I've been using Adobe After Effects for a while now and it's a great tool for adding some impressive looking post-production particle effects. Here's something I was playing with for Opta:
[youtube:bqeb2azAQeM]
A lot of what you see in commercials or title sequences at the cinema or on TV will have most probably had an element of After Effects used on them, with Quantum of Solace using it to great effect (mind the pun) in this opening sequence:
[youtube:M1kK_17sl28]
Video is such a large part of today's online experience, and users' expectations of what video content should look like is massively influenced by what they see on film and TV, so the better the effects get in the cinematic experience, the better they need to be on the web. It is, therefore, incredibly important to keep up with the most recent technology and keep your skills honed to deliver the depth of user journey and enhanced engagement that the user demands.
