In this video series you can see 40 tips, tricks, workflow suggestions, and more really cool stuff. Down you can find the description about this ‘event’.

‘After Effects has been around for over 17 years and with the recent release of CS5 it’s now up to version 10.  Every new release brings new features and some have received more attention than others.  This 5-part series looks at a selection of features that were in After Effects before CS5 but have been often overlooked.  A total of 40 tips, tricks, workflow suggestions and general reminders are given covering topics including layout, masking, painting, rendering and even using the interface.’

There are 3 videos up, so far. So check them out and enjoy with this gift.

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Victor Hernandez

The idea for this project started with a question: Is it possible to create an image that depicts its own histogram? (A histogram, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a bar graph representing all the tones in an image – it typically looks something like a mountain range). I played around a little bit in Photoshop and the closest thing I came up with was this image.

Via AE-List

Allright, I’ve teased you enough over the past few days, dangling the podcast carrot right in front of your nose. If you were not able to listen, everything is working right and it’s ready to go. Crunch that carrot.

Without further ado, Plugged-In: The Digital Landscape – Epidsode 1. Click for details of the podcast and info on how to listen.

Gather the kids around the computer and spend some quality family time! Read the interview and see some cuter-than-puppies-wrapped-in-kittens screen shots.

To save time when you pitch your preferences, set up your settings exactly as you like them, duplicate your preference file and store it someplace safe. Then, when things get buggy, replace the bad preferences with your good copy. Be careful to rename it exactly the same.

Here is an excerpt:

Having problems with After Effects? Here’s a collection of tried and true remedies:

1. Check that your system harddrive and the harddrive where you store your After Effects project and footage aren’t full, and then run a disk check to make sure they aren’t damaged.

2. Uninstall QuickTime, restart your computer.

3. Uninstall any third-party video and audio codecs for QuickTime and Windows Media, such as XviD, DivX, FFDShow, BlackMagic, Aja, Avid, Flip4Mac, etcetera.

4. Reinstall the latest version of QuickTime.

Lots more great tips await you.

They’re giving away LOADS of door prizes including Red Giant Software: Magic Bullet Suite, MB Colorista and Trapcode Suite (all Trapcode Plug-ins), three Wondertouch particleIllusion licenses, GridIron Nucleo and Nucleo Pro, Cinema 4D and Mograph, Sorenson Squeeze Power Pack, Automatic Duck, Digital Anarchy PlasmaFX, Cycore FX and more. Wow…. good stuff, indeed.

Levels is a plug-in I’ve never had a problem with and my students seem to grasp it really well. Curves, however, is another animal. My students sometimes have a tough time figuring out how it works. Maybe we’ll see a reference guide for curves? Heck, maybe I will make one.

Update: John tells me that he IS working on a Curves reference guide. Thanks, John! I know that will certainly be used in my classroom.

How many times have you thought you’ve capped your dry erase or felt tip markers? How many markers have your kids left the caps off and ruined? My daughter got some dry erase markers and an easel for Christmas and left the caps off last night. I Googled “Rejuvenate Dried Markers” and found a great tip. I always tried dipping in water and that has never worked too well.

This actually works. I’m sure that Mr. Wizard probably had this on his show… or in a Heloise column somewhere. Use a 2 foot length of string and some tape. Double up the string and tape the end of the string to the marker. Tape the top end of the marker, not the writing tip. You’ll have a loop. Put your finger in the loop and swing the marker over your head for 20 seconds or so, like a helicopter propellar. The centrifugal force will draw the moisture to the tip of the marker. The markers were so moist, they were drippy!