About Adobe After Effects 8.0
- Adobe After Effects 8.0 is a motion picture software that is able to create special effects, moving graphics, flexible 2D and 3D compositing and can be used to edit both DVD and Macromedia Flash files. After Effects can save the user time and effort by allowing her to search special effects elements within files. After Effects is a layering software, which treats each aspect of the production as a separate component so that the user can more easily edit each element of a production.
- The Company of Science and Art created After Effects for Macintosh computers in 1993 in Providence, Rhode Island. The first incarnation of the software was not nearly as complex as After Effects 8.0; its foremost features were layered composting with mask, effect, transforms and keyframes. Aldus acquired After Effects and added a substantial amount of features including Photoshop compatibility in 1995 and the first Windows version in 1997. In 2002, Adobe acquired Aldus and continued to develop After Effects.
- Adobe After Effects is great for editing movies, advertisement clips, creating animation and moving graphics and animated features for websites. After Effects is robust enough of a program to be used for editing and creating professional features, but accessible enough for those who create films and graphics as a hobby or are just learning the trade. After Effects is also used to integrate third-party applications into productions and create realistic and advanced effects such as weather changes including, but not limited to, rain and snow.
- As a software that uses layering, Adobe After Effects 8.0 allows users flexibility to drastically modify each part of a motion picture clip. For example, the sound can be completely recreated and replace the existing voices and other effects. While some software applications are cluttered when using layer-oriented editing, After Effects has a unique feature called Shy Switch which can both hide and group elements of a production to make them more manageable. With After Effects users can also order objects by using the timeline editing feature. Additionally, there is a composition panel in which all of the elements that make up the clip on the screen are displayed.
- After Effects is an important piece of software because it allows amateur film makers, animators and graphic designers to express their ideas and create professional results without making a major investment in equipment. The accessibility of After Effects encourages competition in the arts and provides the tools for freelance artists to sustain themselves and vie along with film studios, advertisers and major artists for contracts. Greater competition encourages greater creativity in the arts
