I need some advice and recommendations on a great book for Adobe After Effects 5.5 Production Bundle. Something that covers from high-beginner to expert level, and has a bunch of tutorials.

I'm basically a beginner with After Effects but I'm a quick learner. I mainly just want something in-depth where I can learn a ton of features. This software seems amazing to me with the things you can do.

Originally I was going to go with "Creating Motion Graphics with after Effects" by Trish Meyer and Chris Meyer. And also their companion book "After Effects in Production". These books look really good and I have heard some good comments about them. But I'm worried because "Creating Motion Graphics with after Effects" book was done with after effects 4.x version. The "After Effects in Production" book seems to cover effects 4.x and 5.0 version...some only from production bundle version.

Can these books still be used with 5.5 production bundle? Or should I go with a book specifically where 5.5 production bundle is used?

I appreciate any comments...thanks fellas!

The Meyers are *the* gurus for AE, but consider any of the Peachpit Press books as well: inexpensive and superb. See

http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/75469.html

and do a search for After Effects within this site... many excellent titles to be found.

I have AE 5.5 production bundle. Can I still follow the Meyers' books with this version?

Is there any issue with compatibility. I've never used earlier versions of AE.

Meaning...can the latest version do all the things that the older versions can do...exactly?

I don't think there's a book covering 5.5 specifically but I think the Meyers' book will be useful to you nevertheless.

Hello folks,
I did the Adobe after effects classroom in a book about 6 months ago and found it quite useful as an introduction to the majority of the basic features in after effects. Depending on how new you are to the program it may prove a useful resource.

Hi!
I have AE 5 but really want this book because it sounds great:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1578201144/ref=lib_rd_btb/103-5604305-2087854?v=glance&s=books
Do you think it will be OK that I have 5 and the book is 5.5? Or will I run into too many issues? Thanks!

I don't think it will matter. There aren't any significant changes in the way After Effects works between 5.0 and 5.5 for 98% of the material covered in the book. What will drive you much more crazy--if you use a PC--is that all the screenshots and shortcut keys are given for the Mac platform.

I bought this book several years ago and today I rarely ever pick it up. (I remember writing a less-than-stellar review on Amazon.com and author Trish Meyer e-mailed me in a huff, tizzy at me for not raving over her book!) It won't teach you anything the more ubiquitous Classroom in a Book won't teach you.

You will be just fine with this book, Scott. I have this book and can confirm that, as Robert noted, you won't be missing anything in 5.5.

Hi guys,
Thanks for the speedy replies. I have just one more question before I go and buy one of these books: do you think I would be better off buying "Classroom in a Book"? I was considering buying Classroom in a Book but then I switched over to the other one because most of the reviews on Amazon said that Classroom in a Book wasn't very beginner friendly, and I am definately a beginner in AE. Thanks!

Each person learns subjects in different ways, so I couldn't speculate which would be best for you.

Many people swear by the Adobe "Classroom in a Book" series. I've never thought they were that strong, emphasizing dance-steps rather than true understanding.

The Meyers' have become very big fish in the puddle of AE and have produced a 3-book set that's hard to beat in my view. To the (often problemmatic) extent that a book can be effective at providing understanding of a complex application like AE I think that the Meyers' have been successful.

I used to buy books like this until I came to recognize that I was amassing what would in short order become a library of expensive books about obsolete software.

Now when I want to learn some software I request the book from my local library. I have it in a few days, I can keep renewing it for a couple months until I've read it all, I'm not set down $30-$60 if I don't find the book useful, and best of all, I don't have it taunting me from my shelf the following year when "3D Studio Max R3" and "After Effects 4.1" don't sound so hot any more...

An excellent point and tip, Robert. I've actually vowed not to buy software-specific books any longer (except for very rare exceptions) for exactly that reason. Most such books have shelf lives comparable to loaves of bread and are little more than nearly plagiarized restatements of the product manuals featuring large print and thick leading to bloat the book's length.

I would, however, consider the Meyers' current AE books, particularly the 2nd edition of this book, such an exception. The general approach of the book reflects concepts and workflows in AE which have not significantly changed for years. The full-color illustrations alone are certainly worth a view.

Public library, eh? Not a bad idea!

What's new in the 2nd edition?

Since I only have the 1st, I can't really say with completeness. I've browsed the 2nd briefly and it appears that the majority of changes lie in the topics dealing with 3D.

I was wondering which book I should get in terms of learning After Effects 6.0. I'm not very experienced with it at all, but I have access to it, so I might as well learn it. I understand some stuff about keyframes and things like that from Premiere, but thats pretty much the extent to which I understand AE.

I've seen the Classroom in a Book series by Adobe for sale, as well as a few others on AE. I don't know which are the best for what I'm looking for, which is teaching me the basics. Which would you recommend?

