I really enjoy using Adobe's Flash. However, for me some things are just easier to do in After Effects and import into Flash. I was pleased to be able to review a copy of Adobe After Effects 7.0 Standard. I was really impressed with the 6.0 version and couldn't wait to see what Adobe came up with next.
Right off the bat, the first thing that I noticed was that the new version's interface was completely redesigned. I realized I was looking at a whole new interface. There is a lot more color to separate elements from one another. You can easily differentiate the elements now. This is a terrific enhancement to the software. The interface can easily fit anyone's style and workflow. If you are using dual monitors or a large screen, you can easily spread out the panels.
The free-floating palettes that were sometimes hard to handle and place have been replaced by panels similar to the type of panels used in other Adobe programs. You can resize the panels and slide them into whatever position suits your style. These panels also expand and contract depending upon what you select. With a touch of the Tilde (~) key you can instantly zoom a panel to full screen as well. Like other Adobe products, you can save the workspace you create. You can quickly select the workspace you prefer from the Workspace quick access dropdown menu.
One of the new features to 7.0 is the Graph Editor. You can toggle a graphical view of how parameter values vary over time, and even include more than one parameter in the view. You can easily select and move around keyframes. To assist with configuring Ease In and Ease Out, the view also has Bezier handles. Many of the higher end video programs have had this feature. It's nice to see the Adobe listened to its users, recognized the value of this feature and added it.
Users of the Professional version of 7.0 will be glad to know that now the Rendering Engine can now render up to 32 bits per channel (bpc). To increase speed and efficiency, Adobe has rewritten the OpenGL pipeline. This makes viewing and working in your compositions much easier. Several effects have been adapted to use the new OpenGL 2.0 pipeline which is now a part of Adobe After Effects. With OpenGL 2.0, Adobe After Effects offers new features including previewing blending modes and motion blur. These features are now based on the abilities of your graphics card. Users of more higher end graphics cards should really see the difference.
To complete the Rendering Engine, Adobe has designed input and output modules to work with the image format (OpenEXR) created by ILM. This format is great for 3D work as it works well with Gamma curves, RGB/Alpha channels and other channels. Along with this format, 7.0 now supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) images that are a favorite of 3D artists. 3D Artists can use HDR images in compositing without needing to convert them, which saves time and effort.
As with the other Adobe products, 7.0 now comes with Bridge. Besides being able to browse media files and view their meta data (like in Photoshop), you can also browse the animation presets that come with the package without actually having to open them.
For the web folks like me, it's great to see that After Effect can now export as Flash video. This includes all the features that can be found in the current version 8 of Flash, including support for Alpha channels.
For those folks who can't get enough of the effects, Adobe has improved that as well. Now you can use over 500 preset effects which enable you to do things like better custom transitions, tinting and film-look effects, and others. Adobe has also included several complete project templates that can be used to create bumpers, credit rolls and DVD menus.
All in all, I am very pleased with the direction the Adobe is taking After Effects. It is wonderful to see the tighter integration between the other Adobe products. The new features are great and the interface provides the workspace functionality and flexibility that most users really need.