Review: Adobe AfterEffects 5.5

Product Name/Version: Adobe AfterEffects 5.5
OS X ?: Yes
Company: Adobe
URL: http://www.adobe.com
Category: Software/Motion Graphics
Price:
- Upgrade from 5.0 standard to 5.5 is $99
- Upgrade from 3.x/4.x to 5.5 is $199
- Upgrade from PB(production bundle) 5.0 to 5.5 is $99
- Upgrade from PB 3.x/4.x to 5.5 is $299
- Upgrade from Standard 3.x/4.x and 5.0 to PB 5.5 is $899.
Requirements:
- PowerPC® processor (multiprocessor G4 recommended)
- Mac OS software version 9.1, 9.2.1, or Mac OS X version 10.1
- 128 MB of RAM installed (256 MB or more recommended)
- 120 MB of available hard-disk space for installation (500 MB or larger hard disk or disk array recommended for ongoing work)
- CD-ROM drive
- 24-bit color display adapter
- Apple QuickTime 5.0 software (recommended)
Date of Review: 5/28/02
Rating: Overall: 4 bounces, Pure Lust

Ratings Legend

One Bounce: Lustless

This product is uninspiring and not only lacks lust appeal, but it also lacks even the possibility of lust-production.

Two Bounces: Lack-Luster

If you need what it is that this product does, look elsewhere or wait, it lacks lust-appeal.

Three Bounces: Lustworthy

A few rough spots here and there, but overall a high quality item worthy of lust.

Four Bounces: Pure Lust

Unalloyed lust.

Motion Graphics: After Effects 5.5

Since we last visited Adobe After Effects not much has changed in its design or interface. The big change is under the hood. After Effects 5.5 is now OS X native and the advanced 3D Rendering Engine makes it's debut. Adobe managed to squeeze in a few new features and additional effects as well. With its release, video professionals are one step closer to making the big leap to OS X. However, AE 5.5 will still run just fine in Mac OS 9.1 and 9.2.1. Enough of this boring stuff let's get to it!

Advanced 3D

Besides the big switch to OS X, AE 5.5 introduces the much-anticipated Advanced 3D rendering engine. AE 5.0 shipped with the Standard 3D render engine, which didn't provide for true Z-Space interactions between objects. Now, the Advanced Render Engine correctly interprets intersecting objects as well as calculating anti-aliasing, motion blur and layer modes for intersecting layers. The examples below show all of these advanced rendering options in effect. As you can see in the first image, the Applelust text is passing through the background layer, exhibiting a blurring effect and is anti-aliased. To prove two more points, I've applied the new 'Vivid Light' layer blending mode to the background in the second image so you can see that the Applelust text is indeed passing through the background layer.

Z-Space Interactions Example

In addition to this, Adobe added a Light Transmission option to the Material Options of each layer. This allows for some interesting light projection abilities. For example, you could take a piece of video, turn it into a 3D layer, cast a light on it, adjust its light transmission properties and project it onto another object in 3D space. Below, I've created a simple stained-glass window and cast it onto a background with the Applelust text in between. The result is pretty impressive. Also, by setting the Cast Shadows option under Material option to 'Only' the object, which is casting the shadow, becomes hidden.

One other feature, which you'll find in every major 3D application, is now available to AE 5.5 users. That is the use of multiple window views. Now, you may have as many views open as you like. Each comp window allows you to select which angle to view your composition from. In the example below, I've got the Right, Back, Front and Camera views all open at once. As you may soon discover, it helps to have an Apple 22 or 23 inch Cinema Display or dual monitors when using this feature.

A final, yet notable feature is the ability to turn any light into an adjustment layer. Those of you familiar with Photoshop's adjustment layer feature know that it allows you to apply a filter or effect to any layers below the adjustment layer. In AE 5.5 the principle is the same. When you turn a light into an adjustment layer, it will only cast light onto the objects below it in the timeline.

Waiting for the Effect

Although Adobe has added some new effects to AE 5.5, many third party plug-ins still do not work natively when running under OS X. Third party vendors must carbonize their effects packages to work under OS X. It's just a matter of time, but it is just one more thing that may keep you in the Mac Classic OS if you're addicted to plug-ins. Despite this, there are some notable new Additions to AE 5.5's effects arsenal. One of them is an interface addition called the Effects Palette. This new palette gives you quick access to all the effects inside your Plug-ins folder. Effects can be sorted alphabetically, by Category and by Finder Folders. From there you can narrow your options by typing text into a search box. Once you find the proper effect, simply drag and drop it onto the layer you want to apply it to. This is a great time saver for AE users with tons of third party plug-ins.

