After Effects CS3 Professional Beyond the Basics

Techniques for bringing photos to life in After Effects using displacement, puppet tools, masks, and 3D options.After Effects CS3 Professional Beyond the Basics shows how to take After Effects to the next level. Instructor Chad Perkins teaches techniques for bringing photos to life with displacement, crafting fire and water effects with Fractal Noise, mastering masks, using the "other" puppet tools, creating a lightsaber fight, running the gamut of expressions, and taking advantage of advanced 3D options. Chad shares his best tips and tricks for mastering After Effects CS3 Professional, and takes viewers through each of the program's advanced features. Exercise files accompany the tutorials. Topics include: Learning navigation tips and tricks Understanding histograms, Levels, and Curves Controlling effects with maps Mastering Fractal Noise Learning the Card Wipe effect Using particle systems Animating masks Stretching and blending time Taking a real-world look at expressions Exploring technical issues Getting more efficient with After Effects Rendering, moving, and archiving projects