I've been experimenting with my new copy of Trapcode's Particular plug-in for After Effects. It's a very nice, easy to use 3d particle system that renders quite fast. Particular boasts several built-in presets like smoke, clouds, sparks etc.
One of my favorite features, though, is the ability to key frame the life time in the physics engine. Say again? Well, basically this allows you to slow down and stop a particle render in midstream while your After Effects composition timeline continues, then resume the particle system render right where it left off.
So, like this example shows, you can do quasi-bullet time effects with particle systems where the particles grind to a halt, the camera is repositioned and the particles resume their lifespan. Amazing!
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