ADOBE® AFTER EFFECTS
Help and tutorials
®
What's New
What's new in CS6
After Effects CS6 overview
Video tutorial: Overview of After Effects CS6
Global performance cache
3D camera tracker
3D enhancements
Ray-traced 3D renderer
Beveled and extruded text and shape layers
Bendable footage and composition layers
Environment layer support
New material options
Fast Previews
Mask Feather tool
Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators
Vector art footage-to-shape conversion
Rolling shutter repair effect
New 32-bit effects
Updated CycoreFX HD plug-ins
Pro Import AE plug-in
ARRIRAW import
MXF OP1a video codec support
Improved Adobe Dynamic Link
Aerender and watch folder in non-royalty bearing mode
Scripting changes
Miscellaneous changes
After Effects CS6 overview
Adobe recommends:
Video: After Effects CS6: New features workshop
Video: Overview of new and changed features in After Effects CS6
Blog: What's new and changed in After Effects CS6
Global performance cache
Cached frames are restored in many scenarios for a faster workflow
Disk cache is retained even after you close and reopen a project
Disk cache is filled in the background while you continue to work
Adobe recommends:
Global performance cache (CS6)
Video: Global performance cache, and persistent disk cache
Blog: Global performance cache, and persistent disk cache
3D camera tracker
The 3D Camera Tracker analyzes video sequences to extract camera motion and 3D scene data. This feature allows you to incorporate 3D
objects into a 2D scene effectively.
Adobe recommends:
Tracking 3D camera movement (CS6)
Video: 3D camera tracker
Blog: 3D camera tracker
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3D enhancements
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Ray-traced 3D renderer
A new Ray-traced 3D renderer allows for enhanced 3D capability. You can render compositions in a separate environment from the existing
Advanced 3D composition renderer (now called Classic 3D). Many of the existing capabilities of the Classic 3D renderer are available in the new
Ray-traced 3D renderer. Examples include soft shadows, motion blur, and depth-of -field blur. Options include beveled and extruded text and
shape layers, bending of footage and composition layers, environment map support and additional material options.
Adobe recommends:
Extruding text and shape layers (CS6)
Video: Using the ray-traced 3D renderer
Blog: The ray-traced 3D renderer
Beveled and extruded text and shape layers
3D text and shape layers can take on a bevel or extrusion (or both). Properties such as bevel style, bevel depth, bevel hole depth, and extrusion
depth determine the look.
Adobe recommends:
Extruding text and shape layers (CS6)
Video: Extruding 3D text and shapes and modifying geometry options
Blog: Beveled and extruded text and shape layers
Bendable footage and composition layers
In the ray-traced renderer, you can curve 3D footage and nested compositions around a vertical axis using controls in Geometry Options:
Curvature: The amount of bend (as a percentage)
Segments: The smoothness the bend
Adobe recommends:
Bending a footage layer
Video: Bending 2D layers
Blog: Bending 2D layers
Environment layer support
Use 3D footage or nested compositions as a spherically mapped environment around the scene, visible on reflective objects.
Adobe recommends:
Environment layer
Video tutorial: Environment layers
Blog post: Environment layers
New material options
3D layers in the ray-traced renderer include additional materials properties, which affect how 3D objects interact with light. For example, you can
use reflection, transparency, index of refraction as materials properties.
Adobe recommends:
New material options
Video: Material options
Blog: Material options
Fast Previews
Fast Previews supports options for working with different levels of quality when previewing. This menu button has been reordered from highest
quality and slower performance to lowest quality and faster performance. Some options have been renamed, and keyboard shortcuts have been
assigned to them.
Adobe recommends:
Fast Previews (CS6)
Video: Fast Previews
Blog: Fast Previews
Mask Feather tool
Mask Feather is a new tool for controlling feathering along defined points of a mask. Previously, the width of the feather was the same around
the entire closed mask. The Mask Feather tool is available from the Pen tool.
Press G to toggle between the Pen tool and the Mask Feather tool. To toggle between all tools under the Pen tool by pressing G, see Edit >
Preferences > General (Windows), or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS).
Adobe recommends:
Variable-width mask feathering (CS6)
Video: Variable-width mask feathering
Blog: Variable-width mask feathering
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Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators
Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators include features to support the new 3D features. They support beveled, extruded, or curved layers,
in addition to standard "flat" layers. You can scale and rotate a 3D layer by manipulating the bounding box from any side. Snapping the anchor
point to different parts of a side of a bounding box is also available.
