After Effects PowerStart training is taught by Stephen Schleicher, who writes for Digital Media Net. Stephen is a smart and funny presenter and his personality comes through in the training, but occasionally it comes off a bit scripted. He says things like "Neato!" and "Good job!" which delivers some schticky playfulness to the program.

The lessons are straightforward and progress logically. In the end, the user creates a compelling title animation that is very "real world". Stephen begins with an intro to the program and then gives a very quick overview of the interface and project settings. There's no reason to spend a lot of time there, since the specifics are revisited several times throught the training. He covers the transform properties, keyframing, animation presets, shortcuts, masks, nesting, a couple of effects, track mattes, an introduction to the Advanced Text Engine and 3D layers with ease. The project files are included on the DVD.

The graphics throughout the program look amazing. The pop-up windows with the shortcuts are similar to the ones we used in Toolfarm's Expert Training Series, and get the job done efficiently by really brining the shortcuts to your attention. It's visual reinforcement at it's best. The color schemes and segment titles are appealing, as is the music bed.

As a veteran After Effects user, I cannot say that I learned any new techniques or tricks. However, the material presented is well-organized, and it was beneficial to me in another way. I teach After Effects at an art college and after viewing this training, I'm now rethinking the order of the material that I cover and how I approach certain topics.

The training is fast, which is great if you have a short attention span or not a lot of time. It gives a more than adequate introduction to After Effects, touching on most of the important areas of the program. If you're new to After Effects, I highly recommend this training. I also recommend it to those teaching After Effects.