Product Reviews

Barely six months on from version 5.0 of After Effects (see Reviews, 1 June 2001, p24), Adobe is preparing the next release. Version 5.5 concentrates on refining and enhancingo this compositing and video effects tool, rather than creating a raft of new features.

However, there are some notable advances in this upgrade, beginning with the ability of After Effects 5.5 to run natively in Mac OS X. This is an important and much needed message for the audio visual industry. Previously, video and film professionals had very little reason (apart from the latest release of Maya) to run OS X. Even Apple's own Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro have been strangely lacking in any official details about the release of OS X versions.

So this Carbon release of version 5.5 comes as welcome news and further evidence, if any was needed, that Adobe has concrete plans to use OS X to increase its standing in the professional video and film market.

Although support for OS X is here, the installer provides both a Carbonized OS X version (complete with Aqua interface) and the more familiar Mac OS 9 version. This is a wise move by Adobe as many users are still in the process of migrating to the new operating system. As most tools in the post-production sector still use Mac OS 9.2, it also means you can do your After Effects work in OS X and, if needed, boot into OS 9 to interface with other, non-Carbon products.

Under the bonnet of version 5.5 are a number of small updates and fixes, along with a few big additions, such as the new import/output options. There is now import support for SWF flash files, rich pixel format files and MPEG1 files, with the Production Bundle also including the ability to import 3D camera data from Maya and 3D Studio Max.

On the export side, the big news is that the RealMedia output facility goes someway to providing a streamlined flow from After Effects to Web-ready file formats. Our review of version 5.0 was not alone in criticising After Effects for failing to provide a simple export option into Terran's Media Cleaner, that would have addressed Web export issues. Sadly this feature has still not been added in version 5.5. This is a curious omission given that the facility is present in other Adobe imaging

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products, such as Premiere 6.

Of all the streaming file formats, Real has the least support in the broadcast industry. The inclusion of RealMedia as the only simple Web export from the render queue, therefore, seems a little shortsighted, although the facility will no doubt prove useful for Web animators who use After Effects for more complex Internet-bound animations.

Second viewing

There are two main additions to the After Effects interface in version 5.5. The first is the ability to have multiple 2D and 3D views. There are defaults for one, two and four view windows and, even more usefully, you can create your own custom workspaces. This means you can be making changes to a composition in a 2D window and see the effects simultaneously in a 3D window. Seeing these changes 'on the fly' is a good time-saving feature.

The second great new feature is the Effects palette. This new floating palette allows you to store and access your effects any way you like. You can use customised folders or you can choose to view the effects alphabetically.

The Effects palette also lets you perform a search for effects by name. Once found, you can drag your chosen effect straight from the Effects palette on to either a layer in the composition window or a layer on the timeline, which is nice.

As usual, After Effects 5.5 will be shipping in two flavours, Standard and Production Bundle. The Production Bundle, as always, adds some powerful features absent from the Standard version. An example in the 5.5 Production Bundle is the Colour Stabiliser that allows you to automatically match the exposure of one frame with another to correct the exposure fluctuations in the original source material.

In the right hands this feature effectively gives you a full grading facility on your desktop. Anyone who has ever paid a post-production house to perform a final grade of their broadcast or film material will appreciate how much time and money this could save.

Beta by far

Although still at beta stage, version 5.5 is looking very healthy with excellent stability in both OS 9 and OS X. Whether this upgrade will be an essential purchase is debatable. Casual users who already own version 5.0 will have to weigh the improvements and enhancements very carefully against Adobe's upgrade pricing when announced.

However, for production companies and post houses that earn money from After Effects already, the productivity benefits of the new interface enhancements and expanded file type support will pay for itself very quickly.

The Effects palette in particular will be a boon for many. And come the first quarter of next year, it will give video and film professionals a chance to show off the fancy new operating system that's been lurking on their hard drives for the last six months.