Book Description
Ready to learn the visual effects techniques used at such leading-edge studios as Industrial Light + Magic and The Orphanage? Adobe After Effects 7.0 Studio Techniques inspires you to take your work to the next level with real-world examples and insider techniques. With this under-the-hood, in-depth guide to Adobe's updated motion graphics and effects powerhouse, you'll get complete coverage of all the big features in After Effects 7.0: High dynamic range (HDR) 32 bit per channel color compositing, cinema preview and color management, a redesigned user interface, a new Graph Editor to animate using explicit translation curves, retiming effects using Timewarp, and dozens of other enhancements. Get blockbuster results without the big budget as you delve deep into the essence of visual effects. This book goes beyond conventional step-by-step instruction, teaching you bread-and-butter effects that you can adapt and combine for countless projects.
- Real solutions from real professionals: learn the techniques and approach used to create shots for big-budget special effects films.
- Compositing essentials: No matter how sophisticated the effect, they all begin with the same building blocks. Find out what you've been missing about color and light matching, keying, motion tracking, rotoscoping, working with film, and more.
- Advanced techniques: Your goal should be effects so good that no one notices them. From sky replacement to explosions, from smoke to fire, learn to bring your shots to life and enhance scenes without anyone ever knowing what they're seeing isn't 100% real.
- Companion CD-ROM: Professional tools produce professional results. The book’s companion disc includes plenty of sample projects including HD footage from Pixel Corps and the Artbeats Digital Film Library, as well as more than a dozen plug-ins and programs that you can use to build up and customize your own effects.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book, one to keep by your side while in AE.......2007-08-24
This book is everything I had expected it to be. Not a tutorial book, but more a reference tool. Get in a jam, look it up and you will get ideas on how to get out, or workarounds.
Good for intermediate and advanced users.......2007-05-15
This book is good for people that know how to use After Effects already. It's a good book though full of illustrations and tips but lacks tutorials which would enrich the book a little more...If you are looking for a book to start using After Effects the best book is Adobe After Effects 7 Hands-On Training from Chad Fahs with Lynda Weinman. You read that book and you learn everything needed to work with After Effets 7, Full of tutorials, hi quality paper, color print, and tips all over the book. Simply amazing!
ESSENTIAL FOR VIZ F/X AND COMPOSITING.......2007-04-02
This updated edition improves on the 6.5 book in a number of ways. First, you have tutorials to practice the concepts. AE7 added new features that Mark makes sense of, namely 32 bit float. And he expands on topics and details. I literally compared 6.5 to 7, page by page. Though I owned 6.5, it's worth it to get this update, if for the tutorials alone.
This said, no one else has made easier sense of visual effects compositing. No one. All the other books are really directed at Shake. Which is great if you own or understand Shake. But if you own AE7, or the AECS3, you owe it to yourself to get this. You can live without the Classroom in the Book, not Studio Techniques.
As a final digression, this really is like the source for DV Rebel's Guide. They do not overlap material, but DV Rebel's Guide touches on issues that a crucial, but the author rightfully defers to this book for the indepth analysis and practices. So if you want to go further, look to DV Rebel's Guide. And if you got Rebel's guide and are confused by some issues, look here first.
Superb, Practical Advice.......2006-12-31
Practical is without doubt the best way to describe 'Studio Techniques.' Christiansen has written a book filled with very practical and powerful advice that is sure to delight. Learning to create effects is fundamentally all about two things:
1) Learning to think like a visual effects artist
and
2) Learning to think like After Effects
Christiansen does a superb job of melding these two together. His examples, while very useful for their specific results alone, are perhaps more useful in learning how to approach problems and solve them in the After Effects paradigm.
As an added bonus, 'Studio Techniques' is also riddled with very useful tips and notes that provide additional creative insight and warnings on oddities that occur, their cause, and how to solve them.
Turbo Chage Your Compositing.......2006-11-15
This is NOT a book to help you create your first AE project. You must already be comfortable with the program before you open the cover of this book. But, once you can walk, this book will help you run. You will learn the dark secrets of the hollywood masters of the mystic art of compositing.
