AE CS6 has been announced!!!

More info on the following links -
http://success.adobe.com/en/na/programs/events/1203_16108_nab.html

Chris Meyer
http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/cmg_keyframes/story/after_effects_cs.../

John Dickinson
After Effects: New 3D Features in CS6 http://www.motionworks.com.au/after-effects-new-3d-features-in-cs6/

John Dickinson
After Effects: CS6 3D Material Template
http://www.motionworks.com.au/after-effects-cs6-3d-material-template/

Josh Weiss
http:///www.retooled.net

I'm sure there'll be lots of relevant tutorials at the COW in the days and weeks ahead!

Here's something I did with a single Text Layer, a number of Text Animator Groups + the new features -> Extrusion, Bevel, and Raytracing ->http://reels.creativecow.net/film/ae-cs6-text-animators-new-features-extrus...

Cheers
RoRK

Intensive AE & Mocha Training in Singapore and Malaysia
Adobe ACE/ACI (version 7) & Imagineer Systems Inc Approved Mocha Trainer

I'm very excited about the new release.

Global Performance Cache, which intelligently caches both final frames as well as intermediate results, is a huge speed boost. The cache is persistent on disk, too, so it even works across projects.

The 3D ray tracer lets you do extrusions on text and shapes, and lets you bend 2D layers in true 3D space. Since it's ray-traced, you get some 3D goodness like reflections and refraction -- right in AE.

If you're interested in the ray tracer, it's time to start ignoring my old advice on ignoring the graphics card for AE. The ray tracer can render on the GPU, and since its performance is dramatically higher on a supported GPU than it is on a CPU, serious use really benefits from a qualified NVIDIA CUDA-enabled card.

This is a great start to what will certainly be an interesting NAB week.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog - What I'm thinking when my workstation's thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

Time to start specing out a new system.

Johnny Cuevas, Editor
Thinkck.com

"I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work."
---THOMAS EDISON on inventing the light bulb.

[Benjamin Ausmith] "I could have sworn that CS5 said it was going to have variable-width feather mask... or was that just me?"

I know variable-width feathered masks has been a top feature request [link] before, but it's a new feature for CS6.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog - What I'm thinking when my workstation's thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

Still no timeline folders or layer grouping though? You got to be kidding Adobe. This feature has been a top request for years now. How hard can it be to code some basic grouping functions to the timeline?

This link covers some pertinent bits on similar requests ->
http://blogs.adobe.com/toddkopriva/2011/12/top-after-effects-feature-reques....

At issue, I believe is a huge case of miscommunication. Folks, largely have issues explaining, logically and in a rational manner. This is very much a UI design issue.

It is important to consider that folks are generally irrational BUT mostly logical. What I'm trying to get at is that the requests and their harboring reasons/explanations lack logical deduction.

If you read the link above, there is no true logical reason why in-Timeline Grouping requires such huge attention. Zorro is cool but it lacks functionality. It provides awesome cosmetic solutions but doesn't understand why users want an in-Timeline Grouping feature/solution.

Where Zorro fails is in its context with relevance towards its functionality for the user. But then again I doubt that Zorro was meant to solve in-Timeline Grouping Functionality issues. Zorro, as we know it, is an awesome layer or gorup of layers INDENTIFICATION TOOL that does not provide in-Timeline Group Functionality.

Adobe has to put forth better questions to its users, on this issue.

I take the first para from the relevant link's relevant topic to mean that Adobe doesn't really know what it's users want - for something that most of its users have requested for. I feel that this is rather unfortunate for all involved. The (a) and (b) 'solutions' in the said paragraph have nothing to do with in-Timeline Grouping functionality

(a) has no in-Timeline functionality other than cosmetic assistance towards identifying layers

(b) this solution involves providing a function by linking information from an external composition.

Where is the in-Timeline Grouping functions that users have requested? What we should be talking about is this -> in-Timeline Group Functionality.

What we want to look at is to have a grouping feature that is based on actual functionality with respect to a layer (nested or otherwise), its KFs, Expressions and Parenting/Child structure - in essence, functionality. These are the 'tags' that users actually want when they seek an in-Timeline Grouping Feature within AE.

I could off course be totally wrong. ;-)

Cheers
RoRK

Intensive AE & Mocha Training in Singapore and Malaysia
Adobe ACE/ACI (version 7) & Imagineer Systems Inc Approved Mocha Trainer

Wow, those tracks look very solid. So how does it do with more erratic camera movement like handheld shots, particularly those with movement in z-space instead of just stationary panning shots? And what is the "TE" doing to the "XT" in that hotel room? XD

LOL!

Very impressive! I can't wait to try it out. I have PFHoe now and it does a pretty good job but it can take a while to get a good track on some shots. Thanks a lot for posting this!

That's good to know, man. Thanks! Looking forward to your tutorials or whatever you have planned on this subject. BTW, you said "the t-shirt track"? I assume the girl in the white t-shirt at the end?