What should you do If you can't afford After effects

[visualc23242172]

Hi!

Please don't mind if I'm wasting your time. I'm a student and I want to learn After effects but I can't afford. Does Adobe allow piracy in that case because one can't afford it (I'm against piracy by the way).

[davescm · Accepted solution]

Of course Adobe do not allow or condone piracy.

As a student, you could look at whether you qualify for an educational discount

Student software discounts, student eligibility | Adobe

Dave

[visualc23242172]

I qualify for that. But I can't pay that either.

[Peru Bob]

Don't even think of downloading pirated software of any kind.  You could very well end up with malware which may either bork your computer or steal your personal information.

[Rick Gerard]

If you want to learn After Effects, or Photoshop or any other licensed software you need to pay for it. Nothing is really free.

There are open source apps out there that kind of do a little of the same things but they will not teach you the Adobe UI or workflows. What are you trying to accomplish? If you want to learn AE then stop eating out, pack a lunch, stop being coffee at coffee shops and pay for the program. Cut out one trip to Starbucks a day and you can easily pay for the entire Creative Cloud subscription in the US. If you are completely broke and can't scrape up the few dollars a month that an Academic license costs then get in touch with your family and friends and ask for support. To really learn After Effects and become proficient you'll need about six or eight months of serious study. Compositing and Motion Graphics are not easy. Nobody gets it much faster than that.

If you steal software and get caught you will pay a lot more. If you steal software and don't get caught sometime down the line you will be faced with another problem that forces you to examine your honesty and it's going to be harder to make the right decision.

[Katie Houghton]

You can use a trial for 30 days. If you are a student then go to a college lab that has a copy and work on that. At my nieces school, the college provided a copy of CC for the students in her field. Maybe your school does the same. Ask the school. If you really need it and the college does not provide it, then talk to your financial advisor to see if they can get you more support for needed materials. With added support from the school you may be able to afford the student version which is discounted. Good luck.

[Rick Gerard]

Trials are now only 7 days so that's not much help for a student.

[chrisl60802654]

That's some pretty big assumptions to think that the reason a student can't afford the $31 dollars a month because they're eating out or hitting Starbucks on a daily basis, you don't know your market. It's not just a few dollars, your student/teacher amount plan of $17, only lasts a year. Do you think Students get a salary from the college after a year? The commercial plan is only $49 a month! That's only $18 more than the student plan in the second year. These agencies make over a hundred $ an hour. If a student is able to work a job it's usually minimum wage and that money goes towards their expenses to live.

I have always used Adobe and have been a big fan. You were there for the artists, designers, and developers. It seems your only interested in being used by agencies.

For the most part, you have a monopoly in this field but hopefully, new software will be developed and we can move away from these $$$ subscriptions.

[P.M.B]

One word.  Eugenics.

[Katie Houghton]

My niece is in a Video program in NC and her software is provided by the school. She has it on her personal system. (only they did not provide Tk) Check with the school if you are in an imaging program. As a student, maybe you should have put it on your Christmas list... I paid for my niece for her last year of high school. I was happy that her school provided it this year. My two nephews at two different public schools also seem to have the Adobe suite in school. So if they need it, they go to the lab.

There are other applications that provide some of the features that Adobe does. There is a open source imaging software. Apple provides competitive imaging/video software and there are some nice Apps on the Apple App store that are Vector and Image based. I have tried them all. Bottomline Adobe has the best. I like the others but I love the way Adobe works together. You get what you pay for. If you want to work within the field, it is best to use Adobe. If you are doing your own thing... use what works for you. (I am not going to mention the software by name in this forum but a good google search will reveal them)

Honestly with the monthly fee, I am sure even a student can do a one freelance job every couple of months to pay for it and it would be great experience! The cost of the software is well below the cost of a phone service.