After Effects and Final Cut Pro

I've got a pretty good understanding of FCP (and getting better at Motion); of course one can never learn enough, but as I've searched around for work as a video editor a lot employers want an applicant with some Adobe After Effects experience.
Can anyone suggest a book or DVD or set of tutorials to gain a working knowledge of AE so that when a project requires jumping into AE I'm not totally lost. Or is it something that I shouldn't be too worried about, as Motion could be a good substitute for AE.
TIA
Cheers,
D

The books by Chris & Trish Meyers are great. They used to be split into a Vol 1, & Vol 2: the latter being more advanced. Now they've combined them into a single book. (LINK) You can't go wrong with these authors!
There's a ton of video training over at lynda.com, for AE as well.
As far as whether or not you should pursue this is up to you. More arrows in the quiver, the better, I think. Depends too on the specific jobs you're approaching. Are they saying "AE" because they have an established pipeline, implementing it - specifically - already? Or are they saying "AE" as a general term for motion graphics. Meaning, if you can get the same result from Motion, that someone else got in AE, then what's the difference?
Here's another tip: Fundamentals. It can never hurt to up your skills/knowledge of color theory, grid systems, general design, typography, layouts, timing, illustration, infographics...etc. All these things underly what you're going at with any Mograph package. If you can come to grips with these concepts then what you use to express them will become irrelevant. You could use Motion, AE, C4D, Combustion, Flame, etc, etc... Nowadays what I'm seeing is a lot of "designers" who are such, only in name. Meaning, the own a graphics app. They don't really know how to "design" and their work shows it.
Focus on the ammunition, not the gun. You'll be so much better off in the long run.

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