WHY AFTER EFFECTS STILLS SO SLOW IN THE NEW MAC PRO?

[duranduran]

I have the new mac pro with this settings:

3 GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon E5

64 GB 1867 MHz DDR3 ECC

AMD FirePro D700 6144 MB

Software OS X 10.9.2

And the AE performs slower than in my old mac pro. I have set the preferences as seen on all those tutorials on this site, I have an SSD external disc for cache files, memory and multiprocessing settings correctly...and previews are very very slow, and I can not even render a single comp without waiting 10 minutes. I am very disappointed and frustrated with this situation...

Am I missing something?

[martinc13962311]

Perhaps that will be the point. They will drop all pretence of being a compositing suite and stick to motion graphics only. It's basically all AE is good at, so the message seems pretty clear with that appointment.

At least that would be a direction, and all the users looking for a professional compositor and finishing suite can just move on.

[dissidently]

I'm reasonably sure you're kidding about it being good at motion graphics. But just in case you're not, any 3D app is better for 2D motion graphics than AE, by a good margin.

AE's timeline handles aren't even fun to play with, often misbehaving, or otherwise weirdly constraining the user.

And the nature of the "geometry" and visual element creation and editing within AE is archaic, at best. I'd actually prefer to be more accurate and say it's a victim of unDesign - wherein features are added with inverse thought on their operability, capability and compatibility.

To best understand how AE got to this point, I think there's nothing better than this video on how Xerox missed the computing revolution: steve jobs on why xerox failed - YouTube

[P.M.B]

dissidently wrote:

          ...any 3D app is better for 2D motion graphics than AE, by a good margin.

hmmm....sometimes what you say.....other times you say....    WHat do think about AE's splash screen?

[dissidently]

For a compositing app (AE's primary and initial purpose) it's odd.

[dissidently]

I think, like many of your responses, you have cherry picked a component of someone's words without their context.

The context, in this case, is the user experience. The AE user experience, for creation of 2D motion graphics, is nightmarish, inexact, stubborn, inflexible and peculiarly lacking in many of the controls and refinements major 3D apps have had for 20+ years.

I think I get your point, though. You're suggesting the splash screen is good looking, aesthetically pleasing.

For pure AE creation, yes, it is. If it was purely created in AE, well done to the user. I feel for their experience creating it, though. It couldn't have been nearly as fun as making the same thing in an app more innately attuned to creating such content.

AE has the worst of the current paradigms of use for all manner operations. By a good margin. This is more apparent when contrasted with the precision, productivity and user experience of all the major 3D apps. Even when "constrained" to 2D creativity in a 3D app.

I like C4D least of the major 3D apps that have good animation capabilities, and yet its leaps and bounds better than AE for 2D motion graphics. And has the added advantage of being able to think in a very well articulated 3D space about how to animate over and through a 2D surface with camera control that's sensible and enjoyable to use, and viewports, interface and timelines that are vastly more fluid and responsive.

Should we mention the issues with vertex animation in AE the entire idea that AE should ever be used for motion graphics falls apart, completely. If you're economically constrained to AE I feel for you.

The OP's original use case and what orchardPost30 is on about are the primary use cases for AE, and where its feature set shines. However its user experience and performance for this activity is horrid.

Using scripts and Actions to churn through sequences with Photoshop for post processing and basic compositing is becoming more fun than using AE. And that's really saying something.

[P.M.B]

That really IS saying something.

[martinc13962311]

News just in! You are going to get a free set of Mickey Mouse ears with every copy of After Effects! You can sit their looking cool whilst smashing away at the keys trying to get AE to RAM preview without crashing...

Like a said last week, I think this thread is done... We all know AE sucks so just move on.

The only way you will make any difference is to move to another platform. Adobe does not listen or care what anyone on here has to say. You are wasting your time...

[martinc13962311]

And I mean make a difference to you, Adobe couldn't care less.

[dissidently]

In summation "think of the children".

[dissidently]

No, it's helpful, and will always be, for everyone that comes after us with similar questions and concerns.

Most people don't initially realise they're using something that's horrid because everything they've been previously exposed to exalts the company and its products.

The more strongly the point is made the more quickly the confused can be enlightened.

