SAN JOSE, CA (Feb. 26, 2001) -- Adobe Systems today announced Adobe After Effects 5.0, a new version of the company's motion graphics and visual effects software. Adobe After Effects 5.0 offers more than one hundred new features and productivity enhancements that enable creative professionals to generate compelling content for film, video, multimedia and the Web.

Adobe After Effects 5.0 offers an implementation of tools that professionals demand in a compositing software package. The new version includes a true 3D compositing environment. In addition, new vector paint tools and 16-bit color support expand the Production Bundle version. The combination of new features along with numerous productivity enhancements will help visual effects artists and motion graphics designers explore their creative ideas and execute them with precise control.

"After Effects 5.0 is a major leap forward. We're really excited because it allows us to create new looks," said Chris Meyer, co-owner of CyberMotion, a motion graphics design studio. "We can now composite in three dimensional space with lighting and cameras, plus use all of our familiar 2D tools like transfer modes and mattes. New features such as expressions and parenting allow us to quickly build elaborate, interlocking animations we wouldn't previously have attempted."

Other new features in Adobe After Effects 5.0 include Parenting, which allows users to animate layers hierarchically; Expressions, which create live relationships between layer properties; masking enhancements to draw masks in the Comp window, expand masks, and add Motion Blur to masks; and Macromedia Flash (SWF) output which allow users to create vector animations for Web sites. A complete list of new features is available on the Adobe Web site at http://www.adobe.com/aftereffects.

In addition to its new features, Adobe After Effects 5.0 software offers dozens of interface enhancements to provide a more efficient and streamlined workflow. After Effects 5.0 also delivers a level of integration with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Premiere.

Standard version and Production Bundle
Adobe After Effects 5.0 software is available in two versions. The Standard version provides the core 2D and 3D compositing and effects tools that motion graphics professionals and Web-designers need. The Production Bundle version is designed for visual effects artists and motion graphics designers who need all of the tools in the Standard Version, plus additional keying, motion control and distortion tools, audio effects, 3D channel effects, 16-bit per channel color, vector paint tools, and support for network rendering.

Pricing and Availability
In the United States and Canada, Adobe After Effects 5.0 for Mac OS 9.0.4, Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X Classic, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows Millennium Edition is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2001. The estimated street price for the Standard version is $649 (U.S.) and for the Production Bundle version is $1,499 (U.S.).

Customers can upgrade to After Effects 5.0 from previous versions of the Standard version for $199 (U.S.) and from previous versions of the Production Bundle for $299 (U.S.). During the first 120 days following the product release, Standard version 3.x or 4.x customers in the U.S. and Canada can upgrade to the After Effects 5.0 Production Bundle for only $499 (U.S.).

French, German, and Japanese upgrades are expected to ship in the third quarter of 2001. Information about these versions, as well as pricing, upgrade, and support policies for these countries will be announced separately.

As an added value to After Effects 5.0 customers, Adobe is offering five free plug-ins; Card Dance, Card Wipe, Caustics, Wave World and Foam, that upon registration can be downloaded from the Expert Center at www.adobe.com/aftereffects.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated (adobe.com) builds software for Network Publishing, including Web, print, video, wireless and broadband applications.

For more information and an exclusive analysis of this announcement, please visit DigitalVideoEditing.com.