User Guide

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What’s New in After Effects 5.0
Expressions
Define relationships between parameters to create procedural animations without using
keyframes. You can now link the behavior of one property in a composition to almost any
other property on any other layer—a powerful new capability that’s also easy to use. You
can also use JavaScript to modify expressions.
New effects
After Effects 5.0 includes powerful new effects that offer new creative options. Use the
Shatter effect to extrude a layer into 3D space and then demolish it in a variety of ways.
Create radio waves, pond ripples, and the like with the Radio Waves effect. Easily extract
an object from its background with the Inner/Outer Key effect (Production Bundle only).
Use the Vegas effect to outline elements with casino-style running lights or flashes. Create
compositions that pulse with color using the Colorama effect. Simulate organic
backgrounds and create fractal-based displacement maps, textures, and mattes with the
Fractal Noise effect (Production Bundle only). Add or remove lens distortions with the
Optics Compensation effect (Production Bundle only).
Masking enhancements
Create masks on the fly by drawing them directly in the Composition window, assign
colors to masks for easy identification, and use the new Mask Expansion property to adjust
the inner or outer feather of a mask by insetting or outsetting the mask edge from the mask
shape.
Enhanced productivity
Smart performance enhancements mean that creating and refining your work is faster
than ever. Dozens of interface enhancements introduce significant improvements that
provide a more efficient and streamlined workflow. Plus, After Effects delivers tighter
integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere.
UG.book Page 28 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM