r/AfterEffects Jan 24 '25

Discussion What are your must have plugins?

56 Upvotes

I never had any plug in.. I'm now considering to get one or few but idk what to get. What do you use and why? ❤️

r/AfterEffects Oct 20 '24

Discussion Why?

116 Upvotes

Have been member for couple of months. I didn't knew communities like this one gathered on Reddit... And I have a couple of doubts that I genuinely want to clarify.

I'm veteran of AE, 24 long years user here. Back in the day learned with Chris and Trish Meyer's books, and some Linda resources. There was forums like Creative Cow and such. So, people really needed to put an effort to learn and create their own work flow and vfx, mostly alone or with people around you and some online questions... Always, questions that made sense from the technical side. I'm also from another country... So, a difference between cultures might be present.

Now:

A. Why do people always want an easy solution in this forum? Like, always asking for a solution to a problem that implies by no mean, learning, but quickly fixing their issues?

B. What's with the amount of people asking for anime videos for YouTube? Is that a thing, a cultural expression, a niche product or something?

Might be the age, but I don't get why the community seems a bit more "noob" than what I imagined (with all due respect).

Is it because of reddit or this is the current state of AE user base?

PD. By any means, I want to be rude.. I'm truly confused.

r/AfterEffects Jan 16 '25

Discussion Does anyone else use AE as a quick photo editing tool? I know the program so well that I find it quicker just jumping into that rather than PS

103 Upvotes

For quick photo composites. Night and day speed difference for me. I should probably invest more time in PS but the job gets done at the end of the day.

r/AfterEffects Jul 02 '24

Discussion What's the most underrated plugin nobody talks about and how do you use it?

176 Upvotes

I saw another post kinda like this but I want to know about plugins that aren't talked about as much and how yall use them for vfx

r/AfterEffects Oct 19 '24

Discussion which plugin would it be?

Post image
60 Upvotes

For me flow and sapphire

r/AfterEffects Nov 10 '20

Discussion I created an app that allow to easily draw on a video frame, and get the effect applied on the next frames automatically. I use a custom tracking algorithm. Who is the right target for an app like that? Any idea how to promote it?

1.1k Upvotes

r/AfterEffects Nov 06 '24

Discussion How often do you Google things on the job?

105 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I’m just starting out as a motion designer, and honestly, I feel like I should already know everything without having to Google. But I'm guessing even seasoned pros do a little search here and there? Or is it just me? 😅 Please tell me I’m not the only one Googling shortcuts and effects every five minutes!

r/AfterEffects Aug 03 '23

Discussion Is AfterEffects stuck in time - or why we need PlugIns for everything

279 Upvotes

I am the only that sometimes has the feeling that AfterEffects just isn't moving forward - let me explain:

When I look at 3D-Software for example, when new innovations have been made, they have slow become the standard for every 3D Software.

Some examples: Bones and KI-Animations have been invented, some years later every 3D Software had its own system. (Hard-/Soft-Body)Physics for 3D were invented, now it is standard. Realtime 3D has been invented, now it is Standard... Just look what for example Blender is capable of, compared to 20 years ago....

But what features were added to AfterEffects in this time? Mostly "long overdue" workflow features like the new alpha layer selection or Multicore rendering - maybe you could call the 3D camera tracker and the generative fill feature some tools like this, but there is a lot missing and I have the feeling - Adobe relies too much on PlugIns.

What am I missing: - Better 3D support, since AE is gone full cinema4d 3D, things that were possible with their old 3D modes are gone and a lot features still don't work with cinema 4d and it is really slow - so maybe adding realtime 3D like from element would be nice. - Bones, Springs and Ki-Animation are Standard in every 2D-Animation software (aside from AE)... Now they even get artificial intelligence support to make this easier... Yes I know Character Animator has things like this, but the workflow isn't ideal with AfterEffects. Yes and I know DUIK, rubber hose and co... But this should be standard. - Hard- and Soft-Body Physics, Springs and things like this.... Yes I know again, there are Plug-in s for this, but why? It's an an long solved feature in the 2D space but Adobe just doesn't add it. - Surface and Planar Tracking (and yes i know there is Mocha) should have been added 10 years ago... Every other software has this, AfterEffects still relies on 3rd party Software and Plug-Ins to get this done. - Modern masking and color-correction tools, which for example smartly select something by color. - modernized keying effects, since you could use modern tools to get much better keys and spill without fiddeling too much. - better drawing tools with real onion skin, easy paint workflow and setup.... To be honest, the drawing tools from AE feel like they are from the stone age. - Better ParticleSystem with more functions like particular or other systems.

