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Brand: Adobe	Media: DVD-ROM	Hardware Platform: PC	Operating System: Windows Vista

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Description

The After Effects CS4 Upgrade for Windows requires Adobe After Effects CS4, CS3, 7.0, or 6.0 Standard or Professional. With Adobe After Effects CS4 software, you can create compelling motion graphics and blockbuster visual effects with flexible tools that help save you time and deliver unparalleled creative power. Includes: Windows version

Platforms

Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows

Product Features

• Locate any element in a comp or project with the new QuickSearch; quickly navigate between nested comps with the new Mini-Flowchart
• Import 3D layers into After Effects, move them, animate cameras around them, adjust lighting, and composite them with other elements; cartoon effect–instantly give live footage the look of cell animation; stylize video by reducing
• Composite in 3D space more easily: Keyframe x, y, and z position values separately, and use the new unified camera, which makes the After Effects camera tool work more like those in 3D modeling applications
• Export compositions as layered, XFL format projects that can be opened and edited in Adobe Flash CS4 Professional software; many After Effects assets such as text and Adobe Illustrator artwork are preserved as vectors
• Mocha for Adobe After Effects from Imagineer Systems–use this powerful 2.5D planar tracking application to track the motion of elements¿even in challenging shots where elements move offscreen or where there is motion blur or excessive grain

Editorial Review

Create compelling motion graphics and blockbuster visual effects with flexible tools that deliver unparalleled creative power, or jump-start projects using creative building blocks. Save time with efficient tools, and benefit from tight integration with Adobe's leading design applications. Whether you're working in broadcast and film or delivering work online or to emerging devices, Adobe After Effects CS4 software is a must-have tool.

Among the many new features in After Effects CS4 are a Composition Navigator and Mini-Flowchart to better visualize the structure of complex projects, a new Unified Camera tool, and QuickSearch fields–all ways to help streamline important everyday tasks.

Upgrade Eligibility

Licensed owners of After Effects CS3, After Effects 7.x Professional or Standard, or After Effects 6.x Professional or Standard can upgrade to Adobe After Effects CS4. Licensed owners of the above-listed previous releases of After Effects are also eligible for special upgrade pricing to Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium.

Top reasons to upgrade to Adobe After Effects CS4

Searchable timelines and projects and easier nested comp navigation
Locate any element in a comp or project with the new QuickSearch. Quickly navigate between nested comps with the new Mini-Flowchart.

Live Adobe Photoshop 3D layers import
Import 3D layers into After Effects, move them, animate cameras around them, adjust lighting, and composite them with other elements.

Cartoon effect
Instantly give live footage the look of cell animation. Stylize video by reducing the color palette of a clip and by emphasizing edges.

Keyframe x, y, z values independently, plus 3D compositing improvements
Composite in 3D space more easily: Keyframe x, y, and z position values separately, and use the new unified camera, which makes the After Effects camera tool work more like those in 3D modeling applications.

Export compositions as a layered project for Adobe Flash Professional
Export compositions as layered, XFL format projects that can be opened and edited in Adobe Flash CS4 Professional software. Many After Effects assets such as text and Adobe Illustrator artwork are preserved as vectors.

Mocha for Adobe After Effects from Imagineer Systems
Use this powerful 2.5D planar tracking application from Imagineer Systems to track the motion of elementsÑeven in challenging shots where elements move offscreen or where there is motion blur or excessive grain.

Integrated workflow for mobile device authoring
Select devices in Adobe Device Central and automatically set up an After Effects project that targets those devices, with settings that match the targeted devices and the Render Queue setup to output to the proper codecs and resolutions.

XMP metadata for asset intelligence
Now retain asset metadata while you work in After Effects. Add new project-, comp-, and layer-level metadata to streamline project tracking, and automate asset auditing and many other tasks.

Dynamic Link between Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Soundbooth
Using Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium software, now link Adobe Premiere Pro sequences to an After Effects composition and After Effects comps to Soundbooth with Adobe Dynamic Link.

Numerous interface and workflow tweaks
Work more efficiently with dozens of user-requested changes, including the new Auto Resolution setting that only renders visible pixels when zooming in and out of a comp view, streamlined memory and multicore processing preferences, and more.

