Every now and then a piece of software comes along that changes your life. The first one for me was Cubase, I learned how to do music sequencing on an old Atari during my deejaying career in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Then there was Deluxe Paint, the first application that allowed me to do “computer animation”. This was also on the Atari, you could amaze your friends, creating fire-effects by cycling colors!

Another big influence was the good old Sinclair ZX Spectrum. My Dad had one with the Hobbit game on it. Still one of the best computer games I’ve ever played, proving that story-telling and game-play are far more important factors than look and feel!

Then I entered the world of PCs, Corel Draw was my first app on PC, on an IT course in Edinburgh. I soon got the bug of creating graphics with a keyboard but I felt drawn more to the Mac as it felt more akin to the old Ataris I was used to. 

Then one day I popped up to my neighbor’s flat. I’d been at a party there once and had noticed that he had an old Mac Classic sitting in the corner. So I wanted to ask his advice about the differences between Macs and PCs. Turned out he worked for a company called Adobe, and he was the one who really changed my life by introducing me to my greatest loves (in terms of software!) Photoshop and After Effects.

I spent the next twelve years freelancing with these products and loving it. I even ended up writing my two “Creative After Effects” books, that’s how ‘into it’ I really was. And it wasn’t until last year that I felt like I needed something new. I’d got to the stage where I felt like I wasn’t being challenged but was still feeling under stress, I knew something had to change but wasn’t really sure what.

Then along came Flow, and the inspirational people behind it. A software application so impressive that it persuaded me to give up my freelance career and join the team behind the software. Now, I’m not a business-person, I’m a creative, so what am I doing working for a software company? The answer is that I’m now doing the most creative job I’ve ever had and I am so excited and rewarded when I see other creatives warm to this new software application which I truly believe will revolutionize their work.

Angie’s shuffle track of the day - Girlyman - I know Where You Are, listen free on Last FM

Tags: Adobe, After Effects, Angie Taylor, animation, application, Atari, Ataris, Corel, creative professionals, Cubase, Deluxe, Designer, Edinburgh, Flow, game, Girlyman, Hobbit, Mac Classic, Macs, Paint, Photoshop, Sinclair ZX, Software, software industry, Spectrum