Adobe recommends:
Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators
Video: Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators
Blog: Layer bounding boxes and selection indicators
Vector art footage-to-shape conversion
Vector art footage-to-shape conversion creates shape layers from any vector art footage layer. You can even modify vector-based Illustrator, EPS,
and PDF files after you import them into After Effects CS6. Furthermore, with the new 3D extrusion support, you can extrude artwork. For example,
you can extrude and stylize logos in After Effects CS6.
Adobe recommends:
Vector art footage-to-shape conversion
Video: Converting imported vector graphics from Illustrator to shape layers
Blog: Vector art footage-to-shape conversion
Rolling shutter repair effect
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Rolling shutter distortion occurs mainly in digital cameras with CMOS sensors. This distortion usually occurs when the subject or the camera
moves. The Rolling Shutter Repair effect fixes footage containing rolling shutter distortion. The Warp Stabilizer effect also has rolling shutter repair
function. However, the Rolling Shutter Repair effect has more controls and is useful when the footage does not need stabilizing.
Adobe recommends:
Rolling Shutter Repair effect
Video: Rolling shutter repair effect
Blog: Rolling shutter repair effect
New 32-bit effects
The following effects are available with 32 -bpc color in After Effects CS6:
Drop Shadow
Fill
Iris Wipe
Linear Wipe
Photo Filter
Radial Wipe
Set Matte
Spill Suppressor
Timewarp
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Adobe recommends:
Effects and animation presets overview
Blog: New 32-bit effects
Updated CycoreFX HD plug-ins
The CycoreFX HD set is now bundled with After Effects, offering 16-bit and floating point support, and 12 additional effects.
Adobe recommends:
Third-party plug-ins included with After Effects
Video: New Cycore effects and improved color bit depth
Blog: CycoreFX HD plug-ins
Pro Import AE plug-in
The Pro Import AE plug-in (formerly Automatic Duck Pro AE) is now bundled with After Effects CS6. Use Pro Import AE to do the following:
Import AAF and OMF files from an Avid system
Import XML files from Final Cut Pro 7 (or earlier)
Import project files from Motion 4 (or earlier)
Adobe recommends:
File formats supported for import
Video: Using Pro Import After Effects for projects from other applications
Blog: Pro Import AE
ARRIRAW import
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After Effects CS6 now supports files from the ARRI ALEXA, or ARRIFLEX D-21 cameras, called ARRIRAW.
Adobe recommends:
File formats supported for import
Blog: ARRIRAW Import
MXF OP1a video codec support
There is export support for additional video codecs in an MXF OP1a wrapper:
AVC-Intra Class 50 720
AVC-Intra Class 50 1080
AVC-Intra Class 100 720
AVC-Intra Class 100 1080
XDCAM EX 35 NTSC 1080 (4:2:0)
XDCAM EX 35 PAL 1080 (4:2:0)
Adobe recommends:
Supported export formats
Blog: MXF OP1a video codec support
Improved Adobe Dynamic Link
Improved Dynamic Link, including performance enhancements, and removal of the limitation of Dynamic Link to only work within a suite (for
example, Dynamic Link now works between CS6 applications purchased as individual products).
Adobe recommends:
About Dynamic Link
Blog: Improved Adobe Dynamic Link
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Aerender and watch folder in non-royalty bearing mode
After Effects CS5.5 had to be serialized on render-only machines (for example, in a render farm) due to licensing issues. In CS6, you can now run
aerender or use Watch Folder in a non-royalty bearing mode, with serialization not required.
Adobe recommends:
Network rendering with watch folders and render engines
Blog: Aerender and watch folder in non-royalty bearing mode
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Scripting changes
Numerous scripting changes have been made, and are compiled on the After Effects Region of Interest blog.
Adobe recommends:
Scripts
Blog: Scripting changes
Miscellaneous changes
Miscellaneous changes in After Effects CS6 are described in Help documentation, and are compiled on the After Effects Region of Interest blog.
Adobe recommends:
Blog: Details about miscellaneous changes in After Effects CS6
Video tutorial: Miscellaneous New and Changed Features
Video tutorial: Removed Features, with Suggestions for New Workflows
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What’s new in After Effects CS5.5
Top new features in After Effects CS5.5
For a complete list of what’s new and changed in Adobe After Effects CS5.5, see this post on the After Effects Region of Interest blog.
