1)  Your director has just given you a project to combine three videos from very different sources.    Source 1 appears to have every other line in the image offset, especially with objects that are moving fast. This was shot at 30 frames per second.  Source 2 is a PAL video.  Source 3 is an HD video shot at 29.97 fps.     
What would be the first question you would ask to be able to successfully complete this project?

"What format would you like the final format in."
What name is given to the process of bringing together sources of different formats and making them all the same format?

Conforming.

Why does Source 1 have a 'combing' effect, and what do you have to do to be able to use this footage?

Its interlaced, and you need change the fields.

2)  You just sent your client a finished AE project.  The video was requested in Standard Def.  The client says that the animation looks stretched out.  Their round logo looks squished.  You have to do it again.What would be the first place you would look to find answers to solve this problem?

The source stats in the Project window will show all the details of footage.

What are two possible settings that might have caused the problem?

The Square pixel aspect, or the Region code.

Do you have to re-animate it?

No, just re-render.

3)  The project you just completed was thrown back on your desk.  Your technical director is frustrated because the logo you created is not keyable.  The background that should have been transparent, isn't.    

Where do you check to see what was actually rendered? 

Render setting in the Render queue.

What should have been the render settings to make the background transparent?

RGB+ Alpha.

How could you have checked this before you rendered the animation?























A square button at the bottom view window.

Good things:

  Project info
  Composition Settings
  Footage Interpretation

Mixing footage of different aspect ratios can be fixed with these. Changing fps and the pixel aspect ratio can be changed in these settings in the project window and such. Conforming the footage can also do some fantastic things like removing the combing effect on certain interlaced file types.