The Matrix effect: some resources for After Effects

Arvid Schneider has a new After Effects tutorial video on AEtuts, Enter The Matrix Using Particular 2. Here's the preview:



There are a number of other ways to get this effect, and reflex dictates a list. Several tutorials have been done using particles with Particle Playground and CC Particle World, and other built-in tools:

• The Matrix project and text tutorial by Richard Lainhart, co-founder of the previous incarnation of AENY. This granddaddy is so old that it can't be opened by CS5, though a version in one of the Meyer books might work. He has something similar at Macprovideo, Create a Sci-Fi Number Grid with Adobe After Effects & Particle Playground. 

• There's Matrix fonts at Netfontes.

• Matrix Raining Code, a tutorial by Rhys-works (Youtube).

• ParticleIllusion has an emitter for this effect (see emitter page 3)

• Matrix text effect, a free project by G. Chen (2007)

• Doing this on your own with layer offsets might be easier with expressions and/or scripts, like Layers2Grid and 3D Layer Distributor by Lloyd Alvarez. You could also take a look at built-in presets like "Raining Characters."

A fast way of getting this effect is with Red Giant filters in Text Anarchy (formerly Digital Anarchy Text Anarchy).