Jacquelin Vanderwood

July 1, 2001

Here is a spectacular upgrade to version 4.1. Have you wondered just when Adobe would institute a three-dimensional composite feature to it's already magnificent program? Well, no more waiting, it's here! What can you do with this feature? How does it work? In After Effects you have 3D layers which are rectangles that can be moved in three dimensional space. All layers, except an adjustment layer, can be made into a 3D layer. What's more, you have lights and cameras that can be animated as well. First you must specify the layer as 3D. Just as a regular 3D animation program works with X, Y, and Z coordinates, so also does After Effects. You can also manipulate cast shadows, light illumination, ambient lighting, diffuse lighting, specular and shininess levels too. You can also combine 2D and 3D layers. 

Also along this line are the camera and its' various settings which contain the name, presets, zoom, angle of view, enable depth of field, focus distance, aperture, F-stop, blur level, film size, focal length, units and measurement of film size. The only Transform properties not available to the camera are scale and anchor point. Another transform feature for the camera is the value called the point of interest where the camera is targeted by default at the center. You can adjust it or turn it off, plus have it follow a motion path and draw a mask on a 3D layer. Third-party files are imported as one single layer and, as a whole, can be manipulated in 3D space but you cannot change any individual item.

Photoshop is easily integrated and layered images can be animated with ease while at the same time allowing you to import all the various layers with their special effects. Illustrator layered files stay intact and can have a variety of effects also added to them. Use Illustrator paths within AE with complete control. Accordingly, Premiere files are imported as compositions with their video, audio, and still image clips remaining on their own layers in correct sequence in the Time Layout window. You can embed a GoLive marker directly in After Effects to tell it to go to specific URL. Create mind boggling animation in AE and export them to LiveMotion as Flash files. The interfaces between the two programs are similar.

Now you have the opportunity to apply one layer's transform properties to another layer using the Parenting feature. There can be only one parent but the transforming can be relayed to many child layers (2D and 3D) in the same composition. This is a very handy tool for creating complicated animations. If you want a child's layer properties to change in reference to the parent layer, you would use the Jump option to achieve this effect. You can also have the Parent layer remain invisible while active by using the Null object.

Another new feature you'll want to try is the Vector Paint tool. You use it as a paint brush directly in the composition window to create various graphics. The brush strokes can also be animated over time. Use the Selection tool, the Paint tool, and the Eraser tool. For vector painting, the available brushes are Paint, Air, and Square. You can also change the settings which are radius, feather, opacity, color, and color clone. Specify whether you want to paint in front of an object, outside of an object, and a variety of other ways as well. Once you have completed the painting, then play it back. You can direct it to playback all strokes, past strokes, hold strokes, animate strokes, current frame, and onion skin. You can also set the playback speed. And command the animation to wiggle over time too. 

Included in the upgrade is the Expression feature which allows you to program animations without having to use keyframes. If you like, use JavaScript to modify the expressions. This is a powerful feature and by using expressions, you can create highly sophisticated motions and effects. An easy way to create expressions especially if you don't know JavaScript is by using what is called the pick whip, of course knowing JavaScript will enable you to create complicated relationships between layers. The User Guide book will help you learn this tool more thoroughly.

If you're familiar with Atomic Power's Evolution plug-in for AE, then these new features will be familiar to you. Some of new effects include Shatter, which allows you to extrude a layer then explode it into pieces in varying ways. Also, create radio waves, pond ripples, extract an object from the background with the Inner/Outer Key, the Vegas effect outlines items with running flashing lights that you would see on a marquee. The Colorama effect is exactly what it sounds like, a coloring tool that you can jazz up your composition with. Make organic backgrounds and fractal-based displacement maps, textures, mattes made from the Fractal Noise effect, also create lens distortion with the Optics Compensation effect.

Other new items include the Mask Expansion property to create masks speedily with and without feathering on the edge by insetting and outsetting the mask edge from the mask shape. Identify the layers easily using the new color option.

Using After Effects is faster and easier now with the new performance enhancements features. It has intelligent caching which provides the opportunity to re-render frames that you have edited to be rendered while the cached frames unaffected by the edit remain cached. There is a green bar at the bottom of the time scale showing you how many are currently cached. Another new enhancement shows previews of layers interactively which allows you to view changes as they are being made. Other improvements include RAM previews which specifies a region to preview quickly; you can view the preview in the Footage and Layer windows or full-screen. If you want it to loop continuously you have that option now, or you can view a single segment or palindrome. To view property values, scrub across a value or enter them directly to view the settings. New also is the Import dialog box which imports footage and other files in a single dialog box. You can stipulate different starting times for each composition then save as custom settings the settings that you use often. 

More new features include streamlined media management capabilities which allows you to drag items from the Project window and place them in the order which they were originally in. New commands are Find and Reveal to help you locate source files. To clean up unused source files, use the Reduce Project command. Use Trim Comp to Work Area to minimize the length of a composition. New editing tools are: Ripple Insert, Overlay, Lift Work Area, and Extract Work Area. Slip-edit a trimmed footage layer by dragging the trimmed section left or right. Keyframing commands have been simplified. Export files to Macromedia Flash (swf). New audio upgrades include QuickTime and MP3 audio compression. You now have the option of working in 16-bit or 8-bit-per-channel color modes and also change from one project to another. Import and export Microsoft DirectShow files. There are many new improvements besides these listed.

This 5.0 upgrade definitely makes Adobe After Effects a much more versatile and easier program to use than previous versions. Incredible improvements and capabilities. Wonderful and exciting!

Visit www.Adobe.com pricing on the Production bundle as well as the Standard version. 

Copyright 2001, Jacquelin Vanderwood, All Rights Reserved