1 Chapter 1. After Effects: The Big Picture "It's the Photoshop of dynamic media." Summing up After Effects often leads to a comparison to its more famous sibling, Photoshop. Just as Photoshop lends you precise control over a still image, After Effects gives you startling command over moving images. And, like Photoshop, After Effects has established itself as one of the leading programs of its kind. But After Effects is much more than an imitation of Photoshop. After Effects brings together typography and layout, photography and digital imaging, digital video and audio editing, even 3D animation. Each element can be edited, composited, animated, and treated with effects. The results can be output for presentation in traditional media, like film and video, or newer forms, like CD-ROM, DVD, or the Web. In this sense, a more apt metaphor would be that After Effects is the opera of digital media. Just as Wagner sought to combine disparate forms of performance into a "total work of art"--or gesamt- kuntzwerk--After Effects allows you to unite various media into a unique, dynamic whole. But that may sound a little too grandiose. If it's more convenient, then "the Photoshop of dynamic media"