- I'm just starting After Effects and I don't know what computer to buy... which one is the best in your opinion?
After Effects is a computer program that is HEAVILY dependent on your computer specifications. Especially your computer's Central Processing Unit (or CPU), Graphics Processing Unit (or GPU), Motherboard, RAM (or Memory), Storage, System Cooling, Power Supply Unit (PSU). I must warn you guys that a good editing computer costs about 500-900 USD (possibly higher), so I decided to find some around that price range. I suggest laptops like these:
- I'm just starting After Effects and I don't know which version to download... which one is the best in your opinion?
In my opinion, the "best" version of After Effects is the one that works best for your computer. There are popular versions, like AE 19-21, but just because they're popular doesn't ensure they'll work on your machine. It's usually advised to avoid versions that are only a few weeks / months / a year old because they tend to have a lot of flaws, for example, if we're in the year 2030, it's ideal if you acquire AE versions 28 and older, or if we're in the year 2026, get AE versions 24 and older.
My Golden Rule of Thumb is:
- Terrible PC specifications: Try AE 18 and older
- Decent PC specifications: Try AE 19-21
- Amazing PC specifications: Try AE 22+
- what are plugins?
A plugin is a software add-on that is loaded on a program to improve its functionality. For example, if you wanted to watch a video on a website, you might need to install a plugin. Your browser will not be able to play the video if the plugin is not installed.
- what is the Adobe Media Encoder (or ME / AME)?
Adobe Media Encoder is an audio / video media processing tool that allows users to convert files from one format to another, such as MP4 to WAV. After Effects (or AE), Premiere Pro (or PR), Audition (or AU), Character Animator (or CH), and Prelude (or PL), etc. are all compatible with Media Encoder.
- do i need the Adobe Media Encoder (or ME / AME) to export my AE project?
No. You can always use Handbrake,
XMedia Recode,
or After Codes as an alternative to it, since they practically serve the same purpose; to export, convert or compress your files into readable / uploadable formats for your content. Many editors use the Adobe Media Encoder since it's easier to operate in a sense; the option is always up to you to install it. (it has to be the same year as your AE / PR / CH / AU / CH / PL / etc.)
- how to find the hidden Program Data folder? (Windows 10)
- how to find the hidden Program Data folder? (Windows 11)
(Mac Only) If you ever get a warning that says "The following plugins are installed, but not yet compatible with this version of After Effects. They will show as missing in existing projects and cannot be applied. To run After Effects in a compatible mode, choose "Get Info" in the application context menu and enable "Open using Rosetta"." Follow the question down below.
- how to install Rosetta? (Mac Only)
- what is Multi-Frame Rendering?
Multi-Frame Rendering (or MFR) (available exclusively in AE versions 22.x and higher) significantly improves performance while exporting and previewing compositions by allowing After Effects to process many frames at once. (basically; it makes pre render time faster)
This feature only works if your plugins have been optimized (or updated / upgraded) for it; otherwise, it will slow down and make rendering more difficult, as well as display a "caution/warning" symbol next to the plugin's name. Simply switch it off to avoid having to update your plugins and to maintain the previous versions of them.
- how do you turn off Multi-Frame Rendering?
Multi-Frame Rendering is enabled by default in After Effects versions 22.x and higher. To disable/re-enable it: Select After Effects > Settings> Memory & Performance (Mac) or Edit > Preferences > Memory & Performance (Win). Under the Performance section, check/uncheck the Enable Multi-Frame Rendering option.
- where do I put plugins like Deep Glow, Glitchify, Modulation, Omino (all the things that comes in the folder), Signal, Trapcode, Twitch (along w/ its key file), VC Color Vibrance, etc?
Those are "extension" (.aex) plugins and they should be placed in:
- Plug-ins folder location for Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects version\Support Files\Plug-ins
Plug-ins folder location for Mac: Applications/Adobe After Effects version/Plug-ins
- how do I license the Red Giant (Universe, Trapcode Suite, Magic Bullet Suite, Instant 4K, etc.) plugins?
Firstly, download Maxon’s all-in-one app from their official site. You will need to sign in to do this, just put in fake info: https://www.maxon.net/en/try
Once you’ve downloaded their app manager, locate the plugins you wish to have under the products section and install them. They provide free trials for all of their products. However, you don't just want a free trial; once you've downloaded a product, you can license it (so it's no longer watermarked) using the serial numbers provided below.
To enter a serial number, go into the menu in the top right-hand corner (click on the three lines / button icon) and hit import.
Serial Numbers
Frames - MBFK1245843484599512
Instant 4K - IHDK1245843086124132
Magic Bullet Suite - MBLK1245875960562349, COBK2245921573563861, or COBK2245846563534111.