See this series on the video2brain website for video training about every new and changed feature in After Effects CS5.5.
Chris & Trish Meyer provide free video tutorials about new features in After Effects CS5.5. For the tutorials, see this Adobe TV video series.
New and changed features in After Effects CS4, CS5, and CS5.5, collected by Chris and Trish Meyer on the ProVideo Coalition website.
Top new features in After Effects CS5.5
Warp Stabilizer effect: Stabilize footage with Warp Stabilizer.
Camera Lens Blur effect: Camera Lens Blur effect (CS5.5).
Source timecode: Source timecode (CS5.5).
Stereoscopic 3D improvements: Stereo 3D Rig (CS5.5).
Light falloff: Light settings.
Saving a project backward (as an After Effects CS5 project): Save and back up projects.
Plus many more.
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What’s new in After Effects CS5
Online resources about new and changed features in After Effects CS5
Top new features in After Effects CS5
Other new and changed features in After Effects CS5
Online resources about new and changed features in After Effects CS5
New and changed features in After Effects CS4, CS5, and CS5.5, collected by Chris and Trish Meyer on the ProVideo Coalition website.
For information on an update to the importer software for RED (R3D) files (for the RED camera Mysterium-X sensor and new color science), see
this post on the After Effects Region of Interest blog.
In After Effects CS5, bugs were fixed for the Apple ProRes 422 and ProRes 4444 codecs. However, there were still a couple of issues. See this
post on the After Effects Region of Interest for workarounds for two issues in After Effects CS5.
See this post on the After Effects Region of Interest blog for details about the After Effects CS5 (10.0.1) update:
Several fixes and improvements for RED (R3D) import and workflow.
The Apply Color LUT effect can now use .3dl files with floating point values or 3DMESH/Mesh keywords, or those saved from
an ASSIMILATE SCRATCH system (i.e. that have SCRATCH in the comments at the top of the file).
QuickTime (.mov) files from JVC solid-state cameras can be imported.
The Vector Paint effects was removed for After Effects CS5. See these posts on the After Effects user-to-user forum for a discussion of
alternatives and feedback. This post on the After Effects Region of Interest blog has more information about giving feedback in general.
See this post on the Premiere Pro Work Area blog for information about what’s new and changed in Adobe Media Encoder CS5.
For details of new and changed features in After Effects CS4, see the After Effects CS4 Help document.
Top new features in After Effects CS5
64-bit After Effects CS5 application, with improved performance and memory features: Memory, storage, and performance
Roto Brush tool: Roto Brush and Refine Matte
Refine Matte effect: Roto Brush and Refine Matte
AVC-Intra import and improved RED (R3D) support: Supported import formats
Imagineer mocha shape for After Effects plug-in and improved mocha for After Effects planar tracker application: Resources for
Imagineer mocha shape for After Effects and Resources for mocha for After Effects (mocha-AE)
Auto-keyframe mode: Auto-keyframe mode
Apply Color LUT effect for using color lookup tables: Apply Color LUT effect
Align panel improvements, including ability to align layers to the edges and center of a composition: Align or distribute layers in
2D space
Synthetic Aperture Color Finesse 3, with support for 32-bpc color: Resources for Synthetic Aperture Color Finesse
Digieffects FreeForm: Resources for Digieffects FreeForm
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Other new and changed features in After Effects CS5
Added Help > Send Feedback command, which opens a web browser to the feature-request and bug-report form on the Adobe website.