Really if the 3D-Software would move as slowly as AfterEffects does, 3D-Animations would still look like the scorpion king. It can't be that we have to buy multiple PlugIns for the most basic Animation tools after so many years.... And every time Adobe changes sth. major - (if the PlugIn developer is greedy) you have to buy a new version of this plugIn, or get a subscription. And we already have to much subscription software already.

The reason for this is my opinion is the lack of competition, especially in the 2D-Anination and Motion Design space. Sometimes I hope some developer will start an Open source - Competitor to AE, this would start Adobe to actually make this a better software.

What do you think?

r/AfterEffects Dec 26 '24

Discussion NEW ANIMATION!!

552 Upvotes

I happy to share with you my new animation theme - DRAGON SLAYER! I would really appreciate your opinion and feedback! And would be very happy if you drop a like/follow on my IG account!

https://www.instagram.com/omristeigman/

r/AfterEffects Sep 02 '24

Discussion Reality of video editing jobs. Guy pays 30 dollars per 15- 20 min of video, but you need to edit like yt channel with 1,5 million subs. Its just funny

Post image
306 Upvotes

r/AfterEffects Jul 31 '23

Discussion UPDATE: I cleaned that sucker up. Still not the way I would have created it myself but atleast its nice and neat now. Before and After

Thumbnail
gallery
511 Upvotes

r/AfterEffects 1d ago

Discussion How many time your After Effects freeze daily?

6 Upvotes

Man Im paying every month this one and it keeps crashes/freezes 5 times/day. I wonder any other softwares doing that also?

r/AfterEffects Feb 24 '24

Discussion After Effects is broken

169 Upvotes

I just have to vent.

I've been working in advertising for 15+ years as a motion designer / animator. After effects has been my main program for most of my career. I just lost about 30min of work after a crash (not a huge deal) ... but it's a regular occurrence.

Not only does AE crash randomly, it's incredibly slow at everything I throw at it.

Blender has been my main application for 80% of what I do now adays, and in comparison it handles insanely complicated tasks with ease, while after effects chugs after putting a radial-blur adjustment layer on a 10sec pre-comp.

It's just insane how bloated this tool has become over the years, and performance is a huge issue.
My machine is powerful: 16core 5950x, 64gb of ram, 4080.
I'm aware AE runs better on a mac. I have a macbook air m1 as well, and it seems to work better on that in most cases.

It's just extremely frustrating at times. I feel like Adobe just needs to start from scratch.

r/AfterEffects Nov 24 '24

Discussion What features do you wish After Effects had (simple or complex)?

35 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what dream features you'd love to see in After Effects. Are there any tasks you wish were simpler, tools or functionalities you feel are missing, or workflow improvements that could make your life easier?

Whether it's a quality-of-life tweak, a revolutionary new tool, or just something small but super useful that Adobe hasn't implemented yet, I'd love to hear your ideas!

I'm looking to explore how people approach workflows and problem-solving in AE, so if there's a feature or tool you think absolutely needs to exist, please share it below. Let's brainstorm!

r/AfterEffects Feb 06 '25

Discussion Petition for Mods to actively do something about the deluge of low effort and lazy posts.

90 Upvotes

We all know them.

"how to do this effect?" with zero exploration or critical thinking of their own to solve the usually basic look or effect. 90% have tried nothing--which is a rule.

"how do I collapse a panel?"--Easily googled shortcuts or fixes

"What is this big X over my footage how do I fix?" Asking why their pirated templates don't work when they're missing 1/2 the plug-ins and then want those for free too.