Offload - OFLK1245858439487526
PluralEyes - PFEK1245921362842515
Trapcode Suite - TCBK2245868172939255
Universe - RLPK2245855360592319
VFX Suite - VXXF1545921787095659
Are you having licensing issues despite entering the respective serial numbers? Try downloading an older version of the plugin, ideally, a version released in 2021 and below (basically MBL 15 and lower) by clicking “other versions”. For unknown reasons, the serial numbers tend to be faulty with newer versions of their products. No one knows any solutions for this (some speculate that Adobe is working harder to patch their products) nor will you find any other serial numbers online no matter where you look as they don’t exist. These serial numbers have been in the community for many years and are the primary method to licensing the Red Giant software. If you’re still having issues, you can attempt to look online for an older version of the Maxon app or try an older version of After Effects (or AE) if you’re running 2022 or above.
- how do I get the red X off of MBL (or Universe, Trapcode, Instant 4K, etc.)? It wasn't like that before and I have used all the serial numbers...
Yes, the Red Giant plugins has a strange bug where they would randomly unlicensed themselves; don't panic, a few editors I've seen have had this problem. The simple fix is to uninstall your current version of MBL (or "Looks", Universe, Trapcode, Instant 4K, and so on) and try obtaining it from a different source or link.
- HELP! I don't have *effect name*! I thought it was apart of *insert plugin / software here*?
Not to worry, I've seen similar issues where certain editors don't have a specific effect that's supposed to be part of a plugin / software. Reinstalling from a different link or source is the simple solution.
- where do I find the "S_*effect name*" plugin?
Any effect that has "s_" infront of it belongs to the Sapphire plugin, install it.
- where do I find the "BCC *effect name*" plugin?
Any effect that has "BCC" infront of it belongs to the BorisFX Continuum Complete (or BCC) plugin, install it.
- where do I find the "uni.*effect name*" plugin?
Any effect that has "uni." infront of it belongs to the Universe plugin, install it.
- where do I find the "Shine" plugin?
That effect comes from the Trapcode Suite plugin, install it.
- where do I find the "Mojo II" plugin?
That effect comes from the Magic Bullet Looks (or MBL, or "Looks") Suite plugin, install it. If already installed, try getting MBL version 13 and higher which is linked down below.
- where do I find the "Colorista VI" plugin?
That effect comes from the Magic Bullet Looks (or MBL, or "Looks") Suite plugin, install it. If already installed, try getting MBL version 14 and higher which is linked down below.
- where do I find the "Looks" plugin?
Looks is an alternate name for the Magic Bullet Looks (or MBL) Suite plugin, install it.
- where do I find the "TV Pixel" plugin?
That effect comes from the Rowbyte TV Distortion Bundle plugin, install it.
- where do I find the "FL Glow" plugin?
That effect comes from the Frischluft plugin, install it.
- I'm just starting After Effects and I don't know which plugins to download... which ones do u suggest?
My opinion is that it all depends on your style, however, plugins that are widely used in the editing community are:
Popular Ones
BorisFX Continuum Complete (also known as BCC) — huge vfx effect bundle, lots of glows, warps, glitches, over 200 effects, etc.
Magic Bullet Looks (also known as MBL or Looks) — for colorings or ccs, etc.
Sapphire — huge vfx effect bundle, lots of glows, warps, glitches, over 200 effects, etc.
Twixtor — smooth slow motion / velocity
Honorable Mentions
Deep Glow — generates a beautiful, physically accurate glow (for vids and text)
Element 3D — 3D shapes (though you’d likely use blender, another software for something more complex)
Flow — makes graph “pop out”
Glitchify — pretty general glitch plugin
Omino — lots of great light and visual effects
Pixel Sorter — pixel sorter glitch (like the one in vs)
Reel Smart Motion Blur (also known as RSMB) — if you like how it looks anyway. Most just throw it on top of their edit when done
RTFX — visual effects
Saber — glow visual effects (lightsabers, etc.)
Signal — another type of glitch but idk how to describe it, there’s examples on YouTube though
Trapcode — can make overlays like burst particles, etc. whatever you want
Twitch — great shakes
Universe — has a few pretty effects; most popular for it’s TV / VHS look
you can even watch: https://youtu.be/93RMVIHQ-9E if you want to see some examples of how the plugins look. A nice food for thought is that you don't actually need plugins to edit on AE, they're wonderful to have, but practically every AE plugin has a built-in equivalent, or you can find a similar overlay on YouTube, Discord, and so on. Instead of "S_Glow" or "S_Ultraglow," for example, you can use AE's built-in "Glow" effect, or the "Unsharp Mask" effect instead of the "BCC Unsharp Mask" effect (which it has a weird noisy look that I don't like). However, the decision to download plugins or not is always yours.
