With one of the most refreshingly honest forewords I've found in a techinical book yet, Mark Christiansen & Stu Maschwitz have created an After Effects manual which, unlike so many others, DOESN'T focus on motion graphics, but reveals the studio techniques required to use After Effects as a fully fledged, fully capable compositing suite. It is obvious from the getgo that these authors are passionate about their craft, and have a real desire to raise the standards in the visual fx industry, and show just how capable After Effects is without the need to resort to other, ridiculously expensive compositing suites.

So many other books focus on 3D layer and text effects while completely ignoring the problems which visfx artists encounter in real world situations. This book does exactly the opposite, focusing entirely on compositing and related techniques and has proved an invaluable resource. Despite what they authors say about this book not being aimed at After Effects beginners, the sections on pipeline optimisation and camera & optics contain information that I wish I had've been taught when I first started using AE, and as such, even someone with only a very basic understanding of AE should invest in this book.

Adobe After Effects CS3 gives a lot of info that can really help jumpstart your After Effects questions that Have previouslly been unanwered. I've always wanted to get this book,and I'm glad that I've got it now. I recoommend this book to anyone who needs to further their chops with After Effects.

Well laid out and an extensive amount of information.

This book has added greatly yo my knowlage of After Effects.

Paranormalist, Jim Callahan

This really is a great book. I'm an interactive designer, and use it exclusively for web work. Since FLV's are taking over the web, After Effects enables you to build amazing creative that can be used with flash to showcase amazing web pages, ads and anything else you can think of.

Would have given it 5 of 5 stars, but there were areas that I found difficult to understand and some terminology that was confusing. This is a book for intermediate/advanced.

Sorry beginners! Try the Adobe Classroom in a book series, it works great as well.

I bought this book recently. I have a masters degree and am very computer savy.... This is like reading an owner's manuel for the space station that was written in Japanese and then translated 4 times over.... I gave up after chapter 3 and realized that I hadn't learned much, and that the author just pissed me off...

I went out and bought Motion 3 and said "screw After Effects".... Why is it that the program cannot play the most basic 2 minute movie without rendering??? I have a blazing fast computer and have no time to dilly dally with it...

Starting from the very basics this amazing book will teach you every great stuff you need to know in order to make better graphics. I just loved it ! :-)

this is a helpful and very specific book that after learning the basics and intermediate tutorials that are found everywhere on the net, should provide the basis for using after effects for compositing and a plethora of other detailed tasks. it seems there is very little after effects cannot do, though not necessarily conveniently so. The author lays out his case with examples and opinions and has a patient steady hand in doing so.

It's not the authors fault that theres just no 'bullet point' way to do this - its all details, and this book does a great job in trying to 'boil it down' for you.

bottom line - if you want to composite with after effects and go beyond motion graphics - this book will show you how.

A great book for an incredible software tool. I was going to rate 4 out of 5 due to some sections that could be more simple/concise and convey the same message - but realized that would be nit-packing an overall great workbook.

Thanks Mark! Very helpful book indeed, I'll take a long time to digest it. And thanks for being inclusive of PC users in a mac-heavy industry (I'm not cool enough for a fruit-themed workflow).

Cheers.

In spite of the fact that Mark grew up in an orphanage and his Evil Twin looks like a wild man, I like his work a lot! :) This book is a full-on treasure. I buy and read a great many books of this type on several topics, and I tell you, you cannot find a book this good, anywhere. Each chapter is absolutely loaded with exactly the kind of info you need, and the kind that Adobe does not provide. Mark approaches the material from the standpoint of best practices, and that is what you need. In some ways this book might even be better than if you could apprentice under Mark. If you want to be a professional compositor, this is THE book.

Mark's understanding encompasses a full range of possible tools, so if the best way to accomplish a particular task involves a 3rd party plugin, he will tell you. Basically, if you have learned the basics of AE, and you want to learn how professional compositing is done by people who know their trade, this is the book for you. Mark hits nearly all of the important points and addresses numerous issues that actually occur in real effects work. His use of screenshots to illustrate is excellent, but mostly it's his coaching that stands out. He knows what you will run into, he knows what will likely cause you to stumble, and he knows AE better than most professional compositors. Each chapter is precious. I have never read a technical book that I would rank above this one. I don't have a higher rating than what this book earns. I only wish more authors of technical books would come somewhere near this level of quality.

After Effects CS3 Professional Studio Techniques came in the post today from Amazon.com. I've already read it. It's incredible and is blowing my mind. It's for a somewhat more advanced level of After Effects user, but someone who is just getting started should be able to understand it easily. The first couple of chapters explain the interface in great detail. If you're moving from something like Apple Shake, or another compositing program over to AE, this book will certainly help.

The gentleman who wrote it was a compositor on "Pirates of the Carribean" and "The Day After Tomorrow" (God, I love that film) and works for The Orphanage (the same company that developed the Magic Bullet plug-in sold by RedGiant Software [I recommended that plug-in highly]). It has a wealth of info on just about every required standard plug-in in the After Effects interface, and a few that aren't standard. If you've ever wanted to know everything "Levels" does or how to read it's Histogram properly, or if you wanted to know how to draw color curves accurately and properly (something that I've never had the hang of before and I'm sure many of you realize can go devastatingly array), then this is your book!