Projects and compositions changes
The default composition settings are now for a 30-second 1920x1080 HDTV composition: Composition settings
In previous versions, if you were entering or editing text when it was time for an auto-save, you would be forced out of text-
editing mode. Now, if you're in text-editing mode when it's time for an auto-save, that auto-save is skipped: Save and back up
projects in After Effects CS5
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The Frame Rate control in the Composition Settings dialog box now includes a menu that allows you to select from a list of
common frame rates: Change frame rate for a composition
The composition background color setting is now located in the Composition Settings dialog box instead of on the Composition
menu, and the keyboard shortcut for accessing only the composition background color has been removed: Composition
settings
When you double-click a precomposition layer when the Roto Brush tool or a paint tool is active, the precomposition layer
opens in a Layer panel. To open the nested composition in a Composition panel instead, Alt-double-click (Windows) or
Option-double-click (Mac OS) the precomposition layer: Opening and navigating nested compositions
Importing and managing footage items changes
Added interpretation rules and gamma rules for ProRes media: Interpret footage items
Added .mxr and .sxr as filename extensions recognized as OpenEXR files for import: Supported import formats
Added interpretation rule for RED (R3D) raw color data that interprets colors as HDTV (Rec. 709) gamma-encoded (non-
linear-light) 32-bpc color: Interpret footage items
Improvements in import of Illustrator files with multiple artboards created from Video & Film presets: Preparing and importing
Illustrator files
After Effects can import multi-channel DPX files, such as those from a Northlight film scanner: Cineon and DPX footage items
Removed ability to open or import After Effects projects created by versions of After Effects 5.5 or earlier. After Effects CS5
can open and import projects created by After Effects 6.0 and later: Import an After Effects project
Removed ability to open projects using project links in movies rendered and exported from After Effects CS3 or earlier. After
Effects CS5 can open projects using project links included in movies rendered and exported by After Effects CS4 and later:
Import an After Effects project
Removed ability to import AAF, OMF, PCX, Pixar, and Filmstrip files: Supported import formats
Removed ability to import Premiere 6.5 projects. After Effects CS5 can import Premiere Pro projects: Import an Adobe Premiere
Pro project
Removed ability to import and export FLV files with video encoded using the Sorenson Spark codec. After Effects CS5 can
import and export FLV files encoded with the On2 VP6 codec: Render and export a composition as an FLV or F4V file
When you drag a completed output module to a folder in the Project panel, you import the output file or files into that folder:
Output modules and output module settings
Double-click a footage item in the Project panel to open it in a Footage viewer. Alt-double-click (Windows) or Option-double-
click (Mac OS) a footage item in the Project panel to open the source file in the media player assigned for that file type by the
operating system. Press Enter on the numeric keypad to open selected footage items in a Footage viewer. The behavior in
previous versions was less predictable and more complex, and was limited to specific media players: View footage item in the
Footage panel or media player assigned by operating system
Layers and properties changes
Added Divide and Subtract blending modes: Blending mode reference
The Label Colors and Label Defaults preferences categories have been combined into one Labels preference category. Null
Object and Text items have been added to the Label Defaults section, and a new label color control (Dark Green) has been
added in the 16th position. Panel tabs include a square label that is the same color as the composition, footage item, or layer’s
label if the Use Label Color For Related Tabs preference is selected in the Appearance preference category: Color labels for
layers, compositions, and footage items
The Camera Settings dialog box includes a new Type option, which specifies if the camera is a one -node or two-node camera:
Camera settings
Shift-dragging with the Unified Camera tool selected temporarily activates the Orbit Camera tool and constrains rotation to one
axis: Move or adjust a camera or working 3D view with the Camera tools
Dragging with the Unified Camera tool selected and the right mouse button pressed temporarily activates the Track Z Camera
tool and modifies Position only: Move or adjust a camera or working 3D view with the Camera tools
Dragging with the Unified Camera tool selected and the right mouse button pressed and Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac
OS) pressed temporarily activates the Track Z Camera tool and modifies both Position and Point Of Interest: Move or adjust a
camera or working 3D view with the Camera tools
Views and previews changes
In After Effects CS4, the default center cut action-safe margin was 30%, and the default title-safe margin was 35%. In After
Effects CS5, the default center cut action-safe margin is 32.5%, and the default title-safe margin is 40%: About title-safe and
action-safe zones
Added Alternate RAM Preview preference, which is used to preview the specified number of frames when you press Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while starting a RAM preview: RAM preview a specified number of frames
In Previews preferences, added Viewer Zoom Quality and Color Management Quality controls: Viewer Quality preferences
New Alpha Boundary and Alpha Overlay view modes in the Layer panel, with keyboard shortcuts: Layer panel view options
and Views (keyboard shortcuts)
When you are working with a composition that contains a 3D layer, a light, or a camera, the Composition panel shows a label
in the top -left corner of each view (such as Top or Right) to indicate which view is associated with which camera perspective.