Rule of Thumb: ALWAYS USE YOUTUBE AS A LAST RESORT! (and if you do, trust the aesthetic (pretty-looking) thumbnails and/or check the comment section)
- what do i do when I get a non-genuine pop notification from After Effects?
All Adobe software includes an in-built client that automatically checks for non-genuine versions and can be triggered at any moment, preventing you from accessing the programs. If you received this notification and want to delete it, follow the instructions below. Scroll down if you haven't gotten it but wish to avoid it in the future!
FOR WINDOWS
(Close your After Effects first)
Steps:
- Navigate to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe.
- Delete the "AdobeGCClient" folder.
If you can't delete it, open your task manager and stop both tasks for Adobe Genuine Software Integrity and Adobe Genuine Software Service.
After that try to remove it again.
- Relaunch After Effects and the notice should be gone.
FOR MAC
(Close your After Effects first)
Steps:
- Go to:
Finder > Your Mac Name > Library > Application Support > Adobe.
- Inside the Adobe folder there should be a file named "AdobeGCClient".
- Select the "AdobeGCClient" file and delete it.
- Relaunch After Effects and the notice should be gone.
HOW TO PREVENT THE POP-UP FROM OCCURRING
Individual software, such as After Effects, Photoshop, Media Encoder, Adobe Creative Cloud, and others, should be prevented from accessing the internet. If you prevent the app from connecting to the internet, it will no longer be able to send you alerts in the future. This will have no effect on your edits.
FOR WINDOWS
- Go to “firewall and network protection” in settings
- Click on advanced settings
- Click on “outbound rules” in the left hand corner
- Click “new rule” on the right hand corner
- Select “program”
Select your desired program (After Effects)
- Select “block the connection”
- Name this rule to whatever you’d like and you're done! You can make multiple rules for different apps.
FOR MAC
- what do I download after downloading Adobe Photoshop 2023 and FireflyAI?
Installation of Adobe Photoshop 2023:
- Install the Adobe running "Autoplay.exe".
OR
Go into "Setup" (Pre-activated) folder and run "Setup.exe" as Admin.
You must run Adobe online, by allowing outgoing.
FIREFLY AI INSTALLATION:
- Enable Windows Defender.
- Disable antivirus.
- Pre-installed Adobe Photoshop 2023
- No blocking of Adobe servers, in particular those used to remove the pop-up window.
- Going into Windows firewall > outbound rules > unblocking ''Adobe Unlicensed pop-up''.
Also check records in "hosts" file; C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc
- To run the "Firefly AI 24.6.0.2185 update 1" patch from Administrator and wait for the message "Adding Adobe Firefly Support Complete. Enjoy!"
- what is Topaz?
Topaz is a software firm that creates tools for photographers, videographers, and artists. Topaz Studio, a powerful picture editing and processing software, is one of their most popular products. Topaz's suite of AI-powered plugins, which includes Topaz DeNoise AI, Topaz Sharpen AI, and Topaz Gigapixel AI, is another popular offering. Machine learning techniques are used by these plugins to enhance and improve photographs, resulting in crisper, more detailed photos and videos. Topaz software is well-known for its innovative and powerful capabilities, as well as its easy-to-use interface. Topaz has something for everyone, whether you're a professional photographer or just starting out. Topaz program is used by editors for a variety of reasons, including its extensive capabilities and powerful editing tools. Topaz Studio, for example, provides a diverse set of filters and tweaks that may be used to improve image quality in a variety of ways, including color, contrast, and sharpness. Furthermore, the AI-powered advancements in the software can automatically evaluate and optimize photographs, saving editors time and effort. Topaz is also popular among editors because of its ability to process high-resolution photographs with minimum information loss. Topaz Gigapixel AI, for example, can upscale images up to 600% while retaining sharpness and clarity. This is particularly beneficial for photographers who need to enlarge photographs without sacrificing quality. Topaz program is also noted for its easy-to-use interface, which makes it suitable for editors of all skill levels. Users can save time by streamlining their editing process with its customizable presets and workflows. Topaz program is used by editors due of its extensive capabilities, powerful editing tools, and ease of use. It enables people to advance their work and deliver high-quality, professional outputs.
- what is Topaz Video Enhance AI?
Topaz Video Enhance AI is video upscaling software that employs machine learning to increase video quality.
- where do I get AE (insert version here) Topaz for Mac / Windows?
STOP! I'm sick of hearing this frequent mistake. Topaz Video Enhance AI is video upscaling software that employs machine learning to increase video quality, whereas Adobe After Effects is a software application for producing motion graphics and special effects for use in video, online content, and presentations, among other things. They are TWO DISTINCT pieces of software.
- where do I get the Topaz plugin for Mac / Windows?
Another annoying misunderstanding. Topaz is a SOFTWARE, not a plugin. It is entirely independent of After Effects.
