Getting Started About Classroom in a Book Prerequisites Installing After Effects and Bridge Optimizing performance Restoring default preferences Online content How to use these lessons Additional resources Adobe Authorized Training Centers 1 Getting to Know the Workflow About the After Effects work area Getting started Creating a project and importing footage Creating a composition and arranging layers About layers Adding effects and modifying layer properties Animating the composition About the Tools panel About timecode and duration About the Timeline panel Previewing your work Optimizing performance in After Effects Rendering and exporting your composition Customizing workspaces Controlling the brightness of the user interface Finding resources for using After Effects Review questions and answers 2 Creating a Basic Animation Using Effects and Presets Getting started Importing footage using Adobe Bridge Creating a new composition Working with imported Illustrator layers Applying effects to a layer Applying and controlling effects Applying an animation preset Previewing the effects Adding transparency Rendering the composition Review questions and answers 3 Animating Text Getting started About text layers Installing a font using Typekit Creating and formatting point text Using a text animation preset Animating with scale keyframes Animating using parenting About parent and child layers Animating imported Photoshop text Animating type tracking Animating text opacity Using a text animator group About text animator groups Animating a layer''s position Timing layer animations Adding motion blur Review questions and answers 4 Working with Shape Layers Getting started Adding a shape layer Creating custom shapes Duplicating shapes Duplicating and modifying a composition Positioning layers with snapping Adding compositions to a 3D project Adding the finishing touches Extra credit Review questions and answers 5 Animating a Multimedia Presentation Getting started Using Creative Cloud Libraries in After Effects Adjusting anchor points Parenting layers Precomposing layers Keyframing a motion path Animating additional elements Applying an effect About solid-color layers Animating precomposed layers Animating the background Adding an audio track Supported audio file formats Editing audio files in Adobe Audition Review questions and answers 6 Animating Layers Getting started Preparing layered Photoshop files About Photoshop layer styles Simulating lighting changes Duplicating an animation using the pick whip About expressions Animating movement in the scenery Adjusting the layers and creating a track matte About track mattes and traveling mattes Animating the shadows Adding a lens flare effect Adding a video animation Rendering the animation Retiming the composition Review questions and answers 7 Working with Masks About masks Getting started Creating a mask with the Pen tool Editing a mask About mask modes Creating a Bezier mask Feathering the edges of a mask Replacing the content of the mask Zooming and panning by touch Adding a reflection Creating a vignette Using the Rectangle and Ellipse tools Adjusting the timing Tips for creating masks Trimming the work area Review questions and answers 8 Distorting Objects with the Puppet Tools Getting started About the Puppet tools Adding Deform pins Defining areas of overlap Stiffening an area Animating pin positions Squash and stretch Recording animation Act it out with Adobe Character Animator Review questions and answers 9 Using the Roto Brush Tool About rotoscoping Getting started Creating a segmentation boundary Using Adobe Premiere Pro with After Effects Fine-tuning the matte Refine Soft Matte and Refine Hard Matte effects Freezing your Roto Brush tool results Changing the background Adding animated text Outputting your project Extra credit Review questions and answers 10 Performing Color Correction Getting started Previewing your project on a video monitor Adjusting color balance with levels Adjusting color balance with Color Finesse 3 Replacing the background Color-correcting using Auto Levels Motion tracking the clouds Replacing the sky in the second clip Color grading Extra Credit Review questions and answers 11 Using 3D Features Getting started Creating 3D text Using 3D views Importing a background Adding 3D lights Adding a camera Extruding text in After Effects Working with Cinema 4D Lite Integrating the C4D layer in After Effects Finishing the project Review questions and answers 12 Working with the 3D Camera Tracker About the 3D Camera Tracker effect Getting started Repairing rolling shutter distortions Tracking the footage Creating a ground plane, a camera, and the initial text Creating realistic shadows Adding ambient light Creating additional text elements Locking a layer to a plane with a null object Animating the text Adjusting the camera''s depth of field Rendering the composition Review questions and answers 13 Advanced Editing Techniques Getting started Using Warp Stabilizer VFX Bicubic scaling Warp Stabilizer VFX settings Using single-point motion tracking Checking for drift Moving and resizing the track points Using multipoint tracking mocha for After Effects Creating a particle simulation Understanding Particle Systems II properties About high dynamic range (HDR) footage Review questions and answers 14 Rendering and Outputting Getting started Creating templates for the Render Queue About compression Exporting using the Render Queue Preparing movies for mobile devices Rendering movies with Adobe Media Encoder Preparing a movie for broadcast output Review questions and answers Appendix: General keyboard shortcuts.