Required Reading - Creating Motion Graphics

Adobe After Affects is an incredibly powerful, incredibly deep program. I've been using it since version 2.0, back in 1994 (still have that COSA dongle around here somewhere...) and have seen it mature in many exciting ways. It's always interesting to me to sit with another AE artist to see how they use the tools, and to compare notes, tips and tricks.

I was recently working on a project with a close friend who's also been using AE since, well, before the internet. We had a bunch of files we'd imported, and I was using the "interpret footage" dialog to set how I wanted AE to handle the clips. Since they were all from the same source, I using "remember interpretation" after setting the first one and then "apply interpretation" to the rest, saving a bunch of time in not having to apply the interpretation rules to each clip.

"Wait...wait..." said my friend. "What did you just do there?" Turns out in his many years of using AE he'd never tried using the "apply interpretation" function. Not for lack of knowledge, to be sure, this guy's got a lot of AE experience. It had just never come up. Somehow he's missed that one, which isn't hard to do with a program as deep as After Effects. This is a great example of why it's fun to sit in with other artists. You never know what you're going to learn.

Speaking of learning from great artists, Chris and Trish Meyer are long time After Effects gurus, well know in the online word for their generosity and willingness to help both new and seasoned AE users. They're accomplished artists, teachers and presenters, and they've written what most consider to be the best book on the market for learning all about After Effects.

The book is called, "Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects," and it's full of valuable information for users at all levels of expertise. If you're starting out this book will help get you on your way, but even if you've been using AE for years you'll surely get your money's worth from the countless tips and tricks peppered throughout the book. Every AE user should have this book on their bookshelf. I can't count the number of times I've been in the midst of some complex AE project and have gone paging through CMG looking for a time saving tip. I used to teach After Effects to the folks at the Washington DC bureau of ABC News, the folks who did Nightline, and Creating Motion Graphics served as our textbook.

Check it out. It's one of the best investments you can make in your After Effects career. They've got some sample chapters available at their web site.

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