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Rating: 
Summary: Concise technical information!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best compositing books out there...
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous resource.
Review: 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.
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