Or, should I opt for a DVD Tutorial? I'd imagine those are more expensive.

The best books are probably the Meyer's (Trish and Chris). They have three out now on After Effects.

I'll be sure to pick one of those up. Is the "Adobe: Classroom in a Book" series good? They're going for $27 at Amazon right now; I'd pick one or two up if they're any good.

I've not used these books, but many have reported that Adobe's "Classroom in a Book" series is very useful.

Trust me to have an adverse opinion on Adobe's classroom books. I think they are just more of the same when compared to the AE manual.

I've only purchased two of the classroom series. Never again.

But that could just be me.

I recommend the Total Training DVDs (http://www.totaltraining.com/) over the books. Even at a higher price, they're a bargain compared to the books - even better if you split the cost with a friend.

I bought 5 AE books but ended up returning them all. I did think the Trish/Chris Meyer book was the best of the bunch, but I feel the DVDs are amazing learning tools.

Hi, I have recently purchased the "After Effects 5 Bible" and it is a truly great book. Although was written for AE ver 5.0, it still has updated references to ver 5.5 (as the book has been written during that period). In my opinion, this book would still apply for ver 6.0, seeing that programs do not change that much between version).

This book really explains things in real life terms. There are two ways you can read this book: From start to end, or as a reference guide. I chose the latter which works great and I get fast results doing it that way.

As mentioned above, I am not sure if AE has changed dramatically in ver 6.0 from ver 5.0, but if so, then I guess you might have to look for a different book that covers that specific version.

Here is a link to the book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764536559/103-0051086-6695837?v=glance

Hope this helps.
Jack

Hi all,

I know the AE books have been discussed a couple of times before and that they are very good and everything, but I was just wondering; do they also cover the things from AE pro or only the features of the standard edition? I couldn't quite find that on amazon...

They cover features in both editions and generally indicate when they've crossed into features only available in the Pro edition.

hi,
I have been working with after effects for a while now, im not that great i mean i kind of know what im doing, but i learned all of what i know on my own and through messing with tutorials at the begining, then moved on to my own things, but since i learned it on my own, i dont know terms and such, therefor its alot more confusing and harder to progress and get better as i go, what is the best book that i could find to help me out a little more with AE, and where could i find it? thanks

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/search.php?searchid=72598

(Do you realize that you wrote your inquiry as ONE sentence? ;-))

yes i do realize that, because i dont feel i need to take the time to correct grammatical and puncuation errors just for a simple question...oh well, it doesnt bother me.haha, but it said no search terms matched on that link, but..thanks anyway

Very strange our new site's Search seems to work differently than the old the link worked fine earlier anyway you get the idea Search this forum on "after effects" basically you'll find that Chris and Trish Myers' books are the best.

I have "How to Use After Effects" by Donna L. Baker and I think it's great but I don't know how it compares to the Myers' books.

I can vouch for the Meyers' books. They really are the best I've come across and I have access to a lot of multimedia books. Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, Vol. 1 is a good start. I needed to learn AE for a project quickly (I had pushed FCP and Photoshop past their limit) and taught myself what I needed to know about the basics of the program from doing the comprehensive tutorial in chapter 1. Their writing style is informative and entertaining and they cover a lot of ground. Useful tutorials are sprinikled all around and they offer insight to the process of creating composites with AE. Vol. 2 (Advanced Techniques) is also very good. I'm waiting to receive the After Effects in Production book soon.

The After Effects Magic is also pretty good, but not as comprehensive as the Meyers' book. I look forward to the 6.5 version of the book. I've also convinced my boss to order the After Effects and Photoshop book by Jeff Foster. That looks useful.

In general, I've found that the DV series of books are the best of breed.

I can also vouch for the Meyer's books, but from a different perspective. I had been reading DV magazine for quite some time, and enjoying Trish and Chris's motion graphics articles in the back. I then was lucky enough to have my employer pay for me to attend Trish's Advanced Motion Graphics course at the American Film Institute. It turned out that the DV articles they were writing were just a warm-up for this course. Over 3 days, I gained a concrete understanding of every topic covered by Trish at DV, plus a thorough understanding of the interface, ingest and rendering issues and gotchas and shortcuts. I walked away from that training with a truly remarkable confidence in AE, as well as a CD full of tutorial projects and media to duplicate when I got back home.

Sometime later, I saw that "Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects" was coming out, and I purchased it ASAP. Lo and behold, it was very similar to the course I had taken, with Trish's instruction methods intact, and everything spelled out very clearly, with tutorial projects and media. It really felt like being in her class all over again.

My point is that Trish and Chris have created a master-level class in After Effects in (2) books. I really appreciate the style as well as the content, and I feel they are the best tutorial books I have ever read.

