Almost all shooting techniques are explained in great detail pointing you to the pros as well as the gotchas so you won’t be surprised in the field. Concepts are broken down to the simplest terms and explore most of the available options. This is great especially for low budget film makers who want to get the most from their gear at the lowest cost possible. I love the fact that this DVD not only tells you how to shoot but also explains what works and why. The camera moves explored in this title are accompanied with a clear graphical path, showing you both the actor(s) and the camera crane, so you’ll know exactly where and how to locate the camera in the scene.

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There are good examples of parallax behaviors and a few methods which show you how to combine crazy moves in order to create interesting but logic camera angles. Following these suggestions will help you decide when to avoid real actors and just do it virtually in a 3D program.

I really like the fact that all the camera moves shown here repeat themselves several times so you can examine, learn and understand the concept that you’re learning.

Of course you can always rewind the DVD when needed, but when important things are repeated it gives you the opportunity to really follow the script and the narration without pushing any extra buttons.

The narration is slow and easy to follow. It walks you through the procedure a step at a time, mentioning everything you’ll need to consider when approaching these complex shots.

You’ll find solutions for camera bumps and artificial keyframes, and suggestions regarding when to ease in and how to control the camera speed, so the move will look realistic and interesting. These are all great advices for a real camera as well as a virtual 3D camera in your compositing or 3D program.
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The only thing which bugs here is the quality of the render. In most cases it looks like it was done in a hurry using low count polygons, even if this is not the case, the result is an ugly edges look which sometimes gave a rough feeling to the scene. It doesn’t impact the concept being shown, but I found it disturbing as sometimes the image tends to flicker (at least on my 42 inch LED screen). Of course you can argue that this is not important and not needed in order to learn the principals, its just that all the films coming out of Hollywood have accustomed us to such high quality these days, my eyes just probably expected to get some more.

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In conclusion: This training DVD offers a good lesson about story telling with the camera as well as technical instructions which can save you hours of research and a few bucks as well. You won’t have to invent the wheel each time you go out for a shoot, just watch the related chapter a few times and you should be ready to roll. And while you might not get the Legend of the Guardians render quality here, you’ll certainly learn how to create those amazing camera moves you’ve been seeing in the recent Hollywood blockbusters.

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I know that you can’t judge a book (or a DVD) by its cover, but first let me start by saying a few words about the package: This training product for After Effects comes in a very unique and well thought through box set. Since I offer this kind of training here locally, I couldn’t help my enthusiasm (and envy). Besides the DVD, which includes 14 hours of video based tutorials, you also get a 120 page color book which can be detached from its box when needed. The book offers you coverage of the new features in version CS5 and in-depth details of technical terms and glossary.

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In terms of the DVD interactivity, I think it’s one of the best I’ve seen. The menu and video quality are flawless. In short – this box set design definitely does the job of selling the product and also serves it well when you use it.

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And now for the training itself – the set of tutorials will guide you through importing assets, creating opening titles, manipulating movies, designing 3D graphics and character animation and much more. The tutorials are presented by two professional and experienced trainers - Todd Kopriva, Adobe Technical Support Lead and Angie Taylor, an art director, illustrator and motion graphic designer, who is a well known product specialist for 14 years.

The pace of the training is right for both beginners and advanced users, however the order of things is not clear, at least at the beginning of the series;

The training starts with a review of possible errors and unexpected behavior of the software – good for some users but not the best welcome. Then there are a bunch of basic movies, which are great for beginners, followed by the creating of a complex cityscape which is far more sophisticated in this stage of the training. Next in line is a series of animating a dog’s face using expressions which, once again, seems a bit out of place in terms of the learning curve.

From chapter 4 things starts to align and the study order becomes more sensible.

I guess the decision of throwing these complex lessons at the intro of this series was made because the authors wanted to keep it interesting without getting into too much technical details (at the least at the beginning of the training), but for me, it cut the flow of learning and threw me into different directions. I think it’s better to get over with the basic stuff before showing recipes and daily usage of the software.