Probably one of the neatest things is that it explains (in detail) the nature of the transfer modes and exactly what they do, something I'd never really seen done before.

The most important thing in the book is that it explains the 32 Bit HDR and Color Management for CS3. In fact, chapter 11 is completely dedicated to it. It also has a detailed chapter on just motion tracking techniques that is mind numbing! Some of the biggest topics it covers are Color Correction, Color Keying, and (the infamous) Rotoscoping/Paint. It also gives tips on how to speed up AE and how to properly use proxies, pre-renders, nest comps, etc.

I've never read anything that breaks down AE in this great of detail.

Also, it comes with a DVD with a ton of demo plug-ins, project files, and HD footage that covers the topics in the text.

Whether you're new to After Effects or a seasoned pro, you will certainly find something in this book that will make your compositing life a little easier. Highly recommended.

I have read 1/2 of this book straight through and referred to the rest as needed. I was a novice when I began. Now I can make a two-sided Euro fall down, hide blemishes, combine simple footage with gradients to create beautiful animated backgrounds and much more. The pages of this book are lush glossy and full color. Trish and Chris write succinctly and clearly about some very advanced concepts. The extensive sample projects on the DVD are well annotated and bring the concepts to life. A must buy for anyone using After Effects. Just when you are asking yourself...can I do this? They read you mind, and tell you in the next sentence.

Just got it today and it looks great. Weird thing is, its advertised here on Amazon and everywhere else I looked as including a DVD - my copy has no DVD included and I bought it new. Have contacted the seller but as yet no answer. Will update as things change.

Mark's new book is a must have for the independent filmmaker. I was (am) a huge fan of the previous book but this one has taken its place on my work desk. The book is not simply a rehash of the previous book but is a fresh take on needed foundations and advanced techniques to become a power AECS3 user.

The forward, aptly titled "Who Brings the Sex" is written by FX Superstar and founder of The Orphanage Stu Matschwitz. After reading this you are instantly fired up to get going on advanced studio techniques taught by Mark.

If you have the basics of AE down and are ready to inject some Barry Bonds steroids into your AE path GET this book. It will excel you to new heights. the book came at a perfect time as my last one is in tatters from usage! Cheers!

If you are interested in doing visual effects for any level of filmmaking, then you absolutely should have this book. After Effects has been used on everything from the smallest home movie to the biggest blockbuster motion picture, and Mark shows you how to get the absolute most out of the program.

I'm a visual effects artist who has worked on major films ("Sin City", "Evan Almighty", "Night at the Museum", "Golden Compass", etc...), and I work at one of the biggest VFX studios in the world. Alot of people in this industry believe After Effects is used only for motion graphics. That is completely incorrect, and this book will prove to you that After Effects is just as capable as any node-based compositing program, and in some instances even better. I personally have used After Effects on movies like "Austin Powers Goldmember", "Meet the Fockers", "Superbad", and tons more. I can't even begin to imagine how much time I would have saved if I had found this book prior to the last edition.

If you're an intermediate or seasoned AE user, no doubt you will still find amazing tricks and tips in here. I stood in a bookstore perusing the previous edition, telling myself I wasn't going to buy it, but after the 3rd or 4th time saying to myself "Wow, I didn't know you could do that in AE!", I took it to the cashier, bought it, and couldn't wait to get home to my computer to try some of the things out. I wasn't disappointed, and you won't be either.

After Effects CS3 Professional is the book to get if you A) Love yourself and B) want to do visual effects. Now in it's 3rd Edition (AE 6.5, AE7 were the first two editions), this book is the most complete for getting the best out of "compositing," which is what you do when you take 2 elements and layer them together.

Too many books give a page or two to Greenscreen, and then it's just a basic 1 click. Nope. Of all the training material I've taken in (and I've taken in everything in print), this book excels at explaining the process clearly so you can apply it to your own shots.

If you're doing composites now and think they don't look right, or considering adding ANY effect to your movie, or want to work in the field, then GET THIS BOOK ASAP. I would buy this BEFORE I bought After Effects software, so you can understand WHY you're doing what you're doing with After Effects (and why AE is a good answer, though not the absolute only answer given some other compositing apps. It's the principals that matter). Frankly, I had to read a lot of photoshop AND after effects and digital compositing books over 5 years to understand what AECS3 Studio Techniques explains in one volume. This book is the go to resource for visual effects/compositing.

Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional Studio Techniques is a fantastic book. I haven't bought an AE book before but I went after this one because of it's specific focus: visual effects for TV/Film, and it delivers in spades.

Mark goes beyond the basic "how-to", but never goes over the reader's head. There is an assumed experience level, but again, it's still something all levels can gain knowledge from.

I'll update my review after I've delved more into to book, though, for now, I am extremely happy with it. This makes a great companion to Stu Maschwtiz's The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap (Peachpit)