With that said, let’s break down the other features that separate Nucleo Pro from its more basic sibling:
Fast Preview – This uses all your system resources to create a RAM preview. The RAM previews happen fast and just as easily as the render engine. However, when it comes to RAM previews, I really need to see the comp window as it updates. That way, if there is a problem with my animation, I see it as it happens. I typically only do RAM previews of 1 or 2 seconds of video at a time. Now, I did find this useful for doing a final preview before sending the comp to the render queue.
Spec Preview and Spec Render – This is a pretty powerful feature if you work linearly through a comp. The basic idea behind these features is that Nucleo Pro will render or preview the frames up to the point you are working on in the background. I don’t really work linearly myself, as I work from the background to the foreground so often that I find myself jumping all around the comp, without usually working from beginning to end. (Side Note: If you’re an After Effects user and you don’t subscribe to Creative Cow’s After Effects video training podcast, you should do it. They did a couple of podcasts on nesting and precomposing recently that gave me some ideas that might allow me to make better use of these features.)
Performance
While the performance is really impressive, with improvement speeds in the range of 450% for my Quad G5, there are a few setbacks to Nucleo Pro.
For example, you can only use one feature of Nucleo Pro at a time. If you are doing a background render you, can’t use the fast preview feature. While this might seem like a really negative issue, I would rather keep performance speeds up rather than divide system resource up too much.
In regards to background renders in general, when I was doing processor-intense effects I did notice minor slow down in After Effects performance while background renders were being performed. As I am using a Quad G5, I would guess this would be a little more pronounced if you are using a dual processor machine.
Finally, though this is a very minor issue, if you are used to being able to watch the video as the render progresses, Nucleo Pro doesn’t allow you to view the video during render. It might take you a little getting used to, but, honestly, if you continue working during the render process, why would you even want to watch it?
Value
The original Nucleo’s priced very reasonably at only $149.95, while Nucleo Pro is $395.95, which is a little harder to swallow for a microfilmmaker with small budget. If you already have a dual or quad processor and use After Effects, then the time you save using Nucleo Pro will be worth it in one day. Now, when it comes to Nucleo Pro you may need to weigh your workflow needs a little more. In my case, time is of the essence. I need to push through a lot of compositions in a short amount of time, so I find the added features worth the additional cost. If you just aren’t sure, you can always upgrade to pro at a later date.
Final Comments
Before I installed Nucleo Pro on my system, the process of creating a comp in After Effects often became frustrating somewhere in the middle of the work process. Then there was this long wait to see if your work paid off when you insert it into your film. After only a few hours of using Nucleo Pro I felt freed up to begin experimenting with effects and ideas and still get projects done in with a tight timeframe. It brought the joy of using After Effects back for me. I have started experimenting with it in a way I hadn’t since I was just using it for fun. That joy in turn has translated not only into make more creative motion graphics, but also in making my clients happier when they get something better than expected. Plus, I don’t lose out by spending more time than necessary on a program, which in turn gives me time to go home and watch some TV or a new film, so I can come back with some new ideas that will take my work to new heights the next day.