Book Description
Ready to learn the visual effects secrets used at such leading-edge studios as Industrial Light + Magic and The Orphanage? Adobe After Effects 6.5 Studio Techniques inspires you to take your work to the next level with realworld examples and insider techniques. Get blockbuster results without the big budget as you delve deep into the essence of visual effects. This book goes beyond conventional step-by-step instruction, teaching you bread-and-butter effects that you can adapt and combine for countless projects.
• Real solutions from real professionals: Nobody does it better, and now they’ll show you how. Discover the keys to analyzing your shots from Stu Maschwitz, Visual Effects Supervisor for Star Wars, Episode One and Sin City. Unlock the mysteries of linear color space with Brendan Bolles, co-creator of the eLin plug-ins. Master fundamental effects techniques with Mark Christiansen, After Effects specialist for The Orphanage on The Day After Tomorrow.
• Compositing essentials: No matter how sophisticated the effect, they all start from the same building blocks. Find out what you’ve been missing about color and light matching, keying, motion tracking, rotoscoping, working with film, and more.
• Advanced techniques: Your goal should be effects so good that no one notices them. From sky replacement to explosions, from smoke to fire, learn to bring your shots to life and enhance scenes without anyone ever knowing what they’re seeing isn’t 100% real.
• Companion CD-ROM: Professional tools produce professional results. Demo versions of plug-ins from Andersson Technologies, Red Giant Software, Frischluft, and Trapcode will enhance your work. Stop relying on ready-made solutions and pre-built effects. Learn how to build up and customize your own effects with the tools at hand–you’ll be amazed at how much better the results look!
Customer Reviews:
Well written and insightful.......2007-03-21
I have only read half of the book so far but the author writes in a very straightforward manner that makes sense. He provides a high level of concepts then gives practical uses in AE. He also doesn't try to be funny or cute - which many authors of AE manuals attempt, but fail miserably and ultimately hurt the effectiveness of the material.
Exploring After Effects techniques.......2006-02-27
The Adobe After Effects Studio techniques book takes you in a tour to explore what is inside this magnificent program and how to use its capabilities in creating video effects.
The book focused on the video production techniques. The first section introduces the program and its working foundations. While the second section concerns with the effects composting, the third section talks about how to work with light, air, water, smoke, clouds and fire effects.
The book level is for intermediate/ advanced. So, you need to have a background about the After Effects to enjoy reading this book.
Exploring After Effects techniques.......2006-02-27
The Adobe After Effects Studio techniques book takes you in a tour to explore what is inside this magnificent program and how to use its capabilities in creating video effects.
The book focused on the video production techniques. The first section introduces the program and its working foundations. While the second section concerns with the effects composting, the third section talks about how to work with light, air, water, smoke, clouds and fire effects.
The book level is for intermediate/ advanced. So, you need to have a background about the After Effects to enjoy reading this book.
great way to learn compositing in general.......2006-01-02
This book is a great intoduction into the field of Digital Compositing in general. If you already know the basics of After Effects and want to learn how to see and handle live-action footage for visual effects, this is your ultimate guide. Mark Christiansen talks, of course, a lot about the After Effects application (e.g. how to optimize the interface and your personal workflow). But there are also chapters that cover more general topics like how to match a virtual 3D camera to a real film camera, the differences between lens blur and computer generated blur, how to see and recreate light and color situations in a shot, Greenscreen Keying, Rotoscoping, specifics about working with high dynamic range images like scanned film footage and so on. I've also read parts of the famous book "The Art and Science of Digital Compositing" by Ron Brinkman, which covers a lot of simmilar issues. While Brinkman goes into a lot more theoretical details but doesn't cover specific software solutions, Christiansen matches a perfect combination between general theorie and practical application. You learn how to see images - but also how to directly manipulate them in After Effects. But a lot of the knowledge that is shown in this book, could also be used when working with other compositing systems - so it's really worth reading if you already work with After Effects, even if you want to migrate to a different software one day.
