This chapter introduces you to the changes and improvements that you will find in the CS5.5 version of After Effects, including new options for complex searches and using side-by-side composition viewers.
General User Interface Improvements
In this lesson you will learn how to find and isolate footage, layers, effects, and animation presets with new saved and complex searches in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels.
This lesson shows you how to easily create side-by-side composition viewers so that you can preview the results of changes to a nested composition by viewing the downstream composition.
After Effects CS5.5 now has new options for using and reading source timecode. This chapter provides an overview, plus a demonstration of how to save a copy of a project for use by a previous version of After Effects.
Projects and Compositions
In this lesson you will see how source timecode can be read and used, how time display can be configured, and how the Timecode effect has been improved.
This lesson demonstrates how to save a copy of a project that can be opened by a previous version of After Effects. You'll also see how to submit After Effects bug reports and feature requests.
Importing and managing media is a critical part of the movie-making workflow. This chapter introduces you to improved ways to work with RED cinema footage and to the new import and export options in the trial version of After Effects CS5.5.
Importing and Managing Footage
This lesson will show you improvements that have been made to support for RED (R3D) digital cinema footage and how you can change settings for RED footage items.
This lesson will walk you through the new and improved After Effects trial version, which now includes the ability to use Keylight, as well as import and export all the same formats that you can with the full version.
After Effects CS5.5 provides many new ways for you to creatively improve your projects by adding effects. This chapter shows you some new tools and techniques, such as snapping anchor points, depth of field effects, and stereoscopic 3D effects, among others.
Layers, Properties, Cameras, and Lights
This lesson shows you how to select multiple layers in the Composition panel by dragging a selection box, as well as how to snap the anchor point of a layer to the edges or center.
This lesson demonstrates how new camera layer settings give you greater control over the blurring of objects outside of a camera's focal plane. You will also learn how to set or link the focus distance of a camera to any layer.
This lesson will teach you how to use the new Camera Lens Blur effect with a depth map to blur portions of a layer as if they were at various distances from the camera.
In this lesson you will see how After Effects automatically creates stereoscopic 3D scenes, and how you can configure the 3D Glasses effect for various kinds of stereoscopic 3D output.
Ever been frustrated working with shaky footage? This chapter shows you how to add stability to your projects by using the new Warp Stabilizer effect and the old faithful point tracker.
Stabilizing Motion
This lesson demonstrates how to stabilize shaky handheld shots using the Warp Stabilizer effect.
The legacy point tracker is still a useful feature, even after the introduction of the Warp Stabilizer effect. You'll see how to apply it in this lesson.
This chapter shows you how to get the most out of expressions in your workflow. You'll learn the key details that will allow you to more efficiently correct color and use the new sourceTime method.
Expressions
In this lesson you will learn how to more efficiently correct color by removing a limitation on linking properties with expressions.
When working with video effects, the key bottleneck in your workflow is performance. This chapter will show you how improvements in memory settings and disk caching can significantly speed up system performance and thus increase your efficiency.
Memory, Storage, and Performance
This lesson demonstrates how improvements in disk caching can improve performance and prevent the rerendering of frames. You will also learn how to locate the disk cache and configure it appropriately for your system.
In this chapter you will see how quick and easy it is to render and export your project files in After Effects CS5.5, including how to use templates to change your output module settings and use Adobe Audition to improve the audio.
Rendering and Exporting
This lesson will show you a new little trick (and two old ones) for changing output module settings with templates.