If youre new to After Effects and want to get up to speed quickly, After Effects Apprentice was created just for you. With 11 core lessons plus a fun final project, youll quickly get into the program and learn how to tap its potential whether you want to create motion graphics for a network program, your companys video, or your own independent production.In this book, youll get a professional perspective on the most important features a motion graphics artist needs to learn to use this program effectively. Youll learn to creatively edit and combine layers, animate eye-catching titles, replace a screen on a computer monitor, place a studio shot in anew environment, manipulate 3D space, and use effects to generate excitement or enhance the realism of a scene. Easy to follow step-by-step instructions take you through each technique, including projects that encourage you to express it in your own way. Youll learn more than just the tools; youll learn skills that you can immediately put to work in your own projects.Topics include how to:* Animate, layer, and composite images and text.* Manipulate keyframes to create more refined animations.* Use masks, mattes, stencils and modes to add depth.* Manage layers to make them easier to coordinate.* Add 3D to your animations.* Use tracking and keying to create special effects.* Includes new CS3 features; Shape layers, the Puppet tool, Brainstorm, and Per-Character 3D Text.