Outstanding resource. Absolutely essential if you do VFX........2005-11-11
This book concentrates on using AE for movie-quality visual effects, as opposed to motion graphics, and as such it is currently unique (but hopefully not for long!). While the author assumes a working knowledge of AE (don't look to this book for a beginner's guide), if you know your way around, he shows you some outstanding tips and techniques for creating believable, "invisible" composites. I can't praise this book highly enough.
If you do mostly motion graphics, this book won't help you. But if you do (or want to do) seamless, realistic motion picture compositing, the advice and methods described in this book are absolutely essential. It has given me a whole new respect for AE, and I'm no newbie.
Absolutely, positively essential for any AE VFX library.
Book Description
Motion graphics is the animating of digital images to create new looks, sophisticated special effects, and network logos. Adobe After Effects is a dual-platform program used by major production departments and art houses. From animating background images to creating film-style title sequences, After Effects does it all. Part of theDV Expert series, this book offers practical, in-depth coverage for working professionals and aspiring pros.
Volume 2: Advanced Techniques focuses on how After Effects integrates with other programs vital to the motion graphics workflow and technical details of preparing files for broadcast. Core concepts include audio, typography, and alpha channels. Advanced features of the application such as color keying, motion tracking, Expressions, and using the new paint tool and text animation engine are also covered in depth. This volume also explores the integration between After Effects and other programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3D applications, and discusses nonlinear editing systems and Web tools. It addresses functionality exclusively available in the Production Bundle of After Effects and popular plug-ins.
This bestseller focuses on how After Effects integrates with other programs vital to the motion graphics workflow and technical details of preparing files for broadcast.
Customer Reviews:
Simply simplistic!.......2007-08-25
There are a billion ways you can go when you start up After Effects. It's wonderful to know that once I generate the ideas of what I want to do but don't know how to pull them off, all I have to do is find the tutorial for it and "Genius!" I've learned them and am able to modify them in any direction I want to go. Trish and Chris Meyer have a good handle on teaching, sometimes complex VFX maneuvers, in such easy to follow and understand terms. I highly recommend any of their books on this subject.
excelente guia para nivel medio- avanzado.......2007-04-17
los Meyer ya saben como darnos la informacion, afortunadamente son libros muy faciles de leer aun si tu nivel de ingles es limitado.
Este libro en especial tiene una serie de ejercicios que refuerzan lo basico y nos expican lo avanzado.
Si ya has comprado libros de ellos, puede que te parezcan repetitivos, pero no te dejes llevar por eso. hay ajustes pequeños que te hacen ver diferente el proceso.
Adobe After effects es un programa en crecimiento, por ello, no subestimes en la informacion de estos libros.
Semi-Advanced.......2007-01-29
This is another excellent After Effects guide that deserves to be in the library of any AE professional. However I was a little dissapointed with the contents. Being titled: Advanced Techniques, I expected to learn a lot of new techniques, but found most of the content was already well known by myself. I also found quite a lot of content was repeated in the other two After Effects books by the Meyers.
This is still an excellent book to have as a reference, and there are some great topics covered. It's very well written like the other books, and I don't regret the purchase at all. My complaints are probably mostly due to the fact I have learnt quite a bit since finishing the first book, for people who have finished the first book and want to learn more this would be perfect. But advanced users should perhaps look at After Effects 7 Studio Techniques which has more advanced content.
Be Warned, this book is for version 5.5.......2005-12-25
This book only to find out it's for version 5.5... Not a cheap book, as I already have purchased it.
Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, Vol. 2: Advanced Techniques (3rd Edition, Version 6.5) .......2005-09-15
If you are a novice make sure you get Vol. 1 it is really great. I bought volume two because I learned so much from volume one and what a great AE reference book to have sitting on you shelf. Whenever I have a question the book has an example that I can apply to my project.
Customer Reviews:
The BEST book about pre-digital-era Special Effects.......2006-03-05
For many years, Raymond Fielding's "Techniques of Special Effects Cinematography" was the quintessential "how'd they do that?" manual for the field of Visual Effects. Apart from back issues if American Cinematographer magazine, if you lived outside the Los angeles area, this was your best source of info on everything from stop-motion and front screen projection to matte paintings and miniatures.
