About the Authors

James Rankin

James Rankin is the founder and creative director of the Los Angelesbased design studio Light Space and Time, LLC, a multifaceted visual communications company focused on broadcast design, interactive media, Web design, and consulting for the entertainment industry and corporate clients.

James is also the developer and director of the Motion Graphics program for Video Symphony, an entertainment media training center in Burbank, California, where he teaches professionals from entertainment companies such as Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, Fox News, CNN, ABC, and NBC. His innovative teaching style, humor, and wealth of real-world practical and technical expertise have made his classes sought after by both industry professionals and aspiring motion graphics artists worldwide.

James's background includes software application design, commercial photography, and special effects for arena concerts. He has been a featured After Effects instructor at a number of ShowBiz Expo conferences across the country. His credits include design awards, magazine covers, sold-out gallery exhibits, and a successful music CD.

Acknowledgments

This book became a reality as the result of a lot hard work by everyone involved. I want to begin by expressing my thanks and gratitude to my publisher, Peachpit Press, and Marjorie Baer for this great opportunity. My thanks to my editors, coauthor, and contributors for sharing their talent, vision, and support. To my family and friends for their patience and love. Steve, thank you for being in the right place at the right time and seeing the possibilities.

Anna Ullrich

Anna Ullrich used her off-time during graduate school to learn HTML and Web design, eventually teaching at different universities while still working on her MFA and doing a wide variety of freelance creative work. After graduation, she spent five years working at Adobe Systems in Seattle in various jobs: writing user guides (including the After Effects 6.5 release) and tutorials, illustrating technical guides, and even providing technical support.

Anna studied photography at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she earned her BFA and was first introduced to digital imaging by the pioneering computer-based artist Paul Berger. She went on to earn her MFA in photography at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where she studied with Martina Lopez (another former photo student of Paul's), whose digital artwork emphasizes personal narratives.

Anna is an accomplished fine artist, best known for her frenzied, large-scale, two-dimensional digital montages. She recently exhibited a group of work in a show organized by FotoFest (www.fotofest.org) that traveled throughout the world, most recently to the Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art.

Anna is currently taking her artwork into new dimensions and works as a freelance artist and Web designer.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks and much gratitude to Christine Yarrow for introducing me to the folks at Peachpit Press and for appreciating me and my pottery collection. Thank you to James, Danielle, and Jason for their inspiring creativity and talent; I'm just riding on their coattails with this one. Thank you to the After Effects team for being the coolest and nicest team of people I ever worked with at Adobe. (Christine's easily the coolest individual at Adobe.) And special thanks to Tiffany Taylor and Rebecca Gulick at Peachpit for working with me and the constantly shifting schedule.