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| Developer(s) | Adobe Systems |
|---|---|
| Stable release | CS4 (9.0.2) / 2009-05-29 |
| Operating system | Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows |
| Type | Motion graphics / Visual effects / Animation |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Adobe After Effects Website |
Adobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe Systems. Its main purpose is for film and video post-production.
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Description
Adobe After Effects is primarily used for creating motion graphics and visual effects. After Effects allows users to animate, alter, and composite media in 2d and stereoptic 3d space with various built-in tools and third party plug-ins, as well as individual attention to variables like parallax and user-adjustable angle of observation.
Both After Effects and some non-linear editing systems (NLEs) are layer-oriented, meaning that each individual media object (video clip, audio clip, still image, etc.) occupies its own track. In contrast, some NLEs use a system where individual media objects can occupy the same track as long as they do not overlap in time. This track-oriented system is more suited for editing and can keep project files much more concise. The layer-oriented system that After Effects adopts is suited for extensive effects work and keyframing. Although other compositing packages—especially ones that employ tree or node workflows, such as Apple Shake—are better suited to manage large volumes of objects within a composite, After Effects is able to somewhat counter the clutter by selectively hiding layers (using the Shy switch) or by grouping them into pre-compositions.
The main interface consists of several panels (windows in versions prior to After Effects 7.0). Three of the most commonly used panels are the Project panel, the Composition panel, and the Timeline panel. The Project panel acts as a bin to import stills, video, and audio footage items. Footage items in the Project panel are used in the Timeline panel, where layer order and timing can be adjusted. The items visible at the current time marker are displayed in the Composition panel.
After Effects integrates with other Adobe software titles such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Encore, and Flash.
History
After Effects was originally created by the Company of Science and Art in Providence, RI, USA. Version 1.0 was released in January 1993. Version 2.1 introduced PowerPC acceleration in 1994. CoSA along with After Effects was then acquired by Aldus corporation in July 1993; this company was then acquired by Adobe in 1994, and with it PageMaker and After Effects. Adobe's first new release of After Effects was version 3.0.
bundled
| Provider | Date | Version | Codename | Major features added |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoSA | January 1993 | 1.0 | Egg | layered compositing with mask, effect, transforms, keyframes; Mac only |
| May 1993 | 1.1 | more effects | ||
| Aldus | January 1994 | 2.0 | Teriyaki | Time Layout window, multi-machine rendering, frame blending |
| Adobe | October 1995 | 3.0 | Nimchow | render queue, time remapping, multiple effects per layer, motion tracker, motion math, Illustrator import, Photoshop as comp import, first Japanese version |
| April 1996 | 3.1 | file formats, multiprocessing, advanced keying for the "Professional Bundle" | ||
| May 1997 | 3.1 (Windows) | Dancing Monkey | first Windows version, context menus, first French & German versions | |
| January 1999 | 4.0 | ebeer | tabbed windows, multiple masks per layer, adjustment layers, RAM preview, Premiere import; first simultaneous Mac & Windows release | |
| September 1999 | 4.1 | Batnip | flowchart view, watch folder, 3D channel effects | |
| April 2001 | 5.0 | Melmet | 3D, expressions, 16 bits per channel color | |
| January 7, 2002 | 5.5 | Fauxfu | advanced 3D renderer, multiple 3D views, first OS X version | |
| August 2003 | 6.0 | Foodfite | paint, scripting, text layers, OpenGL support | |
| May 2004 | 6.5 | Chambant | cloning, animation presets, grain management | |
| January 2006 | 7.0 | Clamchop | new docking panels UI, 32 bits per channel color (floating point), display color management, dynamic link with Premiere Pro, first Spanish & Italian versions | |
| July 2, 2007 | CS3 (8.0) | Metaloaf | shape layers, puppet tool, brainstorm, clip notes, full color management; first Intel Mac version | |
| January 22, 2008 | CS3 (8.0.2) | Metaloaf | Panasonic P2 support; last Mac Power PC version | |
| September 23, 2008 | CS4 (9.0) | Chinchillada | CUDA enabled, QuickSearch in the project & timeline, Mini-Flowchart, live PS 3D layer import, separate XYZ, Mocha | |
| January 05, 2009 | CS4 (9.0.1) | Chinchillada | RED R3D file support (via RED plugin) |
Plug-ins
After Effects has extensive plug-in support; and a broad range of third party plug-ins are available. A variety of plug-in styles exist, such as particle systems for realistic effects for rain, snow, fire, etc.
With or without third-party plug-ins, After Effects can manage stereoptic 3D effects. Some of these 3D plug-ins use basic 2D layers from After Effects. Illustrator graphics can also be loaded and rendered in stereoptic 3D using plug-ins such as Zaxwerks 3D Invigorator Pro. Some well-known plug-in vendors are Automatic Duck, BorisFX, Conoa, Cycore Effects, DigiEffects, Digital Anarchy, Digital Film Tools, The Foundry, FXhome, GenArts, GridIron Software, Noise Industries, RE:Vision Effects, Red Giant Software, Synthetic Aperture, Trapcode, Video Copilot, and Zaxwerks.
In addition tostereoptic 3D effects, there are plug-ins for making video look like film or cartoons; simulating fire, smoke, or water; particle systems; slow motion; creating animated charts, graphs, and other data visualization; calculating the 3D movement of a camera in a 2D video shot; eliminating flicker, noise, or rigging lines; translating timelines from FCP or Avid; adding high-end color correction; and other workflow improvements and visual effects.
Comparable products
Competitors to After Effects include Autodesk's Combustion, Flame and Inferno; Apple's Shake and Motion; eyeon Fusion; The Foundry's Nuke; Boris RED; Pinnacle Commotion; and the entry-level FXHome. As far as open-source alternatives go, only Jahshaka exists as a dedicated package, although Blender has non-linear video editing capabilities as well. Both Open Source packages feature sets suffers by comparison with that of After Effects.
External links
- Official web page
- After Effects Tutorials by Creative Cow
- Free After Effects Training by Digital Media Net
- After Effects Tutorials by Jerzy Drozda
- After Effects Tutorials by Harry J Frank
- After Effects Tutorials by Andrew Kramer
- After Effects Tutorials by Aharon Rabinowitz
- After Effects Projects by PlanetAEP
- After Effects Tutorials by Toolfarm
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