TABLE OF CONTENTS Using After Effects can be both inviting and intimidating at the same time. As you ll come to learn, the program is an empty canvas with many tools, options, and capabilities waiting for you to dabble. Using After Effects right out of the box doesn t require much setup you just need to know how After Effects interacts with your computer and media resources, that and how your project will be used.
In addition, it also helps to clarify a few concepts of technical gobbledygook. What s an Alpha Channel (and can I get it on my satellite?) and where s this 3:2 Pulldown I ve heard about? Pixel Aspect Ratio aren t all pixels square? And what s all the malice regarding Fields vs Frames?! Understanding these four technical issues, and their impact on imported files and your rendered production, will vastly help simplify your workflow and probably make your peers gasp in awe.
Are you a non-linear editor about to add some cool typography effects to your AVID/FinalCut/Premiere Pro project or are you an on-air broadcast designer who needs to build a quick promo bumper with a transition that has to offer a keyable wipe into and out of the footage? Or perhaps you re a 3D animator making a photo-reel visualization of a client s product to be composited over live footage. No matter who you are, you need to ask yourself (and your client) two things: who is...