I really like "After effects 6.5, Studio Techniques" by Mark Christiansen.

After effects as I see it, is basically used for two things: creating motion graphics, and compositing. I think it started out as a motion graphics application, but more and more people use it as a compositing program nowadays as a cheaper alternative to shake and combustion.
The first group is best of with the Meyers books, but if you want to go into compositing i think the book by Christiansen is really great. He is a compositor for the orphanage who made effects for the day after tomorrow and sin city.

The book focusses on things like compositing workflow in AE, selecting, keying, rotoscoping, motion tracking, matching foreground and background and much more. It also has a great chapter about how to get around in things like film, video, HDR, latitude, gamma, etc.
It does not cover motion graphics and it is intended for people who are familiar with AE already.

So if you want to go compositing in AE maybe the best step is to start out with the Meyers to get yourself familiar with AE, and then buy this book.

Anyway here's the link on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321316207/qid=1135852169/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4292227-6576664?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Ciao, Steven

Another vote for the Chris and Trish Meyer book.

But if you can afford it, go for the Total Training DVDs (http://www.totaltraining.com/). You'll pick up After Effects 10 times faster watching the DVDs.

I went through the DVDs first, and used the the book afterwards to round out and review my knowledge. Kinda like taking a class, and then taking a test afterwards.

Hi,

I am playing around with after effects and I am going to buy a book to help me with it. I have found 2 but don't know which one to get.

My interests are pretty generalised, there is no one specific thing i want to do in AE.however i would Mainly use it for

-tweaking footage, Colours etc
-Titles, motion titles etc


Here are links to the two
1. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321228545/qid=1144330060/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-4818245-8257621?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

2. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321193792/qid=1144330060/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/002-4818245-8257621?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

The best book on AE, hands down IMO:

Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects by Trish & Chris Meyer

There's three volumes. They're very good.

http://tinyurl.com/p97u5

I agree with Paul.

Thanks very much, I will get that one then.

Only thing is, i have after effects 6.0 not 6.5

Is there a version for 6.0? Would the content be too "6.5" based for me to apply it to after effects 6.0? I'd rather get a book specifically for 6.0, but if I can't then this woudl be fine.

Oh and sorry i posted it here, i didn't realise there was a books section on this forum until after I posted. Thanks again guys.

That's even better; there are older editions going for a song!

Oh really, i can't seem to find any 6.0 books on amazon, could you please link me to one?

Here is the 5.5 edition: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578201144/sr=8-5/qid=1145535298/ref=pd_bbs_5/104-9715981-8353524?%5Fencoding=UTF8

thanks very much mate.

Now the decision... the 5.5 book, or the 6.5 book..

What do you think would be more relevant to 6.0. And I wonder why they don't make a version for 6.

Which version of the book do you people suggest i get, 5.5 of 6.5?

Cheers

I'd go with the 6.5. 5.5 may not include all the features you have available to you. 6.5 will, but you may have features mentioned in the book that are not in your 6.0 software.

Hey, I'd like to learn to use After Effects.

Anyone have a recommendation for a good book for it?

John,

I'm also teaching myself After Effects. I bought "Classroom In A Book" from Adobe systems. It's a basic book that takes you through most of the features of the program. I don't feel like I've mastered After Effects but it gave me a good general feel for the program. I don't know if that is what you're looking for but it might be worth a look through.

Walter

John,

I'm also teaching myself After Effects. I bought "Classroom In A Book" from Adobe systems. It's a basic book that takes you through most of the features of the program. I don't feel like I've mastered After Effects but it gave me a good general feel for the program. I don't know if that is what you're looking for but it might be worth a look through.

Walter

Thanks. That's one of the books I was looking at on Amazon.

Good, better, best intro training to AE

http://www.amazon.com/After-Effects-Apprentice-DV-Expert/dp/0240809386/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0570688-0685711?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183867613&sr=8-1

After-Effects Apprentice, by Chris and Trish Meyers. Their two previous books, Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, Vol. 1 & Vol 2 are the standard of the business, in the opinion of many.

Do a little web homework, you'll quickly confirm this for yourself.

I'll definitely 2nd that opinion. Chris and Trish Meyers' books are the best. Over the last few years, I've done hundreds of tutorials and read dozens of books while learning AE from the ground up. Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects are by far the best training material available.

Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects

Do you know what the difference between these books and After Effects Apprentice is?

It's not for apprentices...

At the intermediate & advanced level, I also like Creative After Effects (http://www.creativeaftereffects.com)

Just started reading about After Effects myself (yesterday). I bought Antony Bolante's book under the Visual Quick Pro series... seems very clean and clear explanations to me. However reading through the replies here, wish I'd looked at the Meyer's books. Always been an impulse buyer though...

Technically it's not a book but the Total Training Videos are also a good resource.