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MARCH 11, 2003 Total Training: Adobe After Effects 5.5
Set Four: Compositing and Advanced Effects with Adobe After Effects The final set in this collection covers the high-end Production Bundle concepts and effects. If you are (or want to be) a power user, then this is a must have set. Brian does a great job of explaining keying and how to get a good key from fair footage and then demonstrates how to blend everything together believably.[an error occurred while processing this directive]
 Rototscoping is not a task that I would ever wish on anyone. It is a long, boring, tedious task and ranks slightly above “a bath with leeches” on my list of things I would not want to do. However, there are going to be instances where you are not dealing with chromakey footage, but instead have to pull a mask from existing material. Since you will have to do this at some point in your life, it is a good thing Steve covers the topic in great detail. Disc two covers Motion Tracking, color correction/adjustments, and other keyframe assistants. Lately I have seen an increase in traffic from AE users who want to know how to get the most out of Motion Tracking in After Effects. If you are one of those who has troubles, then you need to watch as Steve demonstrates the various ways to use Motion Tracking to get the results you desire. Steve also demonstrates how to do simple color correction and make color adjustments to layers in your Timeline to get a more believable match when using footage from multiple sources (still images, stock footage, keyed footage, etc.). The series wraps up with a discussion of the Production Bundle Effects. Over three and a half hours are spent describing and demonstrating the effects that are included in the Production Bundle of After Effects and does a very good job of demonstrating how the audio filters work. I think Steve and Brian would say that Colorama (covered in Set Three) is one of their favorite effects, but they would both agree that Fractal Noise is the most versatile and important effect to be included in After Effects. In fact an entire hour is spent on this effect alone, not to mention the numerous times it is used and referenced in other lessons on the DVD collection. If you are a Production Bundle owner, you need to have this set. Again, beginners will need to work through the other three sets before attempting to fully appreciate the information contained in this set. Intermediate and Advanced users will find this information very valuable as well. Set Four comes on three DVDs and is available for $299. Overall I feel that this offering from Total Training is very valuable and worth the price. If you think you might want to purchase the entire collection, Total Training sells the complete series for $699 (The Total AE 5.5 Pro Version). That is a great deal; as you will be paying over $150 less than if you purchased each set separately. That is almost like getting one set free. What’s Missing? Well, quite a lot actually. There is no way in an eleven-disc collection that Total Training would be able to cover every single effect, technique, or use for After Effects. Many of the effects and features tend to be self-explanatory or are hold overs from older versions of After Effects (motion math and particle playground for example). While it makes no sense to cover features and options that haven’t changed much in two updates of the software, many users may feel put out that the information is not covered. It is hoped that in the future Total Training may put information that they have previously covered on their other series on the web for those who need the valuable information. Overall I have been very pleased with the results the Total Training team has released. The information contained is worthwhile, educational, and will act as great reference material for not only the 5.5 release of After Effects but the 6.0 version as well. When not working deep in the labs of the DMN Central Division testing the latest and greatest software/hardware products Stephen Schleicher can be found at the local university teaching a few courses on video and web production. He can be reached at schleicher@mindspring.com. You can also visit him on the web at www.mindspring.com/~schleicher Related sites: • Animation Artist • Animation Supplement • AV Video • Broadcast Newsroom • Content Mastering • Corporate Media News • Creative Mac • Design Supplement • Digital Animators • Digital Media Designer • Digital Post Production • Digital Producer • Digital Video Editing • DTV Professional • DV Format • Film and Video Magazine • Hollywood Industry • Production Supplement • Siggraph News • The WWUG Related forums: [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
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