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After Effects 25.1 is the current version, with no big recent announcements. NAB in April 2025 might change these details.
The December 2024 (25.1) release includes important fixes, and Adobe listed remaining Known issues in After Effects. An interesting recent issue was After Effects causes high VRAM Usage on GPU.
And yes, After Effects is 32 years old, so CoSA lives. New features include:
- Accepts Lights switch for 3D layers
- 3D model preview thumbnail
- Cinema 4D 2025 upgrade in After Effects
After Effects v 25.3.0.30 (2025-03-17) is in Beta and does include important new features:
- Animated Environmental Lights
- Better Caching for Better Playback
- HDR Preview
- CICP metadata
- FBX model import
- Customizable Transparency Grids
- Panel Background Color Options
- Quick Set Anchor Point
- Null Controls for Positional Points
- maintain workspace
- 3D quick actions
- Paste Text and Match Formatting
- Smooth Zoom (video)
- Helper commands for common 3D workflows
After Effects Tutorials w/ Mikey Borup has some new tutorials, as well as some upcoming tools with WorkbenchTV. See Variable Mosaic in After Effects and Lego Look tutorial in After Effects.
Only on Bluesky:
Texturelabs shared his new contribution to a cottage industry of tutorials, Advanced After Effects // 80’s Chrome!!
SonduckFilm has 5 Skills All After Effects Users Should Know.
sheikh sohel counters with My Top After Effects Tips & Tricks You Need to Know! and How to Create a 3D Flipping Shape Animation in After Effects.
School of Motion posted a meaty After Effects Kaleidoscope Rig with FREE PRESET. Jake in Motion followed up with another method in After Effects Kaleidoscope Rig Battle.
Manuel does Motion showed making a Refracting 3D Cube Animation in After Effects | Tutorial.
Victoria Nece showed off some offset 3D lighting to create a little chromatic aberration in a scene.
And SternFX showed how to Transform Videos with Powerful Light Tricks. Eran also discussed how you can Dramatically Reduce Your Export Time.
You might skip these for the 3rd video below, but Adobe Live featured Premiere folks in Meet the Adobe Video Product Team: Behind the Scenes & Beyond. They seem to be chomping at the bit for NAB in April, sharing Enhancements in Premiere & Gearing Up for NAB! | Live from San Francisco on March 27th!
Available April 2 is Couldn’t Make NAB? Here’s Everything You Need to Know | Live from San Francisco on April 2nd! Maybe there will be more on Firefly pricing, which doesn’t seem competitive.
It’s hard to say what’s going on with Adobe AI. Theoretically Media says that Adobe Goes AI Dirty with Flux, Runway, & Google! which means they plan to let customer hook directly into other AI “dirty” models.
Justin Serran also has early intel with Adobe’s Secret AI Tools REVEALED! (I Got Early Access).
Theoretically Media posted Behind The Scenes Of An AI Film (Masterclass & Cost Breakdown!). Masterclass has almost no meaning nowadays, but this might be helpful.
Curious Refuge says to Check Out These MAJOR AI Filmmaking Updates. You can find the link to those stories in There are some MAJOR AI Filmmaking Updates | AI Film News.
Curious Refuge also posted Let’s Breakdown this Viral AI VFX Workflow! The host is familiar with AE but apparently wasn’t familiar with Difference mode, so the demo might not satisfy advanced AE users. There seems to be helpful tips all around in the Comments.
On a different level and focus is Trying to Beat AI from VFX and Chill.
Does AI do film looks yet? In a long video, Stu Maschwitz opines on Samsung log and some new free LUTs for working with non-log HDR iPhone footage. The meat of the video is a “Color Grade With Me” tour. Here’s Cameras, Phones, and Log — What’s the Juice?
There was also this by WRN FILM, Why Apple Doesn’t Want YOU Using LOG on iPhone 15/16 Pro Manually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1e74_UZt8s
More generally, the MKBHD team gave a short masterclass on how they make high quality videos. See How to Make High Quality Videos in 54 min, 19 sec, 20 milliseconds by The Studio.
