Aescripts Deep Glow 2 for After Effects

About this release

Deep Glow exists because the stock glow in a compositing application never quite looks like light. This plugin models the falloff a lens actually produces, so a bright highlight blooms with a soft, wide, physically weighted spread rather than the flat halo the built in effect gives you. Drop it on a layer, push one slider, and the shot reads as though the brightness was real.

The single most useful property is that the result is resolution independent. A glow tuned on a comp at one size holds up when the same project is rendered at a different resolution, which removes the usual ritual of re tuning every glow when a delivery spec changes. It respects a linear working space when you are in one, and behaves sensibly when you are not, so it slots into whatever pipeline the project already uses.

Beyond the core falloff there is control over the colour of the glow across its range, chromatic dispersion for a lens like fringe, per channel thresholds so only the highlights bloom, and full GPU acceleration so it stays interactive even stacked several deep. It is the kind of plugin that quietly ends up on almost every comp once it is installed.

What it does

• Physically weighted glow falloff that reads as real light
• Resolution independent result that survives a delivery size change
• Linear and non linear workflow support
• Colour control across the glow range for warm or cool blooms
• Chromatic dispersion for a lens like coloured fringe
• Per channel threshold so only true highlights bloom
• Full GPU acceleration for interactive playback
• Composite modes for adding, screening or replacing under the source
• Presets covering common bloom, dream and haze looks
• Lightweight install that registers as a single effect

Changes in this version

• Faster GPU path on cards with limited VRAM
• Improved dispersion quality at very wide glow radii
• New preset set covering subtle broadcast safe blooms
• Better colour handling in a scene referred linear space
• Fixed a rare flicker on animated threshold values

What the package contains

• Deep Glow 2 plugin installer for After Effects
• Full preset library
• Documentation for the workflow and controls
• License component matched to this build
• Readme with the install order written out step by step

Installation notes

Follow these in order. Most reports of a failed install come from skipping a step rather than from the package itself.

1. Close After Effects completely before you begin.
2. Disconnect from the network.
3. Extract the archive anywhere, the package is small.
4. Run the installer and point it at your After Effects plugin folder.
5. Apply the included licensing step so the effect activates.
6. Open After Effects and find the effect under the stylize group.

System requirements

Things worth knowing

• It is a host plugin, it does nothing without a matching After Effects install.
• On a limited GPU, drop the quality setting before you drop the radius, it costs less look.
• Pre compose before applying if you want the glow to read across several layers at once.

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Listing information

This entry is catalogued under Video & Motion and carries the tags below. Language coverage is English, and the supported platform list is Windows 10, Windows 11. Version 1.1.1 is the current catalogued build, last checked 5 days ago, and the entry has been in the index since it was added 1 year ago.