Adobe After Effects

Create motion graphics and stunning visual effects.

Product summary of Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is among the family of products created by Adobe Systems. The Adobe After Effects software is meant to create motion graphics and visual effects through the use of flexible tools that will help users save much time while still getting results that are of the highest quality. This software is a must-have for any creative professional who wants to create unique visuals that truly stand out. Teachers, students, motion graphic designers, visual effects artists, and compositors can all benefit from using Adobe After Effects when creating content for video, film, DVD, or the Internet.  

Features of Adobe After Effects

There are many different versions of Adobe After Effects, the latest of which is the Adobe Effects CS4, which was released on the 23rd of September 2008. Despite the fact that the earlier versions were already setting industry standards, Adobe took it a notch higher with this newly released version that's packed with even more powerful features.

With searchable timelines, users no longer have to spend precious minutes of their time trying to find where a certain element is. The QuickSearch function makes it easy to search for missing elements in a project. The new Mini-Flowchart found in After Effects CS4 also makes it easy to navigate between nested comps.

Users can also choose to create compositions in Adobe After Effects CS4 that they can use later on in Adobe Flash Professional. Each component of position may also be animated individually. Tracking and stabilizing motion can now be done more easily with the use of the Imagineer Systems mocha, which is a stand-alone application that exports tracking data to be used in compositions in After Effects.

Another great thing about Adobe After Effects CS4 is the fact that it has Dynamic Link, a feature that allows users to pass layered projects back and forth between various applications instantly. This can be done fluidly and doesn't even need intermediate rendering. This means that when a user dynamically links a project from Adobe Premiere CS4 to After Effects CS4, how the sequence behaves in Premiere will be retained in After Effects. Changing elements in Premiere will also mean automatically updating the same project in After Effects. The same can be done with Adobe Illustrator CS4 and Adobe After Effects. Vector-based objects, text, and other illustrations in Illustrator will remain intact when dynamically linked to After Effects.

Editors review of Adobe After Effects

Installation of Adobe After Effects CS4 is easy. Users only have to quit all the applications running on their computer, insert the installation disc into the CD drive, and make sure to follow the step-by-step instructions. After that, activation and registration will have to be done, which are also fairly easy and quick processes.

When it comes to the user interface, the major change from Adobe After Effects CS3 to Adobe After Effects CS4 is that the names of the user interface items have been changed. There's only a slight change in basic functionality, so those who have been using earlier versions of Adobe After Effects won't have a hard time adjusting when using this version. For those who aren't familiar yet with the software but want to take a look at how the features work, video tutorials are available at the official Adobe website.