We’re going through our book Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects 5th Edition (CMG5) and pulling out a few “hidden gems” from each chapter. These will include essential advice for new users, plus timesaving tips that experienced users may not be aware of.

The Roto Brush is a relatively new tool introduced in After Effects CS5 that helps automate creating a matte to separate a foreground from a background, such as isolating an actor from the room around him. To accomplish this, you draw brush strokes to teach After Effects the difference between the two. After Effects uses this information in conjunction with edge detection, motion tracking, and optical flow technologies to follow the changes in foreground and background over time.

Roto Brush is not perfect, but it’s a lot easier than hand drawing and animating precise mask shapes (plus you can use the Paint tools - the subject of the previous chapter - as well as masking to help clean up any problem areas that the automated Roto Brush may have misinterpreted). In this chapter in the Creating Motion Graphics book, we guide you through a preferred workflow for achieving good results with Roto Brush. Here are a few tips, hidden gems, and general advice from that chapter.

FCP X has received a lot of scrutiny since Conan O’Brian.  However, it seems that gradually more and more editors are starting to roll with the changing tides.  Embracing change is always a challenge, especially when we can be so set in our routine ways.

The new Final Cut Pro is not only a software upgrade but a whole new change in editing mindset. Apple has always been a leader in innovation and technology and with its track record we do believe it will support their new product and overtime even use it to alter industry trends yet again. But, If you are not convinced and are wondering what path to take. Here for your options on crossing over, upgrading yourself or migrating to the new technology.

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