ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS

History

2009-02-09T00:34:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

Using third-party plug-ins, After Effects can create 3D effects. These sorts of 3D plug-ins use basic 2D layers from After Effects. Illustrator graphics can also be loaded and rendered in 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 to 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.

Description

2009-02-09T00:33:00.001-08:00

Both After Effects and some non-linear editing systems (NLEs) are generally track-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. (After Effects does feature a Flowchart panel, which is similar to tree or node graph, but this view of a composition is mostly for display purposes and is not fully functional.)

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.

ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS

2009-02-08T04:29:00.000-08:00

Create motion graphics and visual effects with the industry standard
With Adobe® After Effects® CS4 software, you can create compelling motion graphics and blockbuster visual effects with flexible tools that help save you time and deliver unparalleled creative power.
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You can locate project elements instantly
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After Effects can import 3D layers from Photoshop
Import 3D models from Adobe Photoshop® CS4 software, and then bring them into After Effects to composite them with other elements, adjust lighting, and more.See top new features ›
After Effects is part of an end-to-end solution
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