After Effects
Make Your Own Planet
by Tom Green - 19-Nov-09
Reader Level: 
Just because a planet doesn't have your name doesn't mean you can't make one. Mix together Fireworks, After Effects and Flash and you are able to build your own solar system.
Playing with Lightning
by Tom Green - 26-Aug-08
Reader Level:
If you have ever wondered how one experiences one really upset cartoonist? One who is so upset he has lightning shooting out of his body. If you have After Effects Cs3 and Flash professional CS3, it isn't difficult.
Approximate download size: 15MB
Create Lightning in a Flash with After Effects
by Tom Green - 31-Jul-08
Reader Level: 
Have you ever wondered how to create lightning in After Effects? It's actually quite simple...
Approximate download size: 50MB
Playing with Bitmaps in Flash - Part 7b: Creating an Oozing Image Using After Effects
by Tom Green - 28-Jul-08
Reader Level:
Now that the imaging is done in Fireworks, let's go over to After Effects and get it to ooze.
Approximate download size: 18.2MB
The Playing With Bitmaps In Flash CS3 Series:
From Photo to Art and Back Again
A Page Transition Effect in Flash CS3
Interactive Blurs
Playing with Bitmaps in Flash - Part 4: Scaling on the Fly
Playing with Bitmaps in Flash - Part 5: Adding Textures
Playing with Bitmaps in Flash - Part 6: Batch Processing
Playing with Bitmaps in Flash - Part 7a: Creating an Oozing Image
Playing with Bitmaps in Flash - Part 7b: Creating an Oozing Image
Playing with Bitmaps in Flash - Part 7c: Completing the Project In Flash Coming Soon
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 3
by Tom Green - 07-Dec-07
Reader Level:
Now that you have created the smoke effect, how do you run it through the FLVPlayback component or a video object in Flash and have it loop? Read on...
Approximate download size: 7.6 MB
The Smoking Out After Effects Series
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 1
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 2
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 3
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 2
by Tom Green - 05-Dec-07
Reader Level:
Did you know you can "bend" smoke? It can be done if you take a different approach to the Puppet tool in After Effects CS3.
Approximate download size: 10.4MB
The Smoking Out After Effects Series
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 1
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 2
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 3
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 1
by Tom Green - 30-Nov-07
Reader Level:
You learned how to create smoke in Photoshop CS3. Now you learn how to create it in After Effects CS3.
The Smoking Out After Effects Series
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 1
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 2
Smoking Out After Effects: Part 3
Using the After Effects CS3 Puppet Tool
by Tom Green - 11-Oct-07
Reader Level:
The new Puppet Tool in After Effects CS3 is a hidden gem. The amount of fun you can have with it should be illegal.
Approximate download size: 8.5MB
Blowing Stuff Up in After Effects
by Tom Green - 09-Mar-07
Reader Level:
Blowing up planets and graphics in Flash is extremely difficult to accomplish without a Master-Level of Actionscript competence. After Effects makes this quite easy to accomplish and, in fact, it can be kind of therapeutic!
Approximate download size: 12.8MB
From Flash to After Effects
by Tom Green - 28-Feb-07
Reader Level:
Who says you have to export QuickTime out of Flash to get a video?
A Bright Idea from Community MX
by Tom Green - 15-Feb-07
Reader Level:
Instead of looking at After Effects and Flash as being two big applications... ask yourself how they can work together. The results my just be the brightest idea you ever had.
From Final Product to Upload in Flash Professional 8: Part 2
by Tom Green - 20-Dec-06
Reader Level:
In January, 2007, friendsofED will be releasing a ground breaking book: From After Effects to Flash: Poetry in Motion Graphics. Written by Community MX Partner, Tom Green and Community MX contributer, Tiago Dias, the book is the first exploration of how After Effects and Flash are about to become a motion graphics power house.
Over the next few weeks, we will be presenting the first two chapters of the book. These two chapters are designed to explore the emerging workflow between After Effects and Flash and they take you from concept to upload. In this second excerpt, from Chapter 2, you convert the project created in the previous chapter into an FLV.
Approximate download size: 3.1MB
From Final Product to Upload in Flash Professional 8
by Tom Green - 05-Dec-06
Reader Level:
You have created a video in After Effects. Now it is time to encode it and prepare it for playback through Flash.
Approximate download size: 13.6MB
From After Effects to Flash: Poetry in Motion Graphics
by Tom Green - 01-Dec-06
Reader Level:
In this last installment of Chapter One we examine how to prepare an After Effects Video for encoding in Flash.