To hide these labels, choose Show 3D Labels from the Composition panel menu: Choose a 3D view
When you click the Current Time control in the upper-left corner of the Timeline panel, you can now enter a time directly in the
box instead of opening the Go To Time dialog box: Move the current-time indicator (CTI)
When you click the Time Navigator in the Timeline panel, the Info panel shows the times of the beginning and end of the Time
Navigator duration: Zoom in or out in time for a composition
When you click the Work Area bar in the Timeline panel, the Info panel shows the times of the beginning and end of the work
area. The length (duration) of the work area is also shown: Work area
Default audio preview duration (Preferences > Previews) is now 30 seconds: Preview video and audio
The resolution (down-sample factor) of a Layer viewer is now tied to the resolution of the Composition viewer for the
composition in which the layer is contained: Resolution
Removed Wireframe preview.
Animation and keyframes changes
When you place the pointer over a vertex (keyframe) in the Graph Editor, a tooltip now displays the layer name, property name,
time, and value: View or edit a keyframe value
Color changes
In the View > Simulate Output menu, Macintosh RGB and Windows RGB have changed to Legacy Macintosh RGB (Gamma
1.8) and Internet Standard RGB (sRGB). This change corresponds with a change in gamma from 1.8 to 2.2 for Mac OS
version 10.6 and later: Gamma and tone response
Drawing, painting, and paths changes
Added the Path Point Size preference, which specifies the size of Bezier direction handles and vertices for masks and shapes,
direction handles for motion paths, and some effect control points: General preferences
Selecting vertices, direction handles, and effect control points is easier. Instead of needing to click directly on the point, you
can click within a small area around each point: Select masks, segments, and vertices
Using Create Masks From Text now trims the new layer to match the original: Create shapes or masks from text characters
When you change a mask path color, the new color is used as the default mask path color for new masks: Change mask path
color
Text changes
Added ability to orient each text character around its anchor point toward the active camera with Orient Each Character
Independently option in Auto -Orientation dialog box: Per-character 3D text properties
When you select certain properties in the Timeline panel for a text animation, anchors points are now shown in the
Composition panel: Text anchor point properties
Added No Break command in Character panel menu to create nonbreaking spaces: Create a non-breaking space
You can now enable or disable the Path Options for a text layer by clicking the visibility (eyeball) switch for the Path Options
property: Creating and animating text on a path
Double-clicking a Type tool creates a new text layer: Enter point text
Transparency, opacity, and compositing changes
After Effects now premultiplies channels with black when creating FLV files with transparency, which solves problems with
fringes and halos in Flash and Flash Player: Alpha channel interpretation: premultiplied or straight
Effects and animation presets changes
New Color Correction effects based on Photoshop adjustment layer types. When you import PSD files with these adjustments,
they are preserved:
Black & White effect
Selective Color effect
Vibrance effect
The results of changes in the Curves effect are now shown as you drag in the Effect Controls panel, rather than only being
shown when you release the mouse button: Curves effect
Removed entries in Effects & Presets panel and Effect menu for the Paint effect (and Paint category) and Puppet effect (from
Distort category), because there's no need to apply these effects directly. Use the corresponding tools to apply the effects:
Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser and Animating with Puppet tools
The histogram in the Levels effect provides the option to see individual color channels in context with other color channels, as
well as showing color channels as colorized: Levels effect
The Alpha Levels effect has been removed. Instead, use the Levels effect, which can be assigned to work only on an alpha
channel, has a histogram, and is a 32-bpc effect. Old projects that use the Alpha Levels effect will still open, and you will still
be able to modify the Alpha Levels effect properties in these projects: Levels effect
The Vector Paint effect has been removed. Compositions created with a previous version of After Effects that use the Vector
Paint effect will still render, but you will not be able to modify the Vector Paint effect properties in these compositions. Instead,
use paint tools and shape layers: Drawing, painting, and paths
Font preview support (the Show Font option) has been removed from the Basic Text, Path Text, and Numbers effects.
The Show Animation Presets option is now off by default in the panel menu of the Effect Controls panel: Effect Controls panel
The Effects & Presets panel command Reveal In Finder (Mac OS) or Reveal In Windows Explorer (Windows) now works for
Pixel Bender effects: Effects & Presets panel
The Exposure slider in the Exposure effect now has a range from -4 to 4 instead of -20 to 20 to allow for more precise
adjustment: Exposure effect
Changed behavior for copying effects when the Effect Controls panel is active. Even if a property of an effect is selected, the
effect itself (not just the selected properties visible in the Timeline panel) will be copied. Behavior when the Effect Controls
panel isn't active is unchanged: Effect Controls panel
Markers and metadata changes
Added File > Go To Adobe Story menu command: XMP metadata
Include Source XMP Metadata option is off by default in all output module templates: Exporting XMP metadata from After
Effects
After Effects writes startTimecode and altTimecode values into XMP metadata. You can view these values in the Start
Timecode and Alternate Timecode fields in the Dynamic Media schema in the Metadata panel: XMP metadata in After Effects
Removed the Clip Notes features.