Since many of the techniques in the book are now accomplished digitally, it makes this book a great film HISTORY book as well. But even still, for the filmmaker who wants to utilize tried & true, old school effects techniques (out of curiosity, artistic choice or necessity) this is THE book that covers it all. My only reason for giving it 4 out of 5 stars, is the lack of info on Digital Effects and CGI.
Book Description
Visual effects are among the most exciting-and one of the most in-demand-aspects of contemporary film-making. But not all visual effects are created using prohibitively expensive equipment. For the first time, this compelling art form is explained and made accessible to aspiring film-makers and artists in a unique book/DVD combination. Exploring Visual Effects describes and illustrates each phase of visual effects production, from design and research through model building, photography, digital editing, and composition. The authors, drawing on extensive industry and classroom teaching experience, present a range of options for creating Hollywood-style effects using traditional and contemporary technologies-with explanations on how to choose the right technique based on content, budget, and time. The creative and budget-conscious ideas in this book can be explored using commonly available supplies and software-an important consideration when it comes to building the confidence to create convincing visual effects. The accompanying DVD provides a striking visual counterpoint to the text and features a gallery of downloadable stills and video clips for practicing techniques used in the video demonstrations.
Customer Reviews:
Strictly For Beginners.......2006-11-27
I might recommend this book to somebody studying to be in the visual effects business. It has some of the basic information for beginners but even there it falls short on what you would need to know.
I did enjoy the interviews with Bill Taylor, who I would consider a master of the art form, but this book only scratches the surface.
The price is also very high for what you get, which in my opinion is not very much.
Good book for someone starting out..........2006-06-29
This book has a lot of good information. It focuses more on practical effects and model building rather than digital effects, which is cool. However, if you are already in the business of creating visual effects, you probably will not get a lot out of it. With that said, the book is good and I DO recommend it for people getting started.
Informative, Entertaining, and Very Freakin' Cool.......2006-05-20
I'm not a professional filmmaker (I'm barley a hobbyist), but I totally dug this book! I've always been fascinated with visual effects, and I've read plenty of books on the subject...but none were as clear, concise, and easy to understand as this one. As I was reading, I had to look up a couple of technical terms, but like I said, I don't do this for a living. I have to believe that as much as I enjoyed the read, someone who will actually implement the author's techniques, will freakin' love this thing.
Excellent for beginner and veteran .......2006-05-16
I have woked in visual efeects for over 10 years and I like to think I know a great deal about my field but I still found that this book provded me with additional information on subjects I was already aquainted with. If you are new to visual effetcs the book provides a good overview of the many crafts associated with VFX and it is also a great refresher for those with experience. Mr Woodys book covers a wide spectrum of concpets and disciplines used in visual effects work in an enjoyable, easy to read style. If you're looking to get into VFX this is a great place to start.
A must have for learning visual effects.......2006-05-03
This was a fantastic book that covers a variety of areas of visual effects. I found the examples and DVD to be a huge help. I found it to be well written and the practical industry information is great. A must have for anyone learning the industry.
Book Description
Adobe Photoshop for VFX Artists is an in-depth guide to using Photoshop to achieve a specific goal. It is not meant to serve as a general bible or litney of functions. By incorporating a straight-forward, visual approach to Adobe's best selling software, this book will provide you with everything you need to use Photoshop within your own specific context. Although there are many Photoshop books on the market, there are very few that are targeted specifically to the 3D artist, and even fewer that are written by a movie industry professional. Adobe Photoshop for VFX Artists adheres to the high standards of the VFX world, but is designed to still be clearly understandable to the intermediate hobbyist.
Customer Reviews:
Worth Checking Out........2007-04-03
This is by far a very informative in-depth guide to advance on the subject of or brush up on Photoshop and VFX skills even for the amateur "that's me" and there's an ample amount of books out there to choose from. I would say that this is worth checking out.
Starting to show its age.......2006-01-29
As of the copy I bought this book is no longer really up to date with the latest techniques and the latest version of PS - CS2.
As a senior Vfx artists there was some stuff of interest but it would be much better for a student than a practicing VFX artist.
