Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects CC is a premium motion design software used for animation, visual effects, and motion picture compositing. Considered a cornerstone of creative professionals’s toolkits, AE for Mac brings for the first time the best of video editing and visual storytelling to Apple’s ecosystem. 

With improved functionalities and as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Adobe After Effects CC empowers users, giving them all the necessary tools to bring their projects to life. It’s worth noting, though, that unlike the original AE payment model—which only required a one-time license purchase—this CC product follows a monthly subscription plan.

What is Adobe After Effects and what is it used for?

Adobe AE is a powerful multimedia tool for creating visual effects, motion graphics, animations, and post-production processes. As part of the Creative Cloud suite, it can be used along with other popular Adobe tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, or Premiere. This makes After Effects CC one of the most popular toolkits amongst professionals to unleash their creativity.

After Effects is primarily used for:

• Motion graphics and animation - AE has become an essential tool for creating animated graphics, infographics, dynamic titles, etc.
• Visual Effects (VFX) - With After Effects, users can create 3D models, CGI, green screen keying, rotoscoping, and much more.
• Video Compositing - Professionals use AE to combine elements from different sources in a video project.
• Motion Tracking - Adobe’s software excels at bringing advanced motion tracking functions to any scene or video clip you’re creating.
• Scripting and Automation - After Effects offers advanced scripting functionalities, letting you create automated tasks and boosting your productivity.
• Prototyping - Create UX prototypes and user interface animations for your web designs.

Developed for the Mac Ecosystem

After Effects CC works and integrates to perfection in the Mac Ecosystem. The software looks and feels like it's native to macOS, making it extremely friendly and intuitive to all Apple users. Features such as its Touch Bar or the Force Touch trackpad features are intuitive and fluid, making it very easy to create a video project whether you’re a seasoned Mac user or you’re new to the platform.

The software’s interface is both intuitive and highly customizable, letting users create their own tailor-suited workspace. You can arrange all panels and tools, ensuring that you’ll always have a clutter-free screen to bring to life all your projects. Users with the Mac M1 and M2 chips will also notice a smoother and much more efficient editing process that minimizes the occurrence of freezing and time-consuming rendering. A common concern, though, is the warming of your device during the exporting process.

Seamless integration with Adobe Dynamic Link

The main advantage of Adobe After Effects CC compared to other video editing software is that it works well with other Adobe applications through Adobe Dynamic Link. It is perfect for importing works across Adobe apps, as well as collaborating with others anywhere. This enables a smooth workflow between all different Adobe tools, streamlining the process of all kinds of post-production tasks.

Is it hard to learn After Effects?

As with any professional-grade tool used by almost every industry professional, Adobe After Effects CC can be challenging and has an initial steep learning curve. However, thanks to the help of Adobe Sensei (Adobe’s powerful teaching AI)  and an extensive library of tutorials and online resources, any kind of user will be able to bridge the gap and use the program without much effort. 

Bringing artistic ideas to life

Adobe After Effects CC for Mac is an essential tool to create animation and visual effects for your video and artistic projects. With a feature-rich toolset, seamless integration with the rest of the Adobe suite, and a user-friendly interface, AE lets users bring their creative dreams to life. Whether you’re a professional or you’re just starting your journey as a motion graphic artist, Adobe After Effects is the go-to choice to create powerful visual effects and render your visions into reality.