From Concept to Final Product in After Effects 7: Part 2
by Tom Green - 28-Nov-06
Reader Level:
Learn how to add and manipulate a variety of objects and media in an After Effects project destined for Flash playback. This is the second part of Chapter One of From After Effects to Flash: Poetry in Motion Graphics
From Concept to Final Product in After Effects 7
by Tom Green - 17-Nov-06
Reader Level:
In January, 2007, friendsofED will be releasing a ground breaking book: From After Effects to Flash: Poetry in Motion Graphics. Written by Community MX Partner, Tom Green and Comunity MX contributer, Tiago Dias, the book is the first exploration of how After Effects and Flash are about to become a motion graphics power house.
Over the next few weeks, we will be presenting the first two chapters of the book. These two chapters are designed to explore the emerging workflow between After Effects and Flash and they take you from concept to upload. In this first excerpt, from Chapter 1, you are introduced to the After Effects work space and how Projects and Compositions are created in After Effects.
Create Weather in Flash
by Tom Green - 10-Nov-06
Reader Level:
Who says creating rain and snow in Flash has to be difficult? Combine Flash and After Effects and you too can be a rain maker or snow maker.
Warping Video in a Flash
by Tom Green - 30-Oct-06
Reader Level:
Sometimes video needs to be such an odd shape that using a simple mask in Flash just won't solve the issue. In this video tutorial, I show you how to use the bezier Warp tool in After efects 7 to create a video that wraps around a shape. Then I show you how to output the video in After Effects and use that video in Flash.
Fire and Smoke in After Effects
by Tiago Dias - 23-Oct-06
Reader Level:
After Effects from Adobe is capable of some fantastic video effects right out of the box, but there are also some great plug-ins with the Pro version that can help you put some extra pizazz into your video. This tutorial will show you how to create realistic Fire & Smoke effects using only the bundled plugins which you get when buying the Pro Version of After Effects 7.
Tiago Dias works at a corporate television and news production company based in London with subsidiaries around the world, as a video producer and Flash developer — this is Tiago's ideal job, as it combines 2 of his favorite technologies! In his free time he writes tutorials on Flash and After Effects for various communities.
Building a Flash Video Kaleidoscope - Part 1: Video Reflection
by Tom Green,Joseph Balderson - 22-Sep-06
Reader Level:
The ideas that sparked this series came about in an unexpected manner.
Having just completed an article on the subject of creating reflections in Flash, I started thinking about how it could be done using video instead of images. In typical Community MX fashion, I bounced my question off of our Flash guy Joseph Balderson, and we rapidly solved the problem. (That's happens when a couple of "Tech weenies" get hold of Flash Video.) By that I mean we have a fascination with what we can do with this technology. As such the two of us starting thinking:, "Yeah that is interesting but, really, what more can we do with this basic technique?"
It turns out there is quite a bit more you can do with the video reflection technique. At one point in our discussion Joe said, "Hey, now that we have one reflection working, why not add a few more? Let's show 'em how to build a video kaleidoscope too!!" And so this series was born.
Approximate download size: 4.2MB
Create Your Own iPod Ad
by Tom Green - 22-Aug-06
Reader Level: 
So Apple creates these really cool ads for the iPod. The ones that have black silhouettes against bright backgrounds. Ever wondered how they do it? They aren't telling but here's one way.
Approximate download size: 15.6MB
Text in Motion With the Wiggler
by Tom Green - 19-May-06
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When you start using After Effects, there will come a time when you look at the presets and think, "Gosh, I am bored with these." That will be the point where you discover Adobe has a wonderful sense of humor and you start using the Wiggler. In the text options, on the timeline, the Wiggly selector can be added to a chunk of text to randomize the values of any of the properties associated with that group. That description may sound rather formal, but when it comes to adding effects, randomness can lead to some happy surprises.
Approximate download size: 541k
Flash Text Effects and Adobe After Effects 7
by Tom Green - 25-Jan-06
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Ever wondered how to do a cool motion graphic text effect without knowing how to use Flash or even do a tween? If you have After Effects, a simple drag and drop is all you need to know.
Alpha Video and HTML: How did they do that?
by Tom Green - 03-Jan-06
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Flash Video containing an Alpha channel can be used to intereact with your web pages. It is surprisingly easy to do.
Creating an Alpha Video in Adobe After Effects
by Tom Green - 01-Dec-05
Reader Level:
After Effects 6.5 is the tool of choice for creating Alpha Channel video among the pros. Here's how.
Alpha Video Tricks
by Tom Green - 26-Oct-05
Reader Level:
Looking to do some cool video stuff in Flash Professional 8 such as adding a drop shadow or having the background "project" onto the subject? Read on...