It is not a waste of time but it would be nice to see more on newer things like Smart objects, HDR, layer groups and alike. It would be worth checking out if there is a new edition.
good, and useful .......2005-09-23
You will make nothing cool in this book as far as examples, tutorials go, but what it will do is concentrate on solid methods you can use to get the most out of photoshop. Most content is geared toward small tweaks, processes you can use to add quality to your work. For example, most people use the unsharp mask or sharpen tools to crispen images, in addition to this, she will show you some lesser-known features such as high-pass, which may give better sharpening results in many situations. This whole book is based on stuff like that. So if you are interested in exploring lesser-known ways of going about things, then you should get it. My guess is that intermediate artists would benefit the most from this. Even beginners will get something out of it. All in all this is a good title.
the first and only Photoshop book for vfx artists.......2005-06-16
there are hundreds of books on Photoshop but none that have been made specifically for VFX Artists. Except this one.
VFX Artists means those that create the materials and do the mapping for 3D objects as well as Matte Painters.
Although targeted for the intermediate to advanced user you don't have to know much about photoshop to read this book. Lopsie invests the first 92 pages to explain all the basics and make sure that everybody will be able to follow the following chapters.
Part two is all about textures. She introduces her own version of a UV-testing checkerboard which is (as her example clearly shows) better suited for checking the correct alignment of all UVs than the standard black-and-white checkerboard often used for mapping-tests.
She also explains how to create your own tileable textures from any photo, even when the tiles on the photo have been shot in a non-orthographic angle.
She shows how to create custum brushes for dirt maps, create actions and lots more.
Part three is about matte paintings. Having read that Lopsie Schwartz has been doing work for "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", and "Hollow Man" i thought that this chapter would be filled with inspiring examples of fantastic matte paintings, fantasy landscapes and so on. Well, it's not. But that's okay. If i just wanted inspiration and examples i could have ordered "the invisible art" by by Mark Cotta Vaz and Craig Barron. What she does instead might be less stunning but more valuable: she shows how to handle common tasks and problems. Such as removing unwanted elements in a photo, how to sharpen images using the highpass filter, reduce the noise, extract portions of an image, change the color of objects and scenes, merge two photos into one, change a daylight scene into a night scene (pictures on the front cover show before and after) and the list goes on ...
Lopsie Schwartz has a very nice way of writing and explaining things. She also has humour. Reading the book is a joy.
The book is all in color. Pictures for the exercises can be downloaded from the publisher's website.
Summary:
Adobe Photoshop for VFX Artist is a great book and covers a topic that has been left out so far, even though there are already so many books on Photoshop. It might not cover everything you need to know but i believe it's the best way for you to get started.
Book Description
Visual effects are an important aspect of film creation, with new technologies and techniques being developed every day. Nevertheless, many of the effects we see on screen are not computer generated; they are done inside the camera or with projection, techniques that have been around for many years. Visual Effects Cinematography examines both traditional and modern visual effects techniques, illustrating how the new techniques have built upon the old in a way that is especially valuable to students. This book examines in detail the various types of equipment used and how they work, and then goes on to discuss the process of planning the shoot.
The most important aspect of visual effects cinematography is the creative problem-solving that happens early in the production, to select the technique that will provide a particular effect and plan the shooting to accommodate the needs of specific scenes. Written by an effects director associated with such blockbuster films as Superman and 2001: A Space Odyssey, this book analyzes the most effective approach to a variety of visual effects problems, detailing the various options available to the filmmaker. Script breakdown, the use of storyboards, and shot planning are covered as part of this creative planning process.
Topics covered in this book include: elements that make up the visual effects shot; methods of compositing visual effects elements; types of mattes and methods of generating them; visual effects tools and planning; types of cameras and their corresponding in-camera effects; projectors and projection
Over 100 illustrations support the technical information contained within these pages. Students, cinematographers, and directors will gain valuable insight into the art and process of visual
Focuses on creative problem-solving and planning techniques
Full explanation of wide range of equipment and its uses
Valuable information cinematographers, directors, and students
Customer Reviews:
Not Useful.......2000-11-28
I bought this book thinking I could learn some traditional effects stuff that I could use in my own ultra-low budget movies - like how to light a blue screen, do those water cloud fx, pyro stuff, etc... - but there is almost nothing I could use. I could find more useful stuff briefly surfing the net.