In addition to adding the effects palette, Adobe added a few new effects into the mix. The first of which I'll mention is the Color Stabilizer effect. This allows you to remove flicker from poor video clips or compensate for color shifts due to changing light conditions in your video. Similar to the motion stabilizer effect, it can save a shot that may have been completely unusable. Also available at your disposal are the new 4-Color Gradient, Advanced Lightning (Production Bundle Only), Cell Pattern, Grid and Roughen Edges effects.

The Fruits of OS X

I mentioned in my previous review that the future of rendering would change considerably when applications that must render finally switch to OS X. I'm happy to report the benefits of OS X's pre-emptive multitasking are apparent in AE 5.5. Once you start a render (as I've done while writing this review) you may switch to another program and continue working while AE does its thing in the background. I am doing all this on a PowerBook G4 500 MHz machine. Closing any open programs helps as it frees up more memory for AE to use, but just imagine the performance gain you'll get with a dual processor machine. Beyond that, imagine setting up an AE render farm with a handful of Apple Xserve machines chained together. The possibilities boggle the mind.

To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade...That is the Question.

Most video professionals haven't made the switch to OS X yet because of a few key programs that haven't made the switch yet, however, that shouldn't stop you from buying this excellent upgrade to AE 5.5. It still runs under OS 9.1 and higher and you'll be ready for the big switch when the time comes. The Advanced 3D render engine opens up a whole new world of possibilities for AE users and the added effects are a nice bonus. But, unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, many third party plug-ins aren't OS X native yet. Again, it's just a matter of time. I gave After Effects 5.0 3 Bounces last time and stated that AE 5.5 may receive the lucrative 4 Bounce rating. Well, I have to say; I think After Effects 5.5 deserves 4 Bounces. The addition of the Advanced 3D render engine, added effects and the ability to render in the background make this an upgrade well worth the money.

Click the image to see the movie.

- Michael Tate Jones

What do you think? Talk about it in our Forums...

MacBook Pro (5-17-06) Dr. Neale Monks. A subjective review of the MacBook Pro
Freeway 4 Pro (2-28-06) Dr. Neale Monks. Freeway Pro, the Quark-like web design program from Softpress, has been substantially revised and sports a bright new look. But do the changes go more than skin deep? Neale Monks finds out.
Astrostack (1-18-06) Dr. Neale Monks. Long respected as one best astronomical image processing applications about, in its newest incarnation AstroStack now runs on the Macintosh. Has the wait been worthwhile?
Virtual PC 7 (11-23-05) Dr. Neale Monks. Virtual PC 7 is the update to the venerable Windows emulator to be entirely all Microsoft’s own work. Can Mac users expect to see any dramatic changes?
Eudora Pro 6.2 (8-5-05) Dr. Neale Monks. Eudora has been one of the most popular e-mail clients for the Macintosh for more than a decade. Neale Monks finds out how it compares with the Mail application that comes with OS X
MacAstronomica (4-22-05) Dr. Neale Monks. How does this amateur naked eye astronomy software stack up?
iKey 2.0 (3-11-05) Jeremy Young. How well does this automation utility work? How much time will you save?
Wolfram Research Publicon (3-11-05) Jeff Terry Does this new scientific word processor live up to the potential?
Microsoft Office 2004, Part 3, Word (1-28-05) Dr. Neale Monks. Are there enough new features to necessitate a jump from v.X?
REALbasic 5.5 (12-03-04) Dr. Neale Monks. Neale takes a look at the latest version of this programming package.
Office 2004, Part 2, Excel and Entourage (11-05-04) Dr. Neale Monks. In the second part of his review of Office 2004, Neale Monks looks at Excel and Entourage.
Phone Valet 2.0 (11-05-04) Pat St-Arnaud. The best question to ask might be "Is there anything that you can't do with this telephone/Mac integration tool?"
TiPaint Touch-up Kit and iKlear iPod Cleaning Kit (10-29-04) Dr. Neale Monks. Is it possible to restore the shiny good looks of iPods and PowerBooks even after years of use? Neale Monks looks at two cleaning products designed especially for Apple hardware.
Microsoft Office 2004, Part 1, PowerPoint (10-15-04) Dr. Neale Monks. In the first part of his review of Office 2004, Neale Monks looks at PowerPoint, for many people still the benchmark for presentation software.
ScrapX (9-17-04) Dr. Neale Monks. Aqueous Software's ScrapX brings the Scrapbook to OS X
CDFinder (8-20-04) Dr. Neale Monks. Finding what you want from among a stack of similar looking CDs can be a hassle, but help is at hand. Neale Monks looks at CDFinder, a budget-priced but powerful cataloguing tool.
Endnote 7 (8-13-04) Dr. Markus Geisen. EndNote 7 is a literature database that seamlessly interacts with your word processor. Is the latest version worth the upgrade?