according to trapcode website: "Horizon is a camera-aware color gradient and image mapping tool. It is a fairly straightforward utility plug-in. It is meant to be used on the bottom (backmost) layer in a 3D comp. It generates a background that corresponds to the camera's viewing direction. Trapcode Horizon is useful for creating the stuff that is really far away (at infinate distance) in a 3D comp. It can be used for example when a 3D camera move leaves the viewer confused; Horizon can help generating a background that corresponds to the camera move and thus help the viewer understand what is actually going on. Or it can be used just for fun! Trapcode Horizon is a great companion to the other 3D plugs from Trapcode, such as Particular and Form etc. Hosts Adobe After Effects 7.0 and higher (Mac OSX/Windows)" Thanks Hosein for mentioning it here http://aftereffects.corank.com/tech/story/how-to-create-a-flock-of-Birds-with-Af Join discussion...

This tutorial utilizes Trapcodes Particular, which is one of After Effects more popular 3rd party plugins. Creating an animation like a flock of birds is very versatile and is a great filler animation which can add a lot of style to a piece. You can also adapt this technique to create other flying creatures…. perhaps a flying skull with flapping wings? Join discussion...

"This particular post takes you through the creation of an entire project, from modelling in 3dsMax to ray traced materials, rendering issues to After Effects, and how to make it all work together. Click here to view the tutorial (QT, h.264, 46 minutes, 59 mb)." Join discussion...