Timeline and Project panels can be searched by item names or individual attributes such as “position,” greatly easing navigation of complex projects.

The Composition navigator along the top of the Composition panel (upper left) gives you a quick overview of the project flow. Clicking the arrow to the right of a composition's name opens the Mini-Flowchart(upper right), which reveals how nested compositions are shared across a project. In the image on the right, we've opened the Options for the Mini-Flowchart; you can alter how it is sorted and which direction it flows.

The new Cartoon effect can convert live-action footage (left) into stylized imagery (right).

Top new features of Adobe After Effects CS4

After Effects CS4 introduces numerous new features that enhance an artist's productivity as well as open up fresh creative possibilities.

Searchable timelines and projects plus easier nested composition navigation
As projects become deeper and more complex, it can be challenging to find a specific layer or other asset–especially on deadline or when you're working in an unfamiliar project. After Effects CS4 eliminates this frustration by including live search functions directly inside the Timeline and Project panels. You can quickly find project elements, keyframeable properties, effects, and more. This ability to directly target properties saves considerable time scrolling through lists and twirling open layers to manually reveal their contents.

You can search projects for specific footage items or footage properties, such as scanning by file type to find all the SWF files that have been imported, or flagging whether or not an updated logo is currently being used in a composition. You can also search timelines by layer names, properties, comments or expressions, effect names or parameters, and more. Search results appear as soon as you start typing, and can be limited to selected layers or may encompass your entire timeline or project.

Many artists use nested compositions inside After Effects as a way to break complex projects into smaller, more manageable elements. This allows both the creation of elaborate animation chains and also the ability to make quick updates to a project where a change in one composition may be immediately rippled out through other comps.

To make these composition hierarchies easier to navigate, After Effects CS4 features a Composition navigator along the top of each Composition panel, which displays the names of the incoming (nested) compositions as well as the outgoing (parent) compositions for the currently active composition. These compositions can be opened to access the Mini-Flowchart, which reveals the nesting organization of related compositions. This allows you to more easily visualize and navigate the structure of complex projects: You merely have to click on a composition's name in the Mini-Flowchart to instantly switch to it.

These features make it easier for you to familiarize yourself with and to navigate through projects created by other After Effects artists, or to recall the structure of an older project which now needs updating.

Photoshop 3D layers import
A powerful new technology in Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended allows you to place 3D objects on layers, paint them using the industry-standard tools in Photoshop, and render them along with the rest of your imagery. With After Effects CS4, you can import and animate Photoshop 3D layers in your composition, where they can be viewed as 3D objects using cameras in After Effects. You can also apply effects to change the layers' appearance over time, composite 3D layers with other objects (including animated text and shape layers, live-action video, and sound), and render the result as you would any other project element.

This feature creates a flexible new 3D workflow in which artists, instead of rendering a 3D scene from within a dedicated 3D application and treating it as finished footage inside After Effects, can import and paint objects in Photoshop, import the PSD file with the 3D layer into After Effects, and further process and animate the objects without having to go back to a 3D application and re-render the result. Combined with the Vanishing Point feature introduced in Creative Suite 3, artists have a growing list of options for how they can create 3D worlds without the need to purchase and learn dedicated 3D software.

Cartoon effect
The new Cartoon effect allows you to create new looks for your video or other animated imagery, instantly applying the appearance of cel animation or watercolor paintings to live action or to computer-generated 3D imagery. It's a creative tool that allows you to quickly stylize footage, using a deep set of controls to create your own fresh looks. This makes it equally useful for motion graphics and for interactive designers interested in crafting new visual styles as well as videographers and editors who want to create unique visuals without the painstaking process of hand-drawing every frame. You can even use the Cartoon effect to rescue low-resolution or poor-quality footage by smoothing and abstracting it.

This effect–found in the Effects > Stylize category–provides three essential enhancements. First, it performs a smoothing operation to remove distracting image details. Second, it finds the edges between the remaining details in order to highlight them and provide a border to help separate the areas of color. Third, it fills in the colors and gradients between the edges. You have full control over each of these enhancements through a set of separate Fill and Edge parameters as well as Advanced parameters. The Cartoon effect is also graphics processing unit (GPU) accelerated, so you can quickly experiment with refinements or try out whole new looks.