A lot of the traditional compositing stuff is outdated because of digital, which wasn't really addressed. A lot of it is too equipment specific, not bothering to clearly explain stuff.
Maybe it's good if you just want to marvel at how complicated fx can get, but if you're looking for stuff you can apply, look elsewhere.
state of art in Visual Effects study.......2000-04-01
Visual effects industry has been exposed to many young people due to the easy access to computer graphics software. However, When people start to realize the scope of industry, they often get frustrated through one's limitation. This is the book that can answer your technical questions in clear manner. Before you start to buy specific books on CG software, check out this book and find out what you are most interested in visual effects area. This book covers the most valuable techniques. Disney style effects, moton control camera and so on. Unless you build strong foundation, your CG compositing skills are just remake-up of what others have done. To be creative, we should master the ABC of technical issues. Other good books are 'CG 101' and 'Art and science of digital compositing'. These are wonderful books in visual effects study.
Amazon.com
All creatives need to go to a museum now and then; it's inspiring, encouraging, and refreshing. The problem that motion-graphics artists face is the lack of venues in which to present their work. Pause :59 Minutes of Motion Graphics is a showcase that helps fill that void; an oasis of images that are designed to enlighten and motivate.
This oversized softcover (which uses time code instead of page numbers) presents some of the finest work from a global pool, 300 lavish frames that illustrate the best in contemporary video design, motion graphics, and animation. This collection--featuring such luminary studios as The Attik and MTV, and individual artists like Mike Mills and Richard Kennworthy--is not to be missed. It's a shame that the pictures don't move.
In fact, if there's anything to complain about, it's the fact that there's no accompanying video, CD-ROM, or DVD to display the stunning work in this book properly. Even a Web site with QuickTime clips would have allowed readers to study and admire the work as it was meant to be presented.
If you create animation--or plan to--or do anything that's related to video, film, or motion graphics, you should read this book. Eye-popping, international, and oozing with creativity, Pause :59 Minutes of Motion Graphics belongs not on your shelf, but on your desk; open, accessible, and well worn. --Mike Caputo
Book Description
With its dynamic synthesis of such diverse media as film, animation, graphics and music, video design provides an expansive view into the many states of contemporary creativity. Pause tracks and contextualizes the visual and technological treends that mark the work of the most innovative video designers. As well as broadcast work, Pause examines demo reels, music videos, film titles, animation and experimental 3-D graphics.
Contributing video artists include Tomato, The Attik, Intro, MTV, Fuel, Tycoon Graphics, Richard Kennworthy, Mike Mills and many others from the US, UK, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, Scandinavia and other countries. Work is arranged according to type, rather than author or history, and each chapter is devoted to a theme, with a short introduction. The book also includes an introductory essay and timeline on the development of motion graphics since the widespread acceptance of television.
Customer Reviews:
I wish I didn't buy this book........2007-03-18
I had bought this book because it was "Required Reading" for one of my classes in art college. Not worth buying. Each page features storyboards of various motion graphics commercials/video art (and not even the best motion graphics at that). If I could return it, I'd return it right away. If you're an art student and you're a motion graphics art student, and you're required to buy this book for class, please don't waste your money. You are better off reviewing reels of commercials on company websites and learning from them. The choices of work in this particular book are terrible. The art/color is very mediocre and most seemed to have been released in the 1990's. Much of commercials/motion graphics nowadays are very sophisticated and artsy. You'd learn a lot more by watching the commercials on t.v.
If you are a student, please save your money for your bus fare/train commuting, or better yet save it as lunch money.
Cool idea, insufficient execution.......2001-07-09
This should have been a CD-ROM or DVD product. The stills did nothing to inspire or educate me on motion graphic techniques. Nice philosophic text though.
