After Effects is a product provided by Adobe, which sells a lot of media-related software. It is a software that specializes in video processing and is used by many people because of its extremely high functionality.
Although it is a popular software, it seems that many people do not know what it can do specifically. This time, I will explain the overview of After Effects, its advantages and disadvantages, its demand, and its future potential.
What kind of product is After Effects?
After Effects is a video editing software developed by Adobe. First, let me explain what kind of software it is.
Software specialized in video processing
Adobe offers a lot of software for image processing and video processing, and After Effects specializes in video among them. Adobe has software that can edit both, but it is important to note that After Effects can only be used for video processing.
Basically, like other Adobe products, you can create various videos by making full use of layers. Effects can be set for each layer, and it is no exaggeration to say that most of the videos in the world can be created with After Effects. It supports a wide range of video processing from simple video processing to complex video processing.
Examples of videos that can be processed with After Effects
As explained above, After Effects supports a lot of video processing. However, some people may not be able to imagine what kind of video processing can be done specifically, so I will briefly introduce what kind of processing it supports.
Adding tops and animations
In recent years, tops and narrations have been added to videos as a matter of course. Of course, such basic video processing can be achieved with After Effects. Although it is possible to add it without using high-performance software like After Effects if you use After Effects, you can make smooth and attractive additions with various functions such as the use of presets.
The appeal of using After Effects is that it comes with a large number of presets developed by Adobe. Even software that is good at video processing cannot be used well if the operation is complicated. However, After Effects is designed so that even those who are not familiar with the software can intuitively process videos, and it is possible to easily achieve professional-level video processing.
Content fill
Adobe products use AI to provide the ability to fill in unwanted content. Until now, Photoshop offered a feature called “Content-Aware Fill”, but now After Effects can do the same.
By using this function, you can select and fill in only the deleted part from the video. You can fill it with a solid color or match it with the surrounding scenery. Filling in details by humans is an endless task, but if After Effects automatically fills in, it will be completed in a short time.
Clipping objects
Supports clipping of dynamic rather than static objects. Even if you don’t shoot a video that assumes clipping, you can use AI to clip only a specific object from an existing video.
If you are thinking about cropping objects in general, you have to shoot a video with a green screen. However, there is a disadvantage in that it takes time and effort because it is necessary to take a picture again to cut it out. If you use After Effects, you can cut out dynamic objects using only software functions without much trouble.
5 Benefits of using After EffectsThere are much of software related to video processing, but among them, I will explain the advantages of using After Effects.
Compatible with almost all video processing
There are various types of video processing in the world, and there are cases where very elaborate videos are published on TV, movies, and video-sharing sites. It’s no exaggeration to say that almost anything you can do with video processing is possible with After Effects.
After Effects offers a large number of video processing functions, and even with the standard functions, it is possible to process like a pro. And by combining functions, even higher-quality video processing is possible. If you can master After Effects, you may be able to realize all the video processing in the world by yourself.
However, although it supports almost all video processing, whether it can be realized depends on your skill. If you lack the skills, it will be difficult to process attractive videos. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone will be able to create perfect video effects with After Effects.
Inexpensive monthly fee
Although it is a very high-performance software, it can be used at a monthly fee, so it can be introduced at a low cost. Until now, After Effects products required a lump sum of money for the purchase, but now a subscription system has been introduced, so it can be used for a monthly fee. If you use it for a short time, it can be used at a very low price, and the hurdles for introduction are greatly lowered.
Moreover, if you use other Adobe products in addition to After Effects, you can use it for a fixed monthly fee including all products. Instead of the more software you use, the more you pay, the more software you use, the more software you get for the same price. Supporting subscriptions has greatly increased the benefits in terms of fees.
Works with otherAdobe products
Since After Effects is video processing software, image processing software may be used in parallel. Adobe provides PremierePro and Illustrator as related software, and if you are working on video processing with After Effects, you can easily link them.
Using software developed by different vendors can complicate data linkage. If you spend time on the data linkage part, you will waste time on video processing. On the other hand, with Adobe, the same vendor develops various products, which leads to the advantage of less wasted time.
Lots of tutorials
If you check Adobe’s official website, there are plenty of tutorials on video processing with After Effects. Depending on the software, tutorials may not be available, so just having a tutorial is a big advantage.
Moreover, not only there are tutorials, but there are many types. In the first place, After Effects has many presets, and explanations are provided so that you can use them. There are many cases where it is difficult to use presets only, but After Effects even provides explanations.
Non-Adobe plug-ins are also available
After Effects has a mechanism for adding new functions called “plugins”. This is a mechanism that can be used not only for the functions provided by Adobe but also when you want to add new functions yourself. For example, if you want to automate a part of video processing, you can add functions to After Effects by installing an automation plug-in.
It is possible to develop plug-ins by yourself, but since After Effects is a famous product, various companies and freelancers publish plug-ins. Programming skills are required to develop your plugins, but you don’t need such skills if you use publicly available plugins. Due to its high name recognition, it is an advantage that many plugins are offered.
Demand and future of After Effects
Above, I explained the basic knowledge and advantages of After Effects. Because it is a very attractive software, you probably felt that “this is worth learning”. Next, I will explain the demand and future potential of After Effects.
Demand for After Effects
After Effects is the main software used for video processing and is in high demand among video creators. In particular, many companies and projects have introduced Adobe products, so the demand for After Effects is increasing in environments that have already introduced Photoshop and Illustrator.
However, After Effects is software used for video processing, and it is used when working as a “video creator”. For image processing, I use Photoshop and Illustrator instead of After Effects. Therefore, it should be noted that the demand for After Effects alone will be limited.
If you check the jobs and freelance projects, there are many cases where they are recruited as “media creators” instead of “video creators”. Media creators are not required to have skills only in After Effects, but a wide range of skills such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and PremierePro.
Media creators are in high demand, and so is their key skill, After Effects. However, don’t take it simply as “After Effects is in high demand” as it will require related skills.
The future of After Effects
Since Adobe is focusing on enhancing the functionality of existing products, it is expected that After Effects will continue to be enhanced. Demand for this software is high at the moment, so the demand will increase even more as the functionality continues to be enhanced. In other words, it is considered to be software with a bright future.
However, as mentioned above, there are a few situations where After Effects skills alone are required, and it is important to combine them with related software skills. If you’re looking to brighten your future, be careful not to stick to After Effects alone.
Quick skill acquisition is important
In recent years, the software has evolved very quickly, and even non-professionals can easily achieve professional quality. In particular, Adobe products continue to evolve at a high speed, and even non-professionals can output high-quality output as a value of the product.
Given this current situation, you must learn After Effects skills as soon as possible to be active as a professional. If you delay learning the skills, you may lose to amateurs who can use After Effects to some extent. It is difficult to improve your skills while working, but you should strive to improve your skills as it is your destiny to use Adobe products.
Summary
I explained about After Effects, a video processing software provided by Adobe. It is software for processing recorded videos, and it is no exaggeration to say that there is no video processing that cannot be achieved with After Effects.
After Effects is a skill that can be said to be essential for video creators, and the demand is high and the future is high. However, in general, image processing skills are also required, and After Effects alone will not work. In particular, there are many opportunities to use Adobe products in combination, so let’s think that Photoshop and Illustrator skills are also required.
If you acquire a wide range of skills related to media processing, you can be active as a media creator in a wide range of fields. Rather than using only After Effects as a weapon, it is thought that it will be easier to play an active role in the future if multiple skills are combined to make it a weapon.
