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After Effects 7 Master Class

with Trish Meyer

<AE 7 Professional will be used>

Dates: There are no 3-day master classes currently scheduled.

If you are a serious user of After Effects Professional, this fast-paced class covers the high-end features of the software with a skilled After Effects motion graphics designer, and co-author of Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects and After Effects in Production. Find out how to maximize your time and energy using shortcuts. Learn through in-class examples, tips and tricks developed by the instructor.

Each class lasts three days, and concentrates on the major new features introduced in recent versions of After Effects. Rest assured it will fill your brain to the brim by the time you're finished! The major topics that will be featured include:

• Master motion paths, velocity controls and interpolation
• Building hierarchies by nesting and pre-composing comps
• Complex animation made easy with Parenting & Null Objects
• Basic Expressions
• Anchor Point animation for motion control
• Animating the Effects Point
• Copy and paste various properties
• Creating text and creating your own Text Animators
• Using Text Presets and Animation Presets
• Alpha and Luma Track Mattes
• Masking, including Rotobezier masks and Smart Mask Interpolation
• Animate in 3D using Camera and Lights
• Managing 3D shadows
• Setting material options for 3D layers
• Understanding the rendering pipeline in 2D and 3D
• Collapsing transformations in 2D and 3D
• Continuously rasterizing Illustrator layers
• Time Remapping
• Motion tracking & stabilization
• Paint and Clone
• plus lots more tips & tricks and workflow enhancements...

Note: Due to the significant additions in AE5–7, features that have not changed significantly since AE 4 (such as track mattes) may not be covered unless time permits.

Prerequisites: six months experience with After Effects or equivalent;
Photoshop basics; video editing, 3D and Illustrator basics helpful.

Recommended Reading:

• Creating Motion Graphics - Volume 1: The Essentials
  (3rd edition for AE 6.5)
• Creating Motion Graphics - Volume 2: Advanced Techniques
  (3rd edition for AE 6.5)
• For understanding the technical issues (alpha channels, fields, 3:2 pulldown, non-square pixels, widescreen, luminance ranges, and so on): VideoSyncrasies DVD.

About Your Instructors

Trish and Chris Meyer are principals in CyberMotion, an award-winning Los Angeles motion graphic design studio. Their design and animation work has appeared on shows and promos for CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, The Learning Channel, HBO, and  PBS. CyberMotion was one of the first studios to create major release film opening titles using desktop tools, and they have also created promotional and trade show videos for corporate clients from Apple Computer to Xerox.

In addition to their motion graphics work, Trish and Chris have written the books "Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects" and "After Effects in Productions", and they co-author the Motion Graphics column for DV magazine (www.dv.com) plus monthly Tips N Tricks articles at Artbeats.com. They host the Motion Graphics Los Angeles professional user group (www.mgla.org).

Trish founded CyberMotion after an extensive career in print as a magazine art director for music technology magazines. Her partner Chris, a refugee from the music industry, specializes in sound design and 3D work as well as dealing with multi-format technical issues. Both Trish and Chris have backgrounds as musicians, and a close relationship between sound and picture informs much of their work.