Independent keyframing of X, Y, and Z position plus other 3D compositing enhancements
In addition to the Photoshop 3D layers import feature mentioned earlier, After Effects CS4 contains two other major enhancements that make working in 3D more fluid.

X-, Y-, and Z-position properties can be keyframed separately, greatly easing the crafting of complex animation moves, such as having a camera smoothly change elevations and then hold while maintaining a constant forward or sideways velocity, or creating bounce-style actions. These separate properties may be collapsed back into a unified set of keyframes that control all properties at once.

A new Unified Camera tool takes advantage of a three-button mouse, allowing you to quickly switch between Track XY, Track Z, and Orbit movements. This allows you to work more intuitively while setting up camera positions. It also makes the experience of using cameras in After Effects more similar to that in 3D modeling applications.

Separate X-, Y-, and Z-position graphs in After Effects CS4 offer animators new levels of motion control, such as creating this bounce-style animation movement.

After Effects compositions can be exported as layered Flash Professional projects.

Mocha for Adobe After Effects provides advanced motion tracking capabilities, such as being able to track the outer frame of this window while excluding the shadows and reflections on the glass (as shown here).

Rich media composition export from After Effects to Adobe Flash CS4 Professional
Compelling motion design is essential in both the broadcast and online worlds. As the languages and experiences of interactive design and traditional motion graphics continue to converge, it is only natural that you will want to expand your personal toolset. While previously you could export text animations and other elements from After Effects to SWF format and render movies to FLV format, now you can also export After Effects compositionsas layered projects that can be imported into Flash CS4 Professional. FLV, PNG, and JPG source footage files are passed directly to the Flash Professional project without transcoding. Animated transformations, such as scale and rotation, are preserved, and can be edited in Flash Professional. Other footage types and layers with effects are automatically converted to Flash compatible graphics.

Imagineer Systems' Mocha for Adobe After Effects for 2.5D planar motion tracking
After Effects CS4 includes Imagineer Systems' Mocha for Adobe After Effects, a standalone application with advanced 2.5D planar motion tracking. Mocha for Adobe After Effects provides advanced motion tracking and makes it easier to tackle difficult motion-tracking challenges, such as tracking footage with objects moving out of the frame, lack of detail in the underlying footage, motion blur, and heavy grain or noise. Now you can avoid the guesswork and inaccuracies that result from hand-tracking challenging shots. Mocha also speeds up the process of generating solid four-point tracks, yielding position, scale, rotation, and shear information, resulting in perspective-matched tracks.

Mocha for Adobe After Effects is resolution independent and can import Cineon, DPX, TGA, TIF, JPEG, PNG, SGI, and QuickTime files with up to 16 bits per color channel. It then exports 2D tracking data that can be loaded into After Effects. This valuable software is included with After Effects CS4 (along with powerful favorites Color Finesse from Synthetic Aperture and Keylight from The Foundry).

Integrated workflow for mobile-device authoring
Authoring content for mobile devices is a growing field of work for editors, producers, and motion graphics artists. But this new field presents new challenges: Screen dimensions and video frame rates vary greatly from one mobile device to another. Adobe Device Central CS4 software–included with After Effects CS4–contains an extensive library of device profiles that provide information about these mobile devices. Device Central can then use these profiles to automatically create a set of After Effects compositions tailored for your selected devices.

You create your design in a master composition. This master comp is then used to feed a set of device-specific compositions, each reflecting the screen size and other parameters of your chosen devices. You can use the powerful After Effects Render Queue to render and export a set of finished movies for a large number of mobile devices in one batch render job. A special preview composition is also created that consists of a grid of your device-specific compositions, so that you can preview your master composition in the context of several devices simultaneously.

Project intelligence through XMP metadata
Workflow specialists and producers are sure to love the new support for XMP metadata in After Effects CS4 and other Adobe video and audio software. Among other capabilities, you can easily identify the job number or work ticket associated with any asset, make better informed decisions about the assets you use, and streamline the rights-auditing process by efficiently viewing copyright information.

