Adobe® After Effects® CC : visual effects and compositing : studio techniques / Mark Christiansen.

Section I: Working foundations -- 1. Composite in after effects -- 2. The timeline -- 3. Selections: the key to compositing -- 4. Optimize projects -- Section II: Effects compositing essentials -- 5. Color correction -- 6. Color keying -- 7. Rotoscoping and paint -- 8. Effective motion tracking -- 9. The camera and optics -- 10. Expressions -- 11. Advanced color options and HDR -- Section III: Creative explorations -- 12. Color and light -- 13. Climate and the environment -- 14. Pyrotechnics.

This is the only book to focus exclusively on the creation of visual effects for After Effects, and is a one-stop resource for anyone who wants in-depth explanations that demystify the realm of visual effects and how they were created, thanks to veteran author Mark Christiansen's friendly and accessible style. A thoroughly packed, informative read, this masterful guide focuses on explaining the essential concepts, features, and techniques that are key to creating seamless movie-quality visual effects. Users who are comfortable with After Effects will find a helpful review of the fundamentals-managing footage, viewing and editing layers, animating type, and more-so they can learn how to work smarter and more efficiently. Readers of all levels will learn core techniques for effects compositing including color matching, keying, rotoscoping, motion tracking, emulating the camera, and concluding with using expressions in After Effects. The final section of the book delves into creative explorations, demonstrating professional effects that readers might want to re-create. Readers will also find comprehensive coverage of all new features, including the new workflow between After Effects CC and CINEMA 4D, coverage on the 3D Camera Tracker, and examples of the Refine Edge tool for high-quality matting results. Included with the book are HD media files and After Effects project files used for many of the techniques in the book, as well as demos of plug-ins that you can use to experiment with in your own effects.