The current release of Adobe After Effects is December 2023 (24.1), which was covered in the previous roundup. You can file the full list of beta app features inside the beta app, by clicking on the Erlenmeyer flask on the upper right.

There’s always stuff that’s overlooked at first.

The big new thing, 3D in After Effects, of course, was featured on Adobe Live in Motion Design Hotline: 3D FUNdamentals with Evan Abrams and Kyle Hamrick and Pro-Tips: Import 3d Models Directly into After Effects with Evan Abrams.

There are also hooks to Adobe Substance 3D, as explained in Using After Effects with 3D Models | Getting Started with 3D in After Effects Part 2. There is a Part 1. There’s a surcharge over the Creative Cloud bundle, so it’s not likely many will soon explore Substance 3D.

SternFX has a playlist for 3D in After Effects, starting from the long-ago beta. Recent tutorials by Eran Stern include Creating Stunning Visuals with 3D Repeater in After Effects and From Flat to Fabulous: Turning 2D Images into 3D Models.

Michael Ponch posted a bunch of tutorials for Midjourney integration and beyond. Pursuant to the current topic is Workaround: DEPTH OF FIELD in TRUE 3D Workspace | After Effects Tutorial | No Plugins!

The beta version of the RotoBrush in After Effects is supposed to be 2-to-5 times faster when freezing the selection, so Jake In Motion tested it out in Rotobrush Is even faster now?! After Effects Beta Update. See also his TRUE 3D in After Effects + Button Rig Download! (designed for AE 2024 only).

2023: The Year In Mograph is the usual School of Motion extravaganza, but more so interns of time and breadth. It’s a great way to get different perspectives on work, inspiration, tech, software trends, and AI. They add breakouts and links on the blog post. After Effects news is minimal but Adobe has to acknowledge the need for speed and new apps like Unreal Engine that compete against the Swiss Army knife.

Motion Plus Design is promoting the art of motion design across the world by creating international events and sharing resources. They have a bunch of videos available, including Andrew Kramer – Interview by Motion Plus Design.

CC Ball Action got updated in the After Effects Beta, with new Displacement parameter and Shading options. However, the real fun still starts with  the Brightness Twist Property. There were some demos by Victoria Nece and AECartographer (pictured; follow him to keep up on his own tools).

🆕 There’s a really fun update to one of my favorite Cycore effects in today’s After Effects Beta (x49) update: CC Ball Action gets a new Displacement parameter and Shading options. You can do so many things with these! Here are a few tests I made yesterday. pic.twitter.com/c83yNfRiMj

— Victoria (@FakeGreenDress) December 20, 2023

Manuel does Motion uses CC Ball Action, Grid, the Venetian Blinds transition, and repeaters to Create and Animate Grids in After Effects. And why not, here’s also an older but well done Ball Action tutorial by Creative Dojo.

In Huge AE Scripting Updates, NT Productions discussed some huge newer scripting features that give us more control over AE text. Yes, there are timestamps. Meanwhile over at Hasu Motion Design, you can see some more basic Amazing Expressions In After Effects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfxcEB46Ytk

Ben Marriott posted a fun video, Designers Dissect the Most Unexpected Rebrands of 2023.

Envato posted their observations on Motion Graphics Trends 2024. Premiere Gal had her version too, 2024 Video Editing Trends and Future Predictions.

The December roundup had many more trendsetting or year in review things, and here’s another straggler by Motion Array Tutorials, Video Trends For 2024 – Tips To Stay Ahead. They also offer a Shatter template for FREE with their tutorial How To Create A Shatter Effect In After Effects.

The granddaddy of Shatter tutorials came from its creator years ago. See the 6-part tutorial, Total Evolution – Shatter. For completists, there’s Shatter effects in After Effects from an earlier era, and the shorter than total training summary from Jake-in-Motion.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL94FB35EEAA0434FB

Boone Loves Video shared some of his favorite plug-ins, extensions and scripts in 24 After Effects PLUGINS to Use in 2024.

Apparently this is a thing, so Mapal shared How To Animate Like Dodford (After Effects Tutorial), and many more. Here’s also Christopher Nolan’s Turning Point from Dodford, who composes deeper styled “Pop-culture portraits.” See also his Why CGI People Dominate Movies & Film.

Anton Thallner leverages fun with high fps footage and the built-in Echo effect in Skate Motion Trail – After Effects Tutorial.

PanRomanCG shared his ideas about making a fairly Realistic Rain Shader tutorial. It’s probably more adaptable than what you’d getting shooting out a car window. We might as well take a look at Realistic Rain Drop FX Tutorial! 100% After Effects! by Video Copilot too.

iPhone ProRes Log in Peru and Taiwan, by Stu Maschwitz, is a blog post on new workflows and  color-conversion LUTs for Apple Log footage from the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Updated from his earlier set, you can name a fair price for the LUTs!

Film Riot also discussed this new iPhone feature in iPhone LOG – The Biggest Leap In Mobile Filmmaking.

AI news is all about catching up.

Mograph explains a recent dustup in Maxon Stirs the Ai Pot: Creative Cooks Not Happy with the Recipe. Only recommended for those with a stake in the game.

AEP posted AI news roundup December 2023, while PVC’s Jeff Foster summarized his experiences this year in AI Tools Part 5: 2023 A Year in Review. He’s been able to integrate AI-generated media into his work, while some of us have only found Adobe AI integration immediately useful for our post-production needs. As it turned out, my Annunaki phase was short-lived!

Michael Tanzillo says WTF is a Gaussian Splat!?!? I begrudgingly learn something new.

Theoretically Media covers AI graphics news and has several new videos, including: New FREE AI Video Generator, Plus Free AI Image Upscaling, & Video Upscaling to 8k! He also shared AI Art’s Next Big Workflow? Plus: Huge Midjourney News, AI Hands Solved, & More!

Perhaps we can skip most of this stuff for shorter roundups or just jump in anywhere. These two overviews would be good catchups. A fresher update from Theoretically Media is below, AI Video Is About To Explode! Meanwhile, Matt Wolfe posted his latest, AI News: The Mind-Blowing World of AI Video.

One of Google’s new AI models, Video Poet, represents a “massive leap” in AI text-to-video. See Google’s AI Video Generator Beat Runway in Side-by-Side Test! by Curious Refuge and Google’s Video Poet Elevates AI Video by Theoretically Media.

Also of interest is The AI Video Showdown: Runway vs Leonardo vs Pika Labs by Curious Refuge and AI Predictions: What You Need to Know for 2024! by Matt Wolfe. Matt also shared display tech and effects at CES 2024 (near minute 26).

You might check out Enhanced audio workflows coming to Adobe Premiere Pro, by Scott Simmons here on PVC. Premiere Gal demoes some of this in Premiere Pro’s New Audio Fades are Awesome! (2024 Beta). Mike Russell has additional perspective in NEW 2024 Beta Premiere Pro Release – This is Changing How You Edit!

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Please note that these roundups are for quick review and comparison — and After Effects Portal can only skim the surface of what’s out there.

There’s almost always vital information from the originating authors at the links provided, and often free presets, projects, or stock footage too. @aerich