Adobe After Effects CS5.5 for Windows remains the go-to Swiss Army knife for a broad swath of professional users who manipulate moving images for a living, whether they're creating for television, the Web, mobile devices, or the silver screen. The software is a complete solution for motion graphics, visual effects, 2D and 3D compositing, animation, rotoscoping, color correction, keying, and text. Full integration with other Adobe applications means you can export and import files (typically with layers) to and from Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Flash.
For version CS5.5, Adobe has incorporated the Warp Stabilizer, which eliminates camera shake and smooths out bumpy moves. There's also Camera Lens Blur, which creates depth-of-field effects with beautiful bokeh. Timecode data in many formats can be read directly in After Effects, and the Timecode effect can display both the source timecode and composition frames. In addition, there's expanded support for stereoscopic 3D and RAW format workflows.
To be eligible for this upgrade, you must own the following: Adobe After Effects CS5.
Note:
After Effects CS5.5 requires a 64-bit operating system.
Innovative Compositing & Animation Tools
Combine moving and still imagery, graphics, and text in 2D or 3D space. Animate practically any aspect of each element, and add sound for virtually any result you can imagine
Responsive 64-Bit Performance
Work effectively on high-resolution projects – even at 32-bit-per-channel color – inside HD, 2K, and 4K compositions. Use all your system's RAM to see longer previews. With enhanced disk caching, you can spend less time waiting and more time creating
Integration with Industry-Standard Adobe Applications
Enjoy a streamlined workflow with support for importing Adobe Photoshop images and layer effects. Move easily between After Effects CS5.5 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. Import Adobe Illustrator files and then animate each layer
Unlimited Creative Options
Manipulate moving and still images using hundreds of effects such as stylize, distort, and shatter. Create grids, radio waves, particles, and more. Combine effects from a third-party ecosystem of plug-ins for Hollywood-caliber results
Creation & Animation of Text and Vector Graphics
Create text and vector graphics in After Effects using familiar Adobe tools, and then animate those elements to create visually innovative motion graphics
Comprehensive Masking & Keying Tools
Use the revolutionary Roto Brush tool to isolate moving foreground elements from backgrounds in a fraction of the time it would take with hand-drawn animated masks. Remove bluescreen and greenscreen backgrounds with The Foundry's Academy Award-winning Keylight (included)
Powerful Motion Controls
Remove unwanted movement with Warp Stabilizer, or precisely match the motion of source footage with Imagineer Systems' mocha for After Effects CS5.5 (included). Apply realistic motion blur. Use Timewarp to slow down and speed up footage
32-Bit Floating-Point Pipeline
Exploit extended highlights and shadows with the dynamic range of real-world light. Freelypush values above monitor white, and recover detail without clipping
Professional Results for Any Media Type
Deliver your work virtually anywhere. Compatibility with an extensive list of output formats lets you produce animated content for media ranging from film and broadcast to the Web and mobile devices
Rich Ecosystem of Third-Party Plug-In Developers
Add extra capability to After Effects with plug-ins from third-party developers, available separately. Discover unique creative effects, particles, 3D objects, and specialized workflow tools
Top Reasons to Upgrade to After Effects CS5.5
Warp Stabilizer
Smooth a bumpy camera move, or lock a shot automatically. Warp Stabilizer removes jitter and compensates for motion-related irregularities
Camera Lens Blur
Create soft-focus effects with Camera Lens Blur. Set iris shape, blade curvature, and diffraction fringe characteristics for beautiful bokeh, and use these same settings for fantastic depth-of-field control with the After Effects3D camera
Source Timecode Support
Take the guesswork out of source footage edits. Timecode data in QuickTime, AVI, Broadcast WAV (BWF), DPX, and some variations of MXF is read directly in After Effects and the Timecode effect can display both source timecode and composition frames
Stereoscopic 3D Workflow Improvements
Animate and composite stereoscopic projects more easily. Quickly set up stereo camera rigs. Save time with simplified rendering of multiple cameras, and work with an updated 3D Glasses effect
Light Falloff
Control how light intensity falls off across 3D distances, just as it does in the real world
RAW Digital Cinema Workflow Improvements
Gain instant access to high-definition source formats. Support for the RED Rocket card and RMD metadata dramatically improves the performance and look of RED footage. Import footage in CinemaDNG format, an open standard that offers a common solution
Color LUT Support
Get consistent color in your workflow by using industry-standard 3DL and CUBE lookup tables. Create your own color LUT files as exports from Synthetic Aperture's Color Finesse (included)
XDCAM EX Export
Render in the XDCAM EX format using multiple bit rates, pixel aspect ratios, and frame rates. This allows you to round-trip footage shot on popular Sony cameras so that your output is consistent with files being edited directly from source
Save As After Effects CS5
Work on projects with colleagues still using After Effects CS5. Save projects in After Effects CS5 format to take advantage of new features and performance improvements without the need for colleagues to upgrade
Small Changes That Make a Big Difference
Benefit from more efficient rendering with improved disk caching, review of recent searches, and new sorting options in the Project panel