[RealSting]

orchardpost30 wrote:

I think this thread is done... We all know AE sucks so just move on.

Actually I think this thread has just started! Yes, I am amongst the disappointed ones but rather than slander Adobe all the time, I am prepared to work with them to report all issues by using this thread. After all, presumably we started to use After FX because we thought it was a great product! I want After FX to continue but learn the lessons of its users.. if we let Adobe know about things, then they have something to work with and goals to meet.

I for one, will continue to post my findings (and no doubt my frustrations) here constructively (i will try!!) .. Adobe will then have no excuse to rectify the issues if they are presented with all the evidence!

Isn't that right Adobe?!!! 😉

[martinc13962311]

Because that has worked so well to date, right?

[martinc13962311]

I used to think like you, I honestly did. Really I would have to be literally mental to keep listening to their failed promises and lack of talent to actually address user concerns.

Again, I set a simple problem 11 months ago... We can't import image sequences without beach balling and over 1 minute per pass import time. We spent hundreds of pounds getting our 10gb network investigated by an engineer. Wasted 100's of man hours... Adobe's answer... Absolutely nothing!!! We tested other software, guess what... They can import and navigate image sequence folders with no problems at all! This is after months of them blaming Apple, the size of their team, the hardware, the OS and about anything else but themselves!

We choose to live in the real world... Not the world we wish were true...

[P.M.B]

I for one am glad for all of you who are "done" with after effects yet still take the time to inform all of us who cannot think for ourselves or trust our own experience.   I personally have no problems using AE 2014 for the work that I do....so if not for you guys I wouldn't know that AE sucked.   I really appreciate all the time you ex-AE users spend here talking about how useless it is.  The fact that I use it every day had me thinking otherwise.  So thanks.

[martinc13962311]

Are you on a mac?

[martinc13962311]

A new Mac Pro?

[martinc13962311]

What's the subject of the thread again?

[martinc13962311]

Perhaps if people spent a little more time reading and replying the the actual thread subjects, and less time time thinking up clever and pithy answers with no relation to the discussions, this forum might actually be a little more informative!

[martinc13962311]

We have given a specific example, to try and keep it simple... Of how on a MAC!!!... A new mac pro and a 5k imac... You can't import large image sequences/CG passes over a fibre network when other software can. Showing video evidence and what I thought was a pretty basic real world reason why AE currently does not function for mac users. This really is a very basic issue that I thought might be manageable to get answers on... Silly me! Instead we get "it works for me, on a completely unrelated platform", "It's slander to clearly show with evidence that AE does not function on these macs".

Again, really simple stuff guys. It shouldn't be that hard to follow or understand.

[Szalam]

orchardpost30‌, AE's handling of image sequences is an issue I've brought up to the Adobe folks as well. It shouldn't take that long! As you say, it should be the same speed over a fiber network as it is when you import it off a local drive. But I would go even beyond that. I would love for AE to see an image sequence as one item when you're browsing in AE's import window. Other software does that and it would make things much easier when you're looking to replace a sequence with a newly rendered one or relink things if stuff was moved about. Unless you make each pass it's own folder, that can be pretty time consuming!

However, I wouldn't write AE off just yet. The AE team have started really listening to their users and are (attempting) to improve AE in ways that are tangible to actual users instead of just adding flashy features. They promised they were going to take at least a year and just focus on improving AE's core and they are doing that. I consider that a promise kept. I am encouraged by the direction they're going. (I just wish it were happening faster.) As they work to remake AE's architecture to fix it's basic underpinning and as we continue to let them know our issues, I'm sure they'll start improving other important basic things like I/O as well (because, really, it needs some help).

Also, as has been mentioned, messing with animation curves might be easier in a 3d program (it is for me anyway - although I have met some people who prefer AE's graph editor over 3d apps they've used). However, there are many things in motion graphics that you can't do in a 3d app, but you can do in AE. And there are many things that are much, much faster in AE vs. any other app. Until there's a viable replacement for AE in my workflow, I'm going to keep doing all I can to get Adobe to improve it so I can keep being ever-more productive.

