ShapeShifter AE - a next generation 3D plugin

Freeform Pro Review at Creative COW

Tudor 'Ted' Jelescu ©2011 CreativeCOW.net. All rights reserved.

Article Focus: Imagine creating a 3D title in AE, checking out a few variations of depth and bevels how long would that take you? Now imagine the client wants to check out 10-15 fonts and about as many animation options, all in 3D, with reflection mapping and, cherry on the cake, maybe, possibly a change of focus along the titles how long would that take? Tudor "Ted" Jelescu tells us that with Shapeshifter AE, all of this and more may be done "on the fly". Read on to find out what else this plugin can do.

FAST & Easy 3D Titles in After Effects, using AE controls (no new interface to learn)…Reflection mapping…3D Transparency…3D Displacement mapping…and let's not forget hardware rendering. Oh yeah, did I mention that it is FAST?

ShapeShifter AE has it all. Done deal. So that's the end of my review. Send the good folks at Mettle an e-mail and get yourself a demo copy of ShapeShifter AE, and make sure that you duct tape your jaw because it may drop on the floor.





Seriously now, you may be wondering, what does this plug-in compare to? I simply can't compare ShapeShifter AE with any other product out there because it would just not be fair. Fact of the matter is there's nothing that compares with it in combining these three areas:

1. Speed (hardware rendering - check the recommended GPU's on mettle.com)
2. Ease of use (no new interface to learn - all familiar AE controls)
3. Flexibility (from 3D titles that use AE animated presets to particle generator using simple shape layers on anything with an alpha)

Imagine creating a 3D title in AE, checking out a few variations of depth and bevels how long would that take you? Now imagine the client wants to check out 10-15 fonts and about as many animation options, all in 3D, with reflection mapping and, cherry on the cake, maybe, possibly a change of focus along the titles how long would that take?

Now you could do all these on the fly with ShapeShifter AE.





Besides text + animation presets that ship with AE, you can use AE Shape Layers, Layer Masks, eps files, solids and imported images or movies with an alpha channel. Couple this with the built-in Generator and you can rest assured that many late nights of exploring the possibilities with SSAE are in your future. This plug-in is just a joy to work with!











Create DNA Strands quickly and easily:

ShapeShifter AE | Particular | DNA Strand by Mylenium

Use Presets that ship with AE. Presets like Pixelstorm:

ShapeShifter AE | AE Pixelstorm

Jazz up your title sequences quickly and easily:

ShapeShifter AE | Fierce Angel | Phil Bearman

SSAE features:

• Hardware rendering
• Reflection mapping
• Depth Maps
• Animateable Deformation Lattice
• Bend, Bulge and Twist deformers via sliders
• 3D Transparency
• A built-in Generator

A few more details worth mentioning:
SSAE works with AE lights and cameras. Its Material Controls mimic those of an AE 3D layer, making for a tight integration into AE.

There is a 3D transparency option that will not increase render times in a significant way. This is amazing, as this would choke most dedicated 3D engines out there. The displacement mapping rivals and betters most full 3D apps, and is also generated on the fly. One last thing, the 3D distortion controls and deformation lattice are intuitive and can be animated.

To summarise, I consider ShapeShifter AE a tool worth having, with unrivalled speed and features that will save you lots of time and keep your clients happy. You must see for yourself how great this plug-in is to work with.