Adobe After Effects 7 studio techniques / Mark Christiansen.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A thoroughly packed, informative read, this guide focuses on explaining the essential concepts, features and techniques that are key to creating seamless movie-quality visual effects. Readers will learn how to put After Effects to work to create the shots they need.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. xiii)
• Section I Working Foundations (p. 1)
• Chapter 1 The 7.0 Workflow (p. 3)
• Workspaces and Panels (p. 5)
• Making the Most of the UI (p. 10)
• Settings: Project, Footage, Composition (p. 20)
• Previews and OpenGL (p. 31)
• Effects & Presets (p. 45)
• Output: The Render Queue (p. 47)
• Study a Shot like an Effects Artist (p. 54)
• Chapter 2 The Timeline (p. 57)
• Organization (p. 59)
• Animation Methods (p. 68)
• Keyframes and The Graph Editor (p. 70)
• Uber-mastery (p. 85)
• Transform Offsets (p. 88)
• Motion Blur (p. 90)
• Manipulating Time Itself (p. 93)
• In Conclusion (p. 101)
• Chapter 3 Selections: The Key to Compositing (p. 103)
• The Many Ways to Create Selections (p. 104)
• Compositing: Science and Nature (p. 108)
• Alpha Channels and Premultiplication (p. 111)
• Masks (p. 116)
• Combining Multiple Masks (p. 119)
• Putting Masks in Motion (p. 122)
• Blending Modes: The Real Deal (p. 124)
• Track Mattes (p. 132)
• Chapter 4 Optimizing your Projects (p. 135)
• Navigating Multiple Compositions (p. 137)
• Precomposing and Nesting (p. 141)
• Adjustment and Guide Layers (p. 148)
• Understanding Rendering Order (p. 152)
• Optimizing After Effects (p. 158)
• Onward to Effects (p. 160)
• Section II Effects Compositing Essentials (p. 161)
• Chapter 5 Color Correction (p. 163)
• Optimizing Plate Levels (p. 165)
• Color Matching (p. 192)
• Beyond the Basics (p. 207)
• Chapter 6 Color Keying (p. 209)
• Good Habits and Best Practices (p. 211)
• Linear Keyers and Hi-Con Mattes (p. 213)
• Blue-Screen and Green-Screen Keying (p. 219)
• Understanding and Optimizing Keylight (p. 228)
• Fixing Typical Problems (p. 238)
• Conclusion (p. 245)
• Chapter 7 Rotoscoping and Paint (p. 247)
• Articulated Mattes (p. 249)
• Working Around Limitations (p. 256)
• Morphing (p. 260)
• Paint and Cloning (p. 265)
• Conclusion (p. 274)
• Chapter 8 Effective Motion Tracking (p. 275)
• The Essentials (p. 277)
• Optimizing Tracking Using 3D (p. 292)
• Extending a Track with Expressions (p. 301)
• Tracking for Rotoscoping (p. 303)
• Using 3D Tracking Data (p. 305)
• Conclusion (p. 309)
• Chapter 9 Virtual Cinematography (p. 311)
• 2.5D: Pick Up the Camera (p. 313)
• Storytelling and the Camera (p. 326)
• Camera Blur (p. 332)
• The Role of Grain (p. 337)
• Film and Video Looks (p. 343)
• Conclusion (p. 347)
• Chapter 10 Expressions (p. 349)
• Logic and Grammar (p. 351)
• Muting Keyframes (p. 353)
• Linking Animation Data (p. 355)
• Looping Animations (p. 361)
• Smoothing and Destabilizing (p. 365)
• Offsetting Layers and Time (p. 368)
• Conditionals and Triggers (p. 372)
• Tell Me More (p. 378)
• Chapter 11 Film, HDR, and 32 Bit Compositing (p. 381)
• Film 101 (p. 385)
• Dynamic Range (p. 388)
• Cineon Log Space (p. 390)
• Video Gamma Space (p. 393)
• Battle of the Color Spaces (p. 394)
• Floating Point (p. 398)
• 32 Bits per Channel (p. 400)
• Conclusion (p. 414)
• Section III Creative Explorations (p. 415)
• Chapter 12 Working with Light (p. 417)
• Light Source and Direction (p. 419)
• Creating a Look with Color (p. 426)
• Backlighting, Flares, Light Volume (p. 432)
• Shadows and Reflected Light (p. 441)
• HDR Lighting (p. 445)
• Conclusion (p. 453)
• Chapter 13 Climate: Air, Water, Smoke, Clouds (p. 455)
• Particulate Matter (p. 457)
• Sky Replacement (p. 463)
• The Fog, Smoke, or Mist Rolls In (p. 466)
• Billowing Smoke (p. 469)
• Wind (p. 475)
• Water (p. 478)
• Conclusion (p. 482)
• Chapter 14 Pyrotechnics: Fire, Explosions, Energy Phenomena (p. 483)
• Firearms (p. 486)
• Sci-Fi Weaponry (p. 492)
• Heat Distortion (p. 494)
• Fire (p. 498)
• Explosions (p. 505)
• In a Blaze of Glory (p. 506)
• Chapter 15 Learning to See (p. 507)
• Why Doesn't This Shot Look Real? (p. 509)
• All Hail Reference (p. 513)
• Rolling Thine Own (p. 522)
• Not a Conclusion (p. 523)
• Index (p. 525)
• What's On the DVD (p. 547)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Mark Christiansen has created visual effects and animations for feature films, television, computer games, and on behalf of an array of high technology companies. His recent feature film credits for the animation and special effects studio The Orphanage include The Day After Tomorrow and films by Robert Rodriguez; he has also created graphics for documentaries produced by HBO and the History Channel. His studio, Christiansen Creative (www.christiansen.com), produces effects, motion graphics, and writing. His independent directing and design work has been featured at film festivals including the LA Short Film Festival in 2004.

Named the number-one beta tester for After Effects 6.0 by the After Effects development team, Mark has written and lectured about After Effects extensively. He is a co-author of After Effects 5.5 Magic with Nathan Moody, a contributing editor for DV Magazine, and wrote the previous edition of this book, as well as tutorials and other materials directly for Adobe in support of After Effects 7.0. He has been a guest speaker at NAB, DV Expo and GDC, as well as user group meetings throughout the San Francisco bay area.