A nice once over.......2000-11-16
I read this in a sushi restaurant, or rather perused it. The brief bits of text that capped each segment seemed ... inconsequential. Nice ideas at times, but most weren't developed. The design was great, well worth a few hours attention, but better to borrow than to buy. Cinematic works can rarely be broken down to key frames, but the compilers of this book did a good job of that, capturing the essence of the spot (or at least why they were excited by it) in a half dozen shots. I would have loved a VCD or DVD with the book, but no such luck.
Look before you buy.......2000-10-12
I'm not sure what I expected, but I was certainly glad I didn'tbuy it.
'Pause' takes several commercials and displays roughly16-20 frames of each one. The advantage is that most of thesecommercials aren't available to one audience (the USA, for example).
Yes, it's a neat looking, well-designed, oversized thing to hold.There WERE some inspiring things in there. However, in my opinionit's NOT a $35 dollar book. It makes a nice first impression, but inthe end it felt like a very high-end, $20 design industry magazine.It should have been priced as such.
wonderful layout, full of incredible inspirational media art.......2000-08-01
I just picked this book up in NY and I'm blown away. Every time I eye it on my shelf I have to stop what I'm doing and pull it out, sit on the floor, and pour over the pages... This is wonderful art for the generation X/Y age group. Not to cram too many buzzwords into this review, but this stuff really is on the edge... it's out there... I'll be a happy man is this is the direction the art world takes in the next few years...
This book takes an empty approach to design... lots of white and black space with strange freeze frames of different video and web pieces. Unlike most of the digital art books today, this does not have a companion CD-rom. Thats what makes this book so interesting, is that you have digital moving art, frozen, taken out of context, and put to paper. There's not many books like this, too bad.
Average customer rating:
- GREAT BOOK OVER 100 YEARS VISUAL EFFECTS MOVIES
- A huge amount of REAL information in here
- Informative
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Encyclopedia of Movie Special Effects
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Special Effects: The History and Technique
ASIN: 0240803752 |
Book Description
On today's feature films and commercials, visual effects are achieved using a wide array of tools and techniques, often combining camera techniques with computer-rendered images. This book presents a unique approach to the subject through the direct experiences of noted artists from the feature film, television and commercial realm.
The book is divided into two parts. Part one explores the historical background, including such tools as double exposure, in-camera mattes, miniature photography, Schufftan-technique, front and rear screen projection, Introvision, color difference mattes, motion control and other building blocks that have brought visual effects to its current status. Part two features a series of in-depth interviews with noted artists covering feature film, television, and commercial projects. The reader will learn how these technicians developed their tools and talents, including education, experimentation and development of their craft. The chapters will explore their approaches to various challenges in the projects they've worked on. Subjects such as blue/green screen, motion control, number encoding, plate photography, as well as miniature and creature design and implementation are only some of the areas that are covered. The artists also discuss how they work with the director of photography, how they document the set, production work, preparation for post production, as well as design and development of various composite elements. In addition to the techniques employed on various projects, the artists discuss specific shots that succeed and others they wish they could do over, and how they would undertake them the second time.
Examines visual effects from recent blockbuster films
Decision-making and problem-solving discussed by leading experts in the field
Useful for directors and producers as well as effects supervisors and cinematographers
Customer Reviews:
GREAT BOOK OVER 100 YEARS VISUAL EFFECTS MOVIES.......2005-03-10
Wow -- what has changed in Hollywood film, television, video and online more than anything are the Special and Visual effects. This book interviews the gurus of the business. From how Lucas changed the film world with his STAR WARS TRILOGY to a fabulous glossary of defining lots of terms you need to know from Anamorphic (wide screen photography with aspect ratio) to Xenon lights. This book is a quick course in modern production and directing even for the non-techie Great for the next-generation of game developers and for those who are venturing into the arena of mobile video and online IPTV etc.
A huge amount of REAL information in here.......2000-08-28
This book is fantastic, it's really just a collection of interviews but the amount of information you'll find in here is staggering.
It does help if you have some background in effects or at least understand the terms used .. but as a digital artist i learnt masses about the physical processes.
worth it for the interview with Douglas Trumbull alone
Informative.......1999-10-04
This book helps give the reader an idea of what tools are at the disposal of Visual effects supervisors. Good read.