Not only is asset metadata retained while in After Effects, but you can add new project and layer-level metadata during the render stage to streamline project tracking and automate asset auditing. For example, you can add a list of assets used in a composition, or the durations of stock footage clips, used to aid in determining payment for rights managed assets. Markers in the source composition will be saved in the rendered file, and will appear as layer markers when you re-import the file. You can also use scripting to access and manipulate metadata. This makes it possible to add intelligence to your After Effects CS4 workflows.

Numerous interface and workflow improvements
Dozens of enhancements in every area make After Effects more productive and fun to use. Here are but a few of the additional enhancements contained in After Effects CS4:

• Auto-resolution to optimize interaction speed by rendering only the pixels you need for your current zoom level
• Easier settings management to optimize memory and multi-core processing
• ProEXR support for working with layered high dynamic range (HDR) image files
• Native P2 plus Sony XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD support
• Longer names for layers, comps, folders, and other items
• New Turbulent Noise and Bilateral Blur effects
• Option for converting text to mask outlines or a shape layer
• Duration specification for markers
• Center-cut safe areas for ensuring widescreen projects look good on 4:3 displays
• Composition panel control to simulate output, for improved color management
• 32-bit-per-channel color for shape layers, Depth Of Field Blur effect, and Reduce Interlace Flicker effect
• Interpret Footage button in the Project panel
• Wiggle position, scale, rotation, and opacity for shape layers
• Import Adobe Premiere Pro time remapping data

Enhanced Dynamic Link in Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium Step up to Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium and enjoy the full benefits of cross-component integration with Adobe Dynamic Link. Dynamic Link is the ability for select Adobe Production Premium components to render the results of another Production Premium component on the fly. Changes inside the project of one component are immediately reflected inside the other. This streamlines the entire creative process by eliminating intermediate rendering between applications, enabling you to work faster and stay in your creative flow. Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium features enhanced Dynamic Link functionality between After Effects CS4 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, between between After Effects and Adobe Soundbooth CS4, and between After Effects and Adobe Encore CS4 software. For example, you can now dynamically link Adobe Premiere Pro sequences to an After Effects composition or Encore project. This allows you to use Adobe Premiere Pro sequences inside After Effects or Encore without rendering an intermediate file. Updates are visible in After Effects or Encore the instant they are made. Dynamic Link also enables you to use an After Effects comp inside a project in Encore.

Creative Pro Online Services
Connect to the power of the online community through your creative desktop. New online services accessed from within After Effects CS4 let you search for help from the online community, more easily create and manage content for the web, and more. With new online services in Creative Suite 4, you can take your ideas to the next level. Adobe Community Help. Get the power of an online search engine within After Effects, but with more targeted results, thanks to Adobe Community Help. Searchable content includes the in-depth, product-specific Help that Adobe has always delivered, plus additional Adobe and third-party content chosen by experts at Adobe as well as from respected experts and web sites in the design and production communities. With Adobe Community Help, you can find the focused answers you need, fast. Just choose Help > After Effects Help. (Internet connection required for extended content.)

Adobe Bridge Home. Visit Adobe Bridge Home–an online channel available in Adobe Bridge CS4–and keep up to date with what's new from Adobe and the design, web development, and video and audio production communities at large. Watch the latest video tutorials for your Creative Suite 4 software, listen to a podcast interview with a leading designer, or learn about the next training event in your community. Discover tips and resources that can help you work smarter and faster, making the most of After Effects CS4 and other Adobe Creative Suite 4 software. (Internet connection required.)

Part of the Adobe Creative Suite 4 family
After Effects CS4 is also available as a component of Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium as well as Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium is designed for creative professionals who need to craft world-class video, audio, and interactive media: on-air, online, on device, and invariably on deadline. Together, After Effects and the other components of Production Premium CS4 offer a tightly integrated, cross-platform toolset for pre- and post-production including video and audio editing, still and motion graphics, visual effects, and interactive media, as well as DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and mobile authoring. For more information on Production Premium CS4, see Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium What's New.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection is your premier solution for professional creative work, with Adobe After Effects CS4 acting as the central motion hub for compositing and animation. Master Collection combines the best of Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Web Premium, and Production Premium editions, providing advanced productivity features so you can create content for virtually all media with one value-packed offering.

More Details
Publisher: Adobe	Category: Web Effects	Binding: DVD-ROM	Language: English

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