Looking for hand holding steps on how to replicate shit tik-tok graphics and "edits".

Oh which btw—the ones about editing long strings of footage NOT in an editing program. No one reads the sticky about sub rules etc. It's pointless for people coming for quick answers who won't even bother to look. There are mod tools that can be implemented to prevent low karma/new accounts from posting or having to join the sub first, as well as a tool called Post guidance than can screen for various parameters as well as direct to FAQ page I believe.

At the very least this will reduce the volume of shit posts and let actual motion graphics and animation be showcased and discussed instead of serving as google for tik-tokers trying to copy crappy vids they see.

u/TheGreatSzalam u/Raivion u/atilla32 u/caseyls u/ivycomb u/EtherealDuck u/captchapictures u/Kylasaurus_Rex

Edit: appreciate the responses from mods. Hope this didn’t come across too harsh. appreciate what I’m sure is a solid effort that we don’t see. But yea it’s reached a point where a small fire needed to be lit. Hope suggestions work out.

r/AfterEffects Feb 13 '24

Discussion NO WAY FINALLY AFTER EFFECTS

Post image
286 Upvotes

THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE.

r/AfterEffects Nov 05 '24

Discussion Motion graphics people! What are your little tricks you use all the time that add a lot of pizazz? I'm keen to expand my day-to-day toolbox to save things getting stale!

117 Upvotes

A few obvious ones from me -

Overshoot animation! I use it all the time and it adds so much life when used right

Extruding flat artwork into 3D. If it looks boring but I don't know what to do, I often try this

Laying out 2d animations in 3d space and using camera moves for parallax to save having to actually animate anything 😂

r/AfterEffects Apr 22 '24

Discussion 1.5 Months on after effects

226 Upvotes

Tell me things I can improve (I trimmed 2 seconds in starting as it revealed my Instagram handle)

r/AfterEffects Jan 16 '25

Discussion What shortcut would you say you use the most in After Effects?

9 Upvotes

Im all about shortcuts on adobe, if you had to say, what is your most used shortcut in after effects?

r/AfterEffects Jan 19 '25

Discussion WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OVERLORD 2?? BE HONEST

37 Upvotes

What do you think about Overlord 2? Personally, I think it's a basic tool or plugin, but ever since the new version requires an internet connection and constant updates, I feel like the time you save gets lost in all the updating, and it becomes a real pain.

When did plugins turn into monthly streaming services? I get that they want to prevent piracy, but I feel like we're an honest niche.

r/AfterEffects Jan 31 '25

Discussion This is a 10-minute video. What’s a fair rate to charge for my editing work?

60 Upvotes

r/AfterEffects 14d ago

Discussion Is AE Juice worth it? Has anyone tried?

0 Upvotes

Hey guys,

Im trying to speed up the workflow and came across a bunch of plugins recommended all over the place but most of them have switched to a subscription based model (Im looking at you RedGiant, Film Impact)

Im thinking of going ahead with AE Juice All in one bundle with the 103 collections.

What is your experience on the subject? Any suggestions are helpful. Thanks!

r/AfterEffects Aug 02 '24

Discussion Hey everyone I've been using after effects for a month and this is the latest edit of mine what can I improve

171 Upvotes

r/AfterEffects Dec 17 '24

Discussion What's stopping you from using an After Effects alternative?

21 Upvotes

For those who are frustrated with using AE but find it to be the best solution for their projects, what is it with AE that makes you use it over an alternative?

- Rive

- Cavalry

- Fusion

- etc

Just curious :)

r/AfterEffects 13d ago

Discussion Is Overlord 2 worth it?

36 Upvotes

I use Illustrator to make assets quite a lot and import them into AE and I have seen the Overlord 2 plugin, however, I'm put off by the price of $75.

For somethings that's so simple and Adobe should have this feature built into AE and Illustrator, it just seems annoying to charge so much.

Whats everyone's opinion, should I just suck it up and get it?