Prior to NAB 2013, we had the chance to visit Adobe Headquarters in San Jose and get an overview of the new Creative Cloud, including After Effects CC, (check it out here:  http://bit.ly/12MCxlw). At NAB, we were treated to a private meeting with Steve Forde, Sr. Product Manager for After Effects CC, who gave us an up close and personal look at what we can expect in the latest version.

Refine Edge – Next Level RotoScoping

Forde breaks down just how easy it is to cut out complicated backgrounds at blazing speed.  

It’s clear the team at Adobe has put in some serious time developing Refine Edge, as the once painfully long and arduous task of rotoscoping is reduced to a few seconds. Check out the video to watch him change a mountainous background to wooded plains without affecting the foreground action at all.

Maxon’s Cinema 4D Lite 

Just like the Cycore plug-ins such as CC Light Sweep (which comes standard with After Effects), the new Maxon Cineware is a fully functional, limited version of Cinema 4D. This allows you to animate 3D objects using Maxon’s technology without ever leaving After Effects. Check out the video for a full demo of just how well this seamless integration works.

Creative Cloud

By now, your probably aware that Adobe is moving away from a box product to being a purely subscription process. I’ve actually been using the subscription service myself for the past year, and I can tell you as a long time Adobe user (Since 97), CS6 Creative Cloud has been the most pleasurable software experience I’ve had. Why, you ask? Well, for starters, the updates for all of the products of the suite come at lighting speed. In the past, you paid for Adobe’s production suite outright, and they then had your money for what may be two years or more.

Once you received the software and load it, their involvement was essentially over until the next release. However, because of the “subscription” aspect of  Creative Cloud, the burden is upon Adobe. Now, swift reaction to problems and bugs (as well as a steady stream of feature enhancements) are necessary if they hope to retain their customer base. As they now know too well, if the customer isn’t happy, they can just cancel their subscription and take their business elsewhere. In my opinion, it’s a much more honest business model that keeps Adobe working for the ones who matter most: the customer. 

One License For 2 Machines (different platforms, no problem!)

Secondly, with one license you can load the programs of the Creative Cloud on two machines. This is nothing new, but with Creative Cloud they can be two machines of different platforms. My tower at the office is a PC. However, I use a Macbook Pro on the road, and with one subscription, both machines are loaded with whatever apps I choose.  This is incredibly awesome if you consider that in the past, one must choose either PC or Mac with most software licenses.

Access to Every App Adobe Makes

I’ve heard many people say they don’t want to pay the $49.00 for the Creative Cloud because they don’t want to pay for software they’ll never use. To this I say fair enough, but consider the freedom you have to explore all of the great programs Adobe offers at your leisure. Since moving to the Creative Cloud last year, I’ve been able to get my feet wet in Dreamweaver, Illustrator and others —  a luxury I just wouldn’t have been able to afford or justify with just Production Premium.  With video becoming the vernacular of the day, and an increasing demand for video and web integration, I think it behooves oneself to keep evolving their skillset just as technology and distribution also evolve.  I guess I look at it as an opportunity to grow and enhance my skill set for tomorrow while getting the tools I need for today.  

However, if you’re still convinced you’ll only need After Effects, and you don’t want pay for anything additional, then just get After Effects at $20 per month – a mere $240 per year.

Look for more information on After Effects, go to their website at:  http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/features.html