Todd Kopriva—on the After Effects Region of Interest blog—has posted the top requested features from the past year along with his comments on some of them. Check it out to see if your favorite feature requests have hit the radar. Do you want scopes in AE? How about layer groups and variable-width masks? Join the discussion here. And don’t forget to add your thoughts officially on the Adobe Feature Request Form.
Ryan Connolly gives a quick walkthrough on how a few extra steps will help sell an evening aerial shot using stock photos and Trapcode Particular in After Effects.
John Dickinson demonstrates the creation of a logo reveal using Boris Continuum Complete 8 and its new Particle Emitter 3D effect.
The results are in! Thank you to all who participated this year in our survey, we value your feedback!
We have chosen the prize winners at random and will be contacting them via email shortly. If you entered your contact information to win the G-Technology 4TB G-RAID drive or Michele Yamazaki’s “Plug-in to After Effects” book, keep an eye on your inbox!
Top Ten Plug-ins of 2011, in order:
Adobe After Effects Plug-ins:
Final Cut Pro Plug-ins:
A tad off topic here for a moment but many AE’ers like to dabble in other apps and this one is a doosy. (How do you spell doosy? Is it doosey?) Not that long ago BlackMagic Design let loose a free version of the DaVinci Resolve software (called DaVinci Resolve Lite) for color grading. Yes, it’s completely free though it was somewhat limited in its power, e.g. only two color correction nodes. However, version 8.1 released today (Download it here) now has unlimited nodes… and power windows… and tracking! This lite version has just about everything the lite or casual user could want.
The Pixel Lab has released a new video demonstrating some uses for the new Cinema 4D Export plugin for After Effects.
Vinhson Nguyen from CreativeDojo.net shows you how to create a stylized flame look using only native After Effects effects.
You probably heard the news that Wes Plate from Automatic Duck has moved to a new job with Adobe. He has said made Pro Import AE, Pro Export FCP and Pro Import FCP available for free. Thanks Wes! and good luck with everything at Adobe 
Friedrichsdorf, Germany, October 31, 2011 – MAXON, the leading developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions, today announced immediate availability of a new plug-in for Adobe® After Effects® CS5 and CS5.5 that allows motion graphics artists to export projects directly into CINEMA 4D R13. This new capability broadens CINEMA 4D’s domination as the industry-leading 3D motion graphics toolkit, known for its seamless connectivity to popular 2D motion graphics and compositing tools. This new plug-in is the perfect companion to the CINEMA 4D composition import already widely used by broadcast designers worldwide. With the combination of these two plugins, motion graphics artists working on Windows and Mac OS X will enjoy easy data exchange to and from both applications.
The CINEMA 4D export appears directly in the After Effects export menu and generates a .c4d file containing 3D layers, cameras, lights, solids, nulls and footage. Even nested compositions are supported. All major layer attributes including animations (rotation, position, parameter, anchor points, POI, etc.), expressions, layer parenting, layer locking and layer visibility are retained. Render and document settings in CINEMA 4D are adapted accordingly to the After Effects’ project settings.
“The After Effects-CINEMA 4D workflow is the proven choice for top motion design studios worldwide seeking to easily integrate their 3D and 2D workflows,” commented Harald Schneider, managing partner and CTO at MAXON. “We are pleased to offer our customers this new After Effects export plugin so they can benefit by the increased speed, efficiency and tight integration between these two powerhouse software packages.”
“CINEMA 4D is a 3D package After Effects users have already come to know and love because of its seamless integration into After Effects,” said Steve Forde, product manager for Adobe After Effects. “The ability to bring assets the other direction as well will certainly enhance productivity and further solidify CINEMA 4D as an ideal 3D solution for motion graphics artists.”
Pricing and Availability
The new CINEMA 4D R13 exchange plug-in compatible with Adobe After Effects CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS5.5 is immediately available as a free download from the MAXON website, www.maxon.net/afterfx_e
About CINEMA 4D
MAXON CINEMA 4D is a professional 3D software package offering everything needed to create high-end 3D images and animations for film, broadcast, architecture, games, multimedia, design and engineering. Building upon more than two-decades of excellence, CINEMA 4D offers spectacular image quality and an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that puts professional results within reach of artists at all levels of CGI experience. CINEMA 4D delivers speed and productivity by taking advantage of the latest advances in processor technology, and offers configurations tailored to the distinct needs of specialized 3D markets.
About MAXON Computer
Headquartered in Friedrichsdorf, Germany, MAXON Computer is a developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions. Its award-winning CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D software products have been used extensively to help create everything from stunning visual effects in top feature films, TV shows and commercials, cutting-edge game cinematics for AAA games, as well for medical illustration, architectural and industrial design applications. MAXON has offices in Germany, USA, United Kingdom, France, Japan and Singapore. MAXON products are available directly from the web site and its worldwide distribution channel. Specially priced learning editions of the company’s software solutions are also made available to educational institutions. To commemorate its 25 years impacting professional motion graphics designers, visual effects artists, architects and others in the creative community, MAXON will be hosting celebrations around the world throughout 2011. For additional information on MAXON visit www.maxon.net.
Cassidy Bisher of DropDrop.com (a great place to get awesome After Effects templates) has made an AE project with 77 color grades. Just add your footage below his Adjustment Layers and you’re set. To get the file you need to goto DropDrop.com’s Facebook page and Like it. Go now.
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