Book Description
Digital Compositing for Film and Video is a hands-on, practical, how-to guide that addresses the problems and difficult choices faced by the professional compositor in real-life situations. It presents techniques, tricks, and solutions for dealing with badly shot elements, coloration artifacts, and mismatched lighting that bedevil actual compositors working on real shots. Readers are offered in-depth practical methods for matte extraction, despill procedures, compositing operations, and color correction--the "meat and potatoes" of all digital effects.
Compositing is the artistic blending of several disparate elements from a variety of sources into a single image while making all the component elements appear to be in the same light space and shot with the same camera. When confronted with a bad composite any observer will recognize that something is wrong--the artist will know what is causing the problem, and the technician will know how to fix it. A good compositor must be both an artist and a technician.
Written by a senior compositor with over ten years' experience in both feature film and broadcast television, this book offers a broad range of alternative solutions that will save hours of fiddling with composites trying to get them to look right when the basic tools aren't working. A companion CD-ROM provides examples of the many topics covered in this book.
Loaded with practical tricks, techniques and alternative solutions to the common thorny problems faced by today's compositorsCompatible with Adobe PhotoshopWritten by a senior compositor with over ten years of digital compositing experience
Customer Reviews:
no book like this.......2007-06-08
There is no other book like this. Or I should say the complete book about compositing. All you need to know and more.
I think for compositing work you only need to read two books this one and one from Ron Brinkmann. No need for anything else.
I've used it already.......2006-02-12
I ordered two compositing books at once: this one and the classic textbook. I found that the other book was thorough but also did not cover that much more than I'd already learned online and through the manuals that came with my compositing program.
This book, however, went into a lot more specifics and I actually took one greenscreen despill recipe from the despill chapter and implemented it in the compositing program I use (Shake) and the results were fantastic. WAY better than what I had been getting with the built-in tools.
The book has a conversational tone and gives a lot of practical tips and recipes for compositing. The CD is a little light in content (basically the photos for the color plates in the book), but the book is still well worth getting if you're doing compositing. He uses a generic node notation for processing diagrams, so users of After Effects or other non-node-based compositing programs will have a tougher time.
Concise technical information!.......2002-12-25
I really struggled through the first chapter, but after that is stared to make more sense. This book is very technical, and many topics like 10-bit logarithmic color are definitely complex concepts, but generally the author does an excellent job of explaining them as simply as possible.
Explanations for what is happening 'under the hood' of a lot of compositing tools are explained, as well as how to achieve them manually. Stuff like keying, despill, unsharp mask, and defocus operations. I've read the 2 other main compositing textbooks available on Amazon.com, I would say this is definitely better than "Digital Compositing In Depth", and slightly better than "The Art & Science of Digital Compositing". It's definitely the most detailed and technical of the 3 books.
I wouldn't recommend this for a beginner, it'd be more suited to someone who has composited for a few years and wants to better understand the underlying concepts of their compositing software.
Fabulous resource........2002-08-29
The author has done a great job of taking most if not all the tricks and tips and combined them into one excellent book.
Film and Video is completely explained and the reader gets a great idea why they are so completely different.
This book is an A+ must have for anyone wanting to know more about the compositing process.
One of the best compositing books out there..........2001-12-27
If you consider yourself an upper intermediate level user or less, I'd recommend this book. Among many other things that it does quite well, it explains what procedural keyers like Primatte are doing and shows you how to accomplish the same kinds of processes manually. You will know what each of the many keyers in After Effects (and other compositing apps) are doing and the logic behind each. You will also learn where best to use each based on the situation at hand. It also takes you through many other areas like matte extraction, despill procedures and color correction. After reading it, you will understand scientifically what is going on under the hood of your favorite imaging and video apps. To me, this is the "Photoshop Channel Chops" of 2001. What David Biedny's legendary PCC book did for Photoshop artists a decade or so ago, this book will do for compositors today. I have seen other books handle this subject, some do it well but none as good as this one. Well-written and very easy to understand -- though there are definitely places where you will have to reread passages to understand what's being said. But if you commit to reading it with more than a cursory perusal, you'll walk away a master. Highly recommended. Five Cows.
Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net
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