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Couch potatoes like eye candy, and Adobe After Effects is the ultimate chocolate factory. After Effects enables you to create the kinds of video effects that were once the exclusive domain of six- and seven-figure dedicated workstations. You can layer video and still clips, dynamically resize them, make them spin and twirl, and apply a dazzling array of filters and effects. And you can do so on the same computer you use to play Myst. My May 1997 "Media" column is a collection of tips for Adobe After Effects. If you haven't read the column, you can read its electronic version on Macworld Online. (Tip: Because my column always relies heavily on graphics and how-to illustrations, you'll get more out of it by reading the print edition of Macworld.)

WHAT'S IN THIS MONTH'S HOTMEDIA

This installment of HotMedia includes a QuickTime movie of the After Effects project illustrated in my column as well as links to more information on After Effects.

SAMPLE MOVIE

I've created a sample page containing a QuickTime movie of the project described in my column. To watch the movie, you need the Apple QuickTime plug-in or an equivalent. Note: The movie is about 600K and will take a few minutes to download over slower modem connections.

SITES AND MORE

After Effects Plug-ins -- Also in the May 1997 issue of Macworld is a feature I wrote covering special effects plug-ins for After Effects (and several other video editor products).You'll find links to all filter and plug-in vendors here. My After Effects 3.0 review -- From the March 1996 Macworld. Note that the current version of After Effects is 3.1. Postforum -- This is a terrific site for video and audio producers. They have an active conferencing area for After Effects, too. Adobe's After Effects page -- Sample movies, tutorials and tips, and information on the new Windows 95/NT version of After Effects (which I'm testing -- it's just as awesome as its Mac cousin). Masking in After Effects -- A nice tutorial by Rich Young. Creating star fields in After Effects -- Another first-rate tutorial from the Media 100 users group site. Staggering Layers in After Effects -- A tutorial from Adobe -- particularly useful for Web developers.