I also found disturbing the inconstant volume level between the lessons. Not a big deal, but one that takes the attention from the subject of learning. I frequently found myself going to the volume bar to reduce or increase the audio level.

I like the “Watch and Work” feature (offered only with the .exe or .app version) which allows you to reduce the training video to a small window and empty up space for you to open the software and work parallel to the training. Very sweet.

Angie’s lessons are great, rich and full with ideas, useful tips and techniques.

There are good explanations about the puppet tool and animating characters using the paint tool – however I was disappointed that she didn’t get into all the wonderful options of the paint tool itself. Angie also teaches an in-depth chapter on Animation, exploring all the methods to create keyframes including working in the layer window (a nice way to work, which unfortunately most users don’t utilize). She demystifies the Graph Editor and offers a straight forward explanation about After Effects 3D axis modes. There’s a good chapter about formatting text and paragraph, although for some reason this chapter seems to repeat itself with minor variations. It looks like the content has been modified and we’ve been given both versions of almost the same tutorial.

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From Todd, you’ll find great technical advices along with useful stuff of common usage of the software such as: Leaving only one color in a movie or creating a trail of echoes behind a moving subject. Good advice for the Rotobrush tool with the echo effect and a handful of tips for stylizing a movie to look like a cartoon.

You’ll also learn an easy and fast way to remove a logo from a clip along with many ways to improve After Effects performance.

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There’s a nice touch with the ‘Test Yourself’ section at the end of each chapter. These are interactive quizzes throughout the course, designated to reinforce what you’ve learned. A great idea that was implemented well, however, I doubt users will actually take them. In my opinion, there’s nothing like real hands on practice, but then again, I may be wrong here.

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The only thing I was missing is some kind of a short review of popular plug-ins. These days, there are so many extensions that can expand the ability of the software, and I would expect to find some kind of reference to them, perhaps in the book if not in the videos.

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In summary, this comprehensive and interesting title includes dozens of hours of hands-on exercises. It is served in a nice, pleasant and professional way and gives emphasis on the important parties of the software. After Effects has grown and expanded so much over the years, that even a comprehensive product like this finds it difficult to cover all aspects of it. It’s apparent that the authors have gone into great detail and attention and I think anyone who devotes time to watch all classes will get most of the information he or she needs to start creating motion graphics with the software and perhaps even fall in love with After Effects thanks to the passion of the lecturers.

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This training is easy to follow, even for non 3D artists like myself. Tim presents in a very calm manner, talks clearly and takes the time to explain each stage in great detail. He also helps you avoid obstacles on the way and go over ideas, not just showing which button to press. MILG6 is a VERY comprehensive training Tutorial, not aimed for quick and fast results; but rather turns to the professional user who wants to understand the best of Cinema 4D and After Effect’s work flow.

Although most of the work is done using Cinema 4D, there are two chapters almost 2 hours long, that are dedicated to composting all the 3D elements and enhancing the design using After Effects. Tim’s techniques are unique and refreshing and I’m sure you’ll be able to learn a lot from him. I’ll summarize it by saying that even common filters like Fractal Noise and Circle will not look the same anymore, not to mention a great usage of Trapcode Particular as well.

It’s a rare chance to get a full detailed look of behind the scenes of real broadcast design work. After watching this DVD I think you’ll appreciate how many hours and planning are being put into a single intensive promo spot.

You can learn more details about MILG 6 at MotionWorks.

I especially like the Gyro tutorial for its use of Text elements combined with shape tools and simple filters, all cooked up with some clever expressions which yield a nice design and sophisticated look.

There’s no doubt that in each lesson you’ll learn something new, and thanks to Jerzy’s light and fun presentation, your toolbox will be filled with cool tools that might come in handy sooner then you thought.

I recommend it!