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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 379 KB) Summary After Effects 7. ... For other uses, see Software developer (disambiguation). ... Adobe Systems (pronounced a-DOE-bee IPA: ) (NASDAQ: ADBE) (LSE: ABS) is an American computer software company headquartered in San Jose, California, USA. Adobe was founded in December 1982[1] by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, who established the company after leaving Xerox PARC in order to develop and sell... Code complete redirects here. ... is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... An operating system (OS) is a software that manages computer resources and provides programmers with an interface used to access those resources. ... Mac OS X (pronounced ) is a line of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. ... Windows redirects here. ... The term video editing can refer to: non-linear editing system, using computers with video editing software linear video editing, using videotape Video editing is the process of re-arranging or modifying segments of video to form another piece of video. ... Visual effects (or VFX for short) is the term given in which images or film frames are created and manipulated for film and video. ... A software license is a legal agreement which may take the form of a proprietary or gratuitous license as well as a memorandum of contract between a producer and a user of computer software. ... Proprietary software is software with restrictions on copying and modifying as enforced by the proprietor. ... A website (alternatively, web site or Web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or more web servers, usually accessible via the Internet. ... In visual effects post-production, compositing refers to creating new images or moving images by combining images from different sources – such as real-world digital video, film, synthetic 3-D imagery, 2-D animations, painted backdrops, digital still photographs, and text. ... Adobe Systems (pronounced a-DOE-bee IPA: ) (NASDAQ: ADBE) (LSE: ABS) is an American computer software company headquartered in San Jose, California, USA. Adobe was founded in December 1982[1] by John Warnock and Charles Geschke, who established the company after leaving Xerox PARC in order to develop and sell... Post production is the general term for the last stage of film production in which photographed scenes (also called footage) are put together into a complete film. ...

Description

After Effects uses a system of layers organized on a timeline to create composites from still images and motion footage, such as video files. Properties such as position and opacity can be controlled independently for each layer, and each layer can have effects applied. After Effects is often described as the "Photoshop of video", because its flexibility allows compositors to alter video in any way they see fit, as Photoshop does for images. Photoshop redirects here. ...

Although After Effects can create images of its own, it is generally used to composite material from other sources to make moving graphics (also known as motion graphics). For example, with a picture of a space ship and a picture of a star background, After Effects could be used to place the ship in front of the background and animate it to move across the stars. In visual effects post-production, compositing refers to creating new images or moving images by combining images from different sources – such as real-world digital video, film, synthetic 3-D imagery, 2-D animations, painted backdrops, digital still photographs, and text. ... Motion graphics are graphics that use video and/or animation technology to create the illusion of motion or a transforming appearance. ...

Each picture or movie is layered on a timeline, in a similar way to a Non-Linear Editing System (NLE). However, one difference between After Effects and NLEs is that After Effects is layer-oriented, and NLEs are generally track-oriented. This means that in After Effects, each individual media object (video clip, audio clip, still image, etc.) occupies its own track; in contrast, 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 precompositions. (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. A non-linear editing system is a video editing or audio editing system that can perform random access on the source material. ... In animation, a key frame is a frame in an animated sequence of frames that was drawn or otherwise constructed directly by the user rather than generated automatically, e. ... Shake is an image compositing package used in the post-production industry. ...

After Effects integrates with other Adobe software titles such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Encore, and Flash. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Photoshop redirects here. ... Adobe Premiere Pro, is a real-time, timeline based video editing software application. ... Adobe Encore (previously Adobe Encore DVD) is a DVD authoring software tool produced by Adobe Systems and targeted at semi-professional video producers. ... Adobe Flash (previously called Shockwave Flash and Macromedia Flash) is a set of multimedia technologies developed and distributed by Adobe Systems and earlier by Macromedia. ...

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. Providence is the capital and largest city in Rhode Island, a state of the United States of America. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Aldus Corporation (named after the 15th-century Venetian printer Aldus Manutius) was the inventor of the groundbreaking PageMaker software for the Apple Macintosh, a program that is generally credited with creating the desktop publishing (DTP) field. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... PageMaker was the first desktop publishing program, introduced in 1985 by Aldus Corporation, initially for the Apple Macintosh but soon after also for the PC. It relies on Adobe Systems PostScript page description language. ...

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. A plugin (or plug-in) is a computer program that can, or must, interact with another program to provide a certain, usually very specific, function. ...

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, Gen Arts, GridIron Software, RE:Vision Effects, Red Giant Software, Synthetic Aperture, Trapcode and Zaxwerks. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... FXhome is a visual effects software developer registered in 2001 by graduates from the University of East Anglia. ...

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.

See also

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. Autodesk Media and Entertainment, formerly Discreet, is based in Montreal, Quebec as the entertainment division of Autodesk. ... Combustion 4 is a computer program for motion graphics, compositing and visual effects (Discreet, n. ... Inferno is a high-end system designed for special effects, originally designed by Discreet (now Autodesk). ... Apple Inc. ... Shake is an image compositing package used in the post-production industry. ... Motion is a software application produced by Apple Computer for their Mac OS X operating system. ... Fusion (formerly Digital Fusion) is a full-featured, node-based compositing system created by eyeon Software Inc. ... Nuke is the Academy Award-winning compositing software used by Digital Domain. ...

External links

• Official web page