Chris Zwar is currently releasing an extensive series on ProVideoCoalition to enhance performance in After Effects. He really starts with Adam (not Wilt !) and Eva and describes many pixel formats and render paths within the popular compositing application.
He's now at the fourth chapter and if you've been working with After Effects for some time, this should seem like a major history lesson. Among other things, the legendary ICE accelerator boards are mentioned there. Which Chris also uses for illustrative purposes to point out how important the system buses were (and still are) for compositing systems.
Even those who don't have anything to do with After Effects can take a lot with them. A little leisure and attention is necessary to work your way through the text. And if you want to indulge even more in the history of video technology, you can take a look at 
in the past of dedicated video editing cards.
;)