Memory, storage, and performance changes
Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing can now use the virtual (logical) processor cores created by
hyperthreading on many modern computers: Render multiple frames simultaneously
Simplified Memory & Multiprocessing preferences, improved automatic RAM allocation between foreground and background
processes, added Details dialog box for observation of RAM usage, and improved performance of Render Multiple Frames
Simultaneously multiprocessing: Memory & Multiprocessing preferences
After Effects now shares a memory pool with Premiere Pro, Adobe Media Encoder, and Encore: Memory pool shared between
After Effects, Premiere Pro, Encore, and Adobe Media Encoder
The time that After Effects takes to start is reduced. The start-up time for the background processes used in Render Multiple
Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing is also reduced.
Plug-ins, scripts, and automation changes
Esc key interrupts a running script: Loading and running scripts
After Effects CS5 can load and run only 64-bit plug-ins, not 32-bit plug-ins: Plug-ins
Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.0 included, and performance of Pixel Bender effects greatly improved: Plug-ins
Rendering and exporting changes
Removed QuickTime export functionality from File > Export menu. To export a QuickTime movie, use the render queue:
Rendering and exporting overview
Removed ability to export AAF, OMF, PCX, Pixar, Filmstrip, ElectricImage, Softimage PIC, and PICT files: Supported output
formats
Pressing spacebar no longer stops the render queue: Pause or stop rendering
Warning for mismatch in frame rate or dimensions between output module settings and other settings, and automatic correction
of mismatches: Warning for mismatch in frame rate or dimensions
Removed options dialog box for SGI output. The dialog box contained an option for using RLE (run-length encoding). This
option is now always on.
Filename extensions are now enforced on output: Specify filenames and locations for rendered output
Cineon output module renamed to DPX/Cineon, and DPX is now default. To create Cineon files, choose FIDO/Cineon 4.5 in
the Cineon Settings dialog box: Cineon and DPX footage items
Added warning message explaining that custom format settings will be reset to defaults when opening a project created in
After Effects CS4 or earlier if the settings can’t be converted. This can happen with some output modules that reference FLV,
F4V, H.264 (and variants), MPEG-2 (and variants), or WMV: Create, manage, and edit output module templates
Added several output module templates for common formats, including F4V, FLV, H.264, and MPEG-2. Renamed some
existing output module templates for increased clarity: Create, manage, and edit output module templates
Removed some color depth options from output module settings that used very few bits per pixel (bpp) from output modules:
Black & White (1-bpp color), 4 Colors (2-bpp color), 16 Colors (4-bpp color), Thousands Of Colors (16-bpp color), and some
grayscale options. This doesn’t affect higher color depths that are expressed in bits per channel (bpc). Remaining are color
depth options for 256 Colors (8 -bpp color), Millions Of Colors (8-bpc), Trillions Of Colors (16-bpc), and Floating Point (32-bpc):
Output modules and output module settings
Removed overflow volumes feature.
Changed Segment Movie Files At preference to Segment Video-only Movie Files At preference: Segment settings
Removed some fractional audio sample rates and ability to set audio sample rate to an arbitrary, custom value in output
module settings. If you need to save audio with a sample rate other than those offered in After Effects, you can reprocess the
audio in Adobe Audition: Output module settings
Removed Edit > Edit In Adobe Audition command: Edit audio in Adobe Soundbooth
Keyboard shortcuts and miscellaneous user interface changes
To mitigate the problem of some new Apple keyboards lacking a numeric keypad, alternative shortcuts have been added for
common operations that have shortcuts that use the numeric keypad. These changes are for Mac OS only. For a complete list
of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts.
function shortcut using
numeric keypad
RAM preview 0 (zero on
numeric keypad)
Shift+RAM preview Shift+0 (zero on
numeric keypad)
Preview only audio from the current time . (decimal on the
numeric keypad)
Preview only audio in work area Option+. (decimal
on numeric
keypad)
Preview N frames Option+0 (zero
on numeric
new shortcut
Control+0 (zero on
main keyboard)
Shift+Control+0
(zero on main
keyboard)
Control+. (period on
main keyboard)
Control+Option+.
