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Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

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Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#161

Post by ricahe2559 »

michaelaubry wrote: post #54
dceddia wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice job! It looks like a ton of effort. What's the tech stack for something like this? All homegrown? I've wanted to mess around with screencast editing but programmatic video stuff in general seems daunting.

Yes it's daunting. You have to love it to be able to get through the hard times. I am using React.js to build the UI and manage state. Using FFMPEG and a combination of other rendering techniques on the backend. Shout outs to Vercel AWS React team

FFMPEG is super powerful. Michael, do you take screenshots on a headless browser and stitch them using FFMPEG? At least, that's what I have done for a hobby project.

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#162

Post by stopachka »

jozzy-james wrote: post #154
stopachka wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mousetrap is the best shortcut library I’ve used, and can help you do this well, catching a bunch of edge cases

e.keyUp...c'mon man, don't need a whole library

You’d be surprised — for ex: where do you listen for that event? Something has to be in focus — most kb implementations rely on this and fail.

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#163

Post by ChicagoBoy11 »

Bro I tried the demo and on the surface this looks insanely well executed. If my job goes remote next year (I'm a school admin/support person, so if that's the case I'll have a lot of downtime), you wanna take on an unpaid intern just in exchange for learning from this?

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#164

Post by fiblye »

michaelaubry wrote: post #101
harryf wrote: post #90

Looks great but trying the tour on my iPhone was troublesome - feels like it wasn’t really designed to be used on a phone. Which is a shame if true, because that’s where all the social media influencers etc live

Fair point. There is definitely a wide audience on desktop. According to my analytics. Most of the traffic came from desktop. At best it got to 50/50. That said. I am focused on nailing this on mobile as well, once I get some resources. I have used all responsive techniques. So the bones are there I just need to give it a little love :) I agree itll be killer to produce on the go.

> Most of the traffic came from desktop. At best it got to 50/50.

I think most of your early traffic is going to be biased towards the techie crowd who use desktops. They're also more likely to be using pro software.

Mobile users will probably find it more handy, and I think that's where most of your growth could come from.

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#166

Post by caseyf7 »

bgdam wrote: post #30

Dude this is fantastic. Also you really need to charge more. Start by doubling the prices for all the plans. It's easily worth it and people will pay.

Also consider lowering expectations for support. The current pricing won’t absorb many high maintenance customers abusing your support line.

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#167

Post by davjhan »

michaelaubry wrote: post #44
davjhan wrote: post #42

This is insane. The home page is super clear and the product itself is very slick to use. Good job on defining the right vision on the product and prioritizing the exact set of features to launch with to solve the specific niche problem space (podcast/video promotors on instagram). You seem to have a good handle on feature creep.

I love it. It's funny because I think I spent way too much time on this relative to the advice I was getting. If I didn't have great people in my life then I would be stuck on a never ending feature rabbit hole. When I start my next company I plan to have more balance between MVP, user interviews, pre sales, business metrics, market research, etc. This venture was purely intuition and a major desire to build this :)…

tbf, I don't think it's possible to make a 'simple' but valuable video editing app, especially with one person. But I think you made the simplest video editing app that does provide value to a specific market of people. (entrepeneurs and podcasters, who, I might add, are willing to open their wallets easier than the average consumer.) I know this because at first I couldn't find a way to add new layers. But then I realised that for these people, you don't really need multiple video layers. They just want to slap on a progress bar, add a title, and export. To me that showed restraint in the right areas and a good understanding of your customer.

You seem to have an exceptional talent on UI/UX design, development, and marketing. As someone who is trying to do everything himself, and basically do what you just did, I've bookmarked this as inspiration.

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#168

Post by nlh »

dylan604 wrote: post #58
kanobo wrote: post #5

I was excited to see at least some AE features in the browser or more-than-beginner type editing -- but it's more akin to iMovie or a basic templated editor? Impressive nevertheless for one person to bootstrap, congrats.

I came to say the same thing. If you're going to compare yourself to AE, then you better bring some heavy hitting features. The iMovie comparison is exactly what I was thinking. It's a FisherPrice "baby's first NLE". That sounds a lot harsher than I mean for it to be, but it is apropos. People that have never used an editor and wants to get into it, then this very well may be an amazing option for them. For $32/mo th…

You can't just compare it by saying "$50/mo gets you the full Adobe Suite" -- there's a hidden cost there. Yes, you get access to the full Adobe Suite of software, but there's a huge learning curve that comes with that and dozens (hundreds?) of hours of learning required to get good.

This tool seems pretty much effortless to learn and use. There's intrinsic value in that.

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#169

Post by michaelaubry »

aerovistae wrote: post #134
michaelaubry wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This means a lot. I have spent some time getting it down. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears haha. I agree with the templates. I am trying to allocate my time wisely and I think expanding that will be major. I am drawing up a way to make it even easier for people to create amazing videos. When you click "add new video" I plan to make it interactive and guide you along every step. Your options will be Do you want to cre…

I'm curious, did you use some kind of library for the little thumbnail videos under "Try a Template" or code it yourself?

So I re-used some code from inside the app.

I built the ability to grab and scroll inside the timeline. Then I converted it to a re-usable component.

I'd be open to open sourcing it.

Re: Show HN: I built an After Effects for dummies

#170

Post by michaelaubry »

eganist wrote: post #53
michaelaubry wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This means a lot. I have spent some time getting it down. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears haha. I agree with the templates. I am trying to allocate my time wisely and I think expanding that will be major. I am drawing up a way to make it even easier for people to create amazing videos. When you click "add new video" I plan to make it interactive and guide you along every step. Your options will be Do you want to cre…

Two questions based on that last sentence: 1. Are you going to do the sales grind until you find a CEO and sales team who can do that for you? 2. Would you be comfortable in a CTO role, letting a CEO handle the non-technical but knowing they could very well be determining what you should focus on strategically?

Yes if it is needed and makes sense for the company to thrive I am not married to any set way.

I do have a vision for this product and it would have to be the right fit.

I keep an open mind though.

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