[martinc13962311]

It is even faster than your local drive when using Fusion, I did post movies you must have missed them. Check back up the thread. That was on a 5k iMac but we have tested new mac pros and other iMacs on fibre too. All the same. Totally crazy and obviously just that one feature stops us using AE for CG comping.

If I file this as a bug report or speak to one more person at Adobe about it, I might get violent! It really shouldn't be that hard to fix import, or am I missing something? Again, I'm never really sure what your faith is based on as far as Adobe goes? Was there a version of AE for mac in the last 3-4 years that didn't have issues? I must have missed that memo... I'm sure you are right, AE will probably work in about 1-2 years time, in the mean time I have business to run and client deadlines to meet...

What business would continue to use something that doesn't work, when you can use something that does? Everyone on here seems to think you either use After Effects or nothing.... There is a big world out there gentlemen, just because you only bothered learning one piece of software!

Adobe do comment in here Realsting, but they usually run for the hills when the questions get a bit tricky. Or even not so tricky questions like "Why doesn't import work?".

[Szalam]

orchardpost30 wrote:

It is even faster than your local drive when using Fusion, I did post movies you must have missed them. Check back up the thread.

I wasn't referring to your videos, I was referring to my experiences. Fusion is nice in that regard, no question about it! But regardless of what Fusion does, at the very least it should be the same speed (or at least close) in AE, but it isn't.

orchardpost30 wrote:

Totally crazy and obviously just that one feature stops us using AE for CG comping.

Which is a shame. It's costing untold thousands of hours for folks who are using AE and are just sitting there waiting! On the surface, it doesn't seem like fixing the import would be a big deal, but I know that AE has some pretty oddly complex stuff inside (which, one would hope, they're trying to simplify with all the changes they're making!)

orchardpost30 wrote:

Was there a version of AE for mac in the last 3-4 years that didn't have issues?

There's never been a version that was without issues for Mac or PC, but you are right that the recent versions seem to have more issues than before on the Mac. Don't forget that PC users have some unique problems as well. The sticky Wacom issue seems to be a mostly Windows issue (which, by the way, for folks having that problem, turn off Windows Ink and see if that fixes it).

orchardpost30 wrote:

I'm sure you are right, AE will probably work in about 1-2 years time, in the mean time I have business to run and client deadlines to meet...

I'm with you! Use what works the best for you in the moment. There are many tools out there - especially for compositing. It would be foolish to have blinders on and think Adobe is the only choice.

Let's hope we're both right and AE starts working well for everyone. Who knows? Once they get the new architecture fully in place, it might blow us all away! We can hope, right?

[martinc13962311]

We can but hope...

It wasn't me that tried saying 3D software is best for motion graphics by the way. Think that is a pretty stupid use of 3D software accept in some situations... Horses for courses and all that.

For me the main point is this, why is After Effects called After Effects? You would hazard a guess that it's main feature was to add effects and composite? Right? What's the one thing it really can't do well right now?

I fully understand your points and I can see your a passionate guy who only wants to think the best. My view is up until this point Adobe has not shown willingness to listen properly to voices other than the ones they want to hear. This issue is only an issue because they didn't recode AE 64bit in the first place. And Adobe have chronically under funded the dev team for years. Last time I checked none of that had changed?

[dissidently]

I'll take this challenge:

However, there are many things in motion graphics that you can't do in a 3d app, but you can do in AE

Show me something that is explicitly motion graphics that can't be done in 3D apps but can be done in AE?

Not Effects and Post Processing, stick to motion graphics.

I think you'll find, by definition, it's the other way around.

[Szalam]

RealSting wrote:

...I want After FX to continue but learn the lessons of its users.. if we let Adobe know about things, then they have something to work with and goals to meet.

I for one, will continue to post my findings (and no doubt my frustrations) here constructively (i will try!!) .. Adobe will then have no excuse to rectify the issues if they are presented with all the evidence!

Isn't that right Adobe?!!! 😉

Since this is a user-to-user forum, it's good to share issues we're having in case others have found solutions and to make sure we're not alone, but it's not an official way to contact Adobe. RealSting, post your issues on the forums, by all means, but if you want Adobe to see it, you should also file a bug report or feature request: Feature Request/Bug Report Form