and the initial text
Creating additional text elements
Locking a layer to a plane with a null object
Adjusting the camera’s depth of field
13 ADVANCED EDITING TECHNIQUES
Using single-point motion tracking
Creating a particle simulation
Retiming playback using the Timewarp effect
Creating templates for the rendering process
Creating templates for output modules