Adobe After Effects CS6 Visual Effects and Compositing Studio Techniques

When I decided to learn visual effects, Mark Christiansen's After Effects Studio Techniques became my bible. There is no better book for understanding how Adobe After Effects solves compositing and other vfx challenges. If you've mastered the beginning steps of AE, and are ready to make realistic illusions, and UNDERSTAND how these illusions work, then pick up this book and make some time for it. It's not easy reading, and it's not for beginners, but it will take you from competent to expert.
Every artisan goes through stages: from beginner, to proficient "journeyman," to master. In the world of technology and software, that journey is fast-paced, but also perilous-- the tool you relied on for years can become obsolete, or worse, be abandoned by its creators. Adobe After Effects has survived because of its flexibility and adaptability. It can make motion graphics, it can pull a greenscreen key, and it can even be a finishing suite for a video project.
But in order to get... Read more

Mark Christiansen's, After Effects and Visual Compositing Studio Techniques, takes you behind the scenes and under the hood of the latest super revved up version of Adobe After Effects.

The author begins by letting readers know that this is not a book for beginners. There are no step- by- step tutorials to be found here. Instead, Mr. Christiansen has written the book with the thought in mind of helping After Effects users become better visual effects artists. He accomplishes this by telling us pro ways to streamline our workflow, including what tools work best in different scenarios and gives us alternative solutions.

The book covers rotoscoping, motion tracking with the new 3D camera tracker and Mocha AE, color correcting and image optimization, color grading with Speedgrade-, ways to optimize projects and stay organized beyond pre-comping, pre-rendering and nesting layers, creating expressions - which includes a bonus list of additional online recourses, the... Read more

If you're interested in AE for VFX/compositing, quite simply, you have to own this book...you'll learn something useful in pretty much every paragraph.

Ignore the 1-star review...That guy could benefit from an anger management class. The book clearly states on page xxiii:

"This is not a book for beginners. Although the first section is designed to make sure that you are making optimal use of the software, it's not an effective primer on After Effects in particular or digital video in general. If you're new to After Effects, first spend some time with its excellent documentation or check out one of the many books available to help beginners learn the application."