(period on main
keyboard)
Control+Option+0
(zero on main
keypad) keyboard)
Add marker at current time (layer marker if layer selected,
composition marker otherwise)
* (multiply on
numeric keypad)
Control+8 (on main
keyboard)
Add marker at current time (layer marker if layer selected,
composition marker otherwise) and open marker dialog
box
Option+*
(multiply on
numeric keypad)
Option+Control+8
(on main keyboard)
Pressing J or K goes to beginning, end, or base frame of Roto Brush span if viewing Roto Brush in Layer panel: Time
navigation (keyboard shortcuts)
Pressing PP shows Roto Brush strokes as well as paint strokes and Puppet pins: Showing properties and groups in the
Timeline panel (keyboard shortcuts)
New keyboard shortcuts for Look At Selected Layers and Look At All Layers commands: 3D layers (keyboard shortcuts)
New shortcuts to display entire composition duration in the Timeline panel: Zoom in or out in time for a composition
Mouse scroll wheel no longer changes camera position when the Unified Camera tool is active. Rolling the mouse scroll wheel
zooms in this context: Scroll or zoom with the mouse wheel
Many dialog boxes now have a Preview option that allows you to see the results of changes before you close the dialog box.
Dialog boxes for which the Preview option has been added include Interpret Footage, Composition Settings, Camera Settings,
Solid Settings, Light Settings, 3D Rotation, and all transform property dialog boxes.
In the Project, Render Queue, and Effect Controls panels, you can use the arrow keys to expand or collapse groups.
Several more features now operate on the visible viewer in ETLAT mode, including keyboard shortcuts for toggling grids,
toggling guides, showing channels, working with snapshots, and sending a preview to an external video monitor: Edit this, look
at that (ETLAT) and locked Composition viewers
Changed some user interface strings to make their meaning and function more clear.
In Help menu, changed Community Help And Support to After Effects Support Center: After Effects Support Center on the
Adobe website
In Composition panel, changed Show Last Snapshot to Show Snapshot: Snapshots
In Mask Interpolation panel, changed Mask Shape to Mask Path in all items, including changing Add Mask Shape Vertices
to Add Mask Path Vertices: Animate a mask path with Smart Mask Interpolation
In the Output Module Settings dialog box, the Output Module Templates dialog box, and the Output Module section of the
Render Queue panel, Stretch has been renamed to Resize: Output modules and output module settings
In several places relevant to importing Photoshop and Illustrator files as compositions, Composition - Cropped Layers
changed to Composition - Retain Layer Sizes: Import a still-image sequence as a composition
In the SWF Settings dialog box, the Prevent Import checkbox has been renamed to Prevent Editing to clarify its intent:
SWF export settings
Removed Preserve Clipboard Data For Other Applications preference. This option is now always on.
|
Getting Started
To learn more, view these recommended resources online.
Getting started with After Effects (CS4, CS5, & CS5.5)
(Jan. 18, 2010)
After Effects CS6: what's new and changed
(Apr. 12, 2012)
After Effects CS6: New Features Workshop
video (Apr. 12, 2012)
After Effects user-to-user forum
(Apr. 16, 2012)
Learn After Effects CS5 and CS5.5
article (May. 9, 2011)
Setup and installation
Installing the software
Activate the software
To submit a feature request or bug report about After Effects, choose Help > Send Feedback.
Installing the software
Before installing Adobe After Effects software, review complete system requirements and recommendations in the Read Me file. The Read Me file
is on the installation disc, as well as being included in the Release Notes document available through the After Effects support section of the
Adobe website.
For assistance with installation issues, see the Creative Suite Help and Support section on the Adobe website.
In addition to the full version of Adobe After Effects, you can also install additional copies on additional computers to use as After Effects render
engines to assist with network rendering. You install render engines in the same manner as the full version of the application. You run the render
engine using the Adobe After Effects Render Engine shortcut in the Adobe After Effects CS5 or After Effects CS5.5 folder.
Limitations of the trial version for Adobe After Effects CS5.5 and later
The trial version of After Effects CS5.5 and later includes all of the codecs that are included with the full version of After Effects CS5.5 and later.
