Jacquelin Vanderwood

October 1, 2001

I watched all the videos of Total Training's After Effects 4 (14 in all), they were incredible. Then I watched Total Training's After Effects 5 videos (8 in all) and they were mind-boggling! The series is hosted by Brian Maffitt, Chief Creative Officer for Total Training. Each video is approximately two hours long - add that up and you get 44 hours of intense instruction from an real world expert. If you are unfamiliar with After Effects then I suggest getting this bundled product of both versions, you'll need to know the basics of how the program operates. AE 4 videos will teach you all of the necessary skills to get you up to speed so that when you upgrade to AE 5 you'll be able to handle the advancements. 

Adobe purchased the rights to Atomic Power's award winning plugin suite, Evolution. Brian is the co-founder of Atomic Power Corp. which also produces Psunami. He hosts the New York After Effects User Group and is a frequent presenter at trade shows, plus he also conducts AE training at some of the nations top advertising firms which leads one to conclude that he is definitely an expert in his field. In the AE 5 videos he expects you to already know the program and therefore he teaches in a more advanced manner. His style of teaching is easy to follow and if you don't get it the first time, rewind.

Let's see what's new in Total Training's Adobe After Effects 5 videos: As you know there were a number of upgrades in AE 5 making it an incredibly competitive product in the broadcast animation and special effects industry. No longer is it relegated to 8-bit limbo prison, it's graduated to 16-bit paradise. By far the most impressive upgrade is the incorporation of the Evolution effects: Shatter, Card Wipe, Card Dance, Colorama, Radio Waves, Vegas, Wave World and Caustics, Foam, and Fractal Noise. Another important new feature is Expressions; if you know anything about programming then this section will be a breeze to sail through; for the programming impaired, Brian walks the viewer through all the steps in a simple and concise manner. He also teaches you how to use the Wiggler with expressions and shows you some of his favorites. Once you master Expressions you'll discover just how much power there is at your fingertips. Another exciting new feature is 3D. Bet you didn't know that AE 5 was also a 3D program; Brian shows you how it works and some exciting possibilities. You'll learn 3D basics, about cameras, plus lighting and materials, and how to create a complex folding animation. Another interesting addition to the program is Paint, a vector painting program with interesting possibilities. 

I have only touched on the massive amounts of information covered in these videos but I'm excited to tell you that they are priceless. If you want to save time and money in learning the new features of AE 5, I guarantee you'll not regret for one moment purchasing this wealth of knowledge. Indeed, I am extremely impressed with the series and can't wait to go back and rewatch them.

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Program One "What's Different"

Lesson 1 Integration and Productivity (76 min)

Lesson 2 Masks (14 min)

Lesson 3 Motion Tracker (5 min)

Lesson 4 Preferences (12)

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Program Two "Parenting, Flash & Expressions:

Lesson 1 Parenting (29 min)

Lesson 2 Flash (13 min)

Lesson 3 Expressions Intro (32 min)

Lesson 4 Espress (14 min)

Lesson 5 My Favorite Expressions (27 min)

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Program 3 & 4 "3D Part I"

Lesson 1 3D Space Basics (67 min)

Lesson 2 Cameras (47 min)

Lesson 3 Lighting and Material (22 min)

"3D Part II"

Lesson 1 Advanced 3D (42 min)

Lesson 2 Fun with Parenting and Expressions (61 min)

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Program Five "New Effects Part I"

Lesson 1 Shatter Intro (41 min)

Lesson 2 Shatter with Gradients (8 min)

Lesson 3 The Corner Pin Camera (14 min)

Lesson 4 Custom Shatter Maps (18 min)

Lesson 5 Custom Maps with Alpha (8 min)

Lesson 6 Realistic Shatter (10 min)

Lesson 7 Troubleshooting (5 min)

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Program Six "New Effects Part II"

Lesson 1 Card Wipe (29 min)

Lesson 2 Card Dance (28 min)

Lesson 3 Colorama (49 min)

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Program Seven "New Effects Part III"

Lesson 1 Radio Waves (27 min)

Lesson 2 Vegas (25 min)

Lesson 3 Wave World and Caustics (62)

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Program 8 "New Effects Part IV"

Lesson 1 Foam (54 min)

Lesson 2 Fractal Noise (41 min)

Lesson 3 Optics Compensation (6 min)

Lesson 4 Paint (16 min)

If you want more information on Total Training's Adobe After Effects 5 video series, the URL is listed below:

www.TOTALTRAINING.COM