Adobe After Effects

History

After Effects was originally created by David Herbstman, David Simons, Daniel Wilk, David M. Cotter, and Russell Belfer at the Company of Science and Art in Providence, Rhode Island. The first two versions of the software, 1.0 (January 1993) and 1.1, were released there by the company. CoSA with After Effects was acquired by Aldus Corporation in July 1993, which in turn was acquired by Adobe in 1994. Adobe acquired PageMaker as well. Adobe's first new release of After Effects was version 3.0.

Third-party integrations

After Effects functionality can be extended through a variety of third-party integrations. The most common integrations are: plug-ins, scripts, and extensions.

Plug-ins

Plug-ins are predominantly written in C or C++ and extend the functionality of After Effects, allowing for more advanced features such as particle systems, physics engines, 3D effects, and the ability to bridge the gap between After Effects and another.

Scripts

After Effects Scripts are a series of commands written in both JavaScript and the ExtendScript language.

After Effects Scripts, unlike plug-ins, can only access the core functionality of After Effects. Scripts are often developed to automate repetitive tasks, to simplify complex After Effects features, or to perform complex calculations that would otherwise take a long time to complete.

Scripts can also use some functionality not directly exposed through the graphical user interface.

Extensions

After Effects Extensions offer the ability to extend After Effects functionality through modern web development technologies like HTML5, and Node.js, without the need for C++.

After Effects Extensions make use of Adobe's Common Extensibility Platform or CEP Panels, which means they can be built to interact with other Adobe CC apps.

Similar products

• Nuke – The Foundry
• Flame – Autodesk
• Motion – Apple Inc.
• VSDC Free Video Editor
• Natron
• Autograph – Left Angle
• Video Star — Frontier Group (for IOS only)
• Boris RED – Boris FX
• Silhouette – Boris FX
• Fusion – Blackmagic Design
• HitFilm – Artlist
• CapCut – ByteDance
• Alight Motion (for mobile devices)

While not dedicated to compositing, the open source software Blender contains a limited node-based compositing feature which, among other things is capable of basic keying and blurring effects.

References

References

1. (January 21, 2026). "Release Notes, After Effects".
2. (Oct 18, 2022). "After Effects SDK Guide". Adobe.
3. (December 12, 2018). "9 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE HONORED WITH ACADEMY AWARDS".
4. "AE Codenames & Credits".
5. Simons, David. (2013). "Adobe After Effects Turns 20". Computer Graphics World.
6. "After Effects extensions, scripts, and plug-ins". Adobe Inc..
7. "SDK Audience — After Effects SDK Guide 1.0.0 documentation".
8. "What are After Effects Scripts? {{!}} Saving Time in Motion".
9. "Overview — After Effects Scripting Guide 0.0.1 documentation".
10. "Adobe CEP APIs {{!}} Adobe Developer Connection".
11. "Creative Cloud Extension SDK - CC extension resources {{!}} Adobe I/O".
12. "Blender features page".
13. (May 18, 2016). "How 'The Simpsons' Used Adobe Character Animator To Create A Live Episode". cartoonbrew.com.
14. VanHemert, Kyle. (May 11, 2015). "What GIF Masters Can Do With Three Seconds and 4 Colors".