The new After Effects 5.5 offers a number of improvements over its previous incarnations.

Adobe's After Effects has had a long history in the animation and motion graphics community. The software is the de facto standard for motion graphics designers, but After Effects has also found a solid following in the animation and special effects communities. Version 5.5 offers a significant number of advances that make it an excellent choice for anyone involved in creating moving images.

Michael O'Donnell, head of the digital department for Acme Filmworks, a Los Angles based animation studio, has chosen After Effects as the standard compositing and post-production software for the studio. Acme produces a wide range of unique animation styles, including digital, stop-motion and cel animation among many others. "We use it on almost every project that goes through here," claims O'Donnell.

After Effects is available for both the Mac and PC platforms. As with any compositing application, a fast hard disk and lots of memory is a plus. The software is also multithreaded, which means those with multiple processors will get an added boost in speed. Version 5.5 is now fully native on Apple's OS X operating system, which Adobe claims will increase performance. Nicholas Mermet, a digital artist at Acme confirms: "The speed increase with OS X is very dramatic."

AE 5.5 now has the capability to handle intersecting layers better. © 2001 Adobe Systems Incorporate. All rights reserved.