This means that you can import and export to all of the supported file formats using the trial version. The free trial version of Adobe After Effects
CS5.5 and later software does not include some features that depend upon software licensed from parties other than Adobe. For example, Cycore
(CC) effects, mocha-AE, mocha Shape, FreeForm, and Color Finesse are available only with the full version of Adobe After Effects software.
(Keylight is included, however.) If your installation of After Effects is missing some third-party components, contact your system administrator to
ensure that all licensed components have been installed correctly. For more information about limitations of the trial version for After Effects
CS5.5, see the Adobe website.
Limitations of the trial version for Adobe After Effects CS5
The free trial version of Adobe After Effects CS5 software does not include some features that depend upon software licensed from parties other
than Adobe. For example, mocha for After Effects, some effect plug-ins, and some codecs for encoding and decoding MPEG formats are available
only with the full version of Adobe After Effects software. If your installation of After Effects is missing some third-party components, contact your
system administrator to ensure that all licensed components have been installed correctly. For more information about limitations of the trial
version for After Effects CS5, see the Adobe website.
To the top
After Effects CS5 and later is a 64-bit application
After Effects CS5 and later is a 64-bit application, so it can only run on 64-bit operating systems. If you are installing Adobe Creative Suite
Production Premium or Master Collection edition on a computer with a 32-bit operating system, then you can install After Effects CS4 and
Premiere Pro CS4 using an intaller that is included with the suite. To activate the CS4 versions of these applications, you must use a separate
serial number. For assistance, contact Adobe Customer Service.
For more information about installing and activating the 32-bit applications, see the Adobe website.
Activate the software
Activation is a simple, anonymous process. After installation, your Adobe software attempts to contact Adobe to complete the license activation
process. No personal data is transmitted.
A single-user retail license activation supports two computers. For example, you can install the software on a desktop computer at work and on a
laptop computer at home.
For more information on product licensing and activation, see the Read Me file or go to the Adobe website.
Note: Before transferring an activation to a different computer, deactivate the software by choosing Help > Deactivate.
More Help topics
|
To the top
Planning and setup
Planning your work
Planning for playback on computer monitors and mobile devices
Cross-platform project considerations
Planning your work
Correct project settings, preparation of footage, and initial composition settings can help you to avoid errors and unexpected results when
rendering your final output movie. Before you begin, think about what kind of work you’ll be doing in After Effects and what kind of output you
intend to create. After you have planned your project and made some basic decisions about project settings, you’ll be ready to start importing
footage and assembling compositions from layers based on that footage.
The best way to ensure that your movie is suitable for a specific medium is to render a test movie and view it using the same type of equipment
that your audience will use to view it. It’s best to do such tests before you have completed the difficult and time-consuming parts of your work, to
uncover problems early.
Aharon Rabinowitz provides an article on the Creative COW website about planning your project with the final delivery specifications in mind.
For a video tutorial on creating and organizing projects, go to the Adobe website.
For more information about encoding and compression options, see this FAQ entry: “FAQ: What is the best format for rendering and exporting
from After Effects?”
To the top
Storyboards and scripts (screenplays)
Before you begin shooting footage or creating animations, it is often best to start by planning your movie with storyboards and a script
(screenplay).
You can use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to create storyboards. You can use Adobe Story to collaboratively write and manage
screenplays. Adobe Story also converts information from a screenplay into XMP metadata that can automate the creation of shooting scripts, shot
lists, and more.
Note: To start the Adobe Story service from within After Effects, choose File > Go To Adobe Story.
Acquiring, choosing, and preparing footage
Before importing footage, first decide which media and formats you'll use for your finished movies, and then determine the best settings for your
source material. Often, it’s best to prepare footage before importing it into After Effects.
For example, if you want an image to fill your composition frame, configure the image in Adobe Photoshop so that the image size and pixel aspect
ratio match the composition size and pixel aspect ratio. If the image is too large when you import it into After Effects, you’ll increase the memory
and processor requirements of the compositions that use it. If the image is too small, you’ll lose image quality when you scale it to the desired size.
See Pixel aspect ratio and frame aspect ratio.
If you can shoot footage with consistent lighting and colors—and otherwise prevent the need to do a lot of tedious utility work in post-production—
then you’ll have more time for creative work. Consider using Adobe OnLocation while shooting footage to make sure that you get the most out of
your time and footage.
If possible, use uncompressed footage or footage encoded with lossless compression. Lossless compression means better results for many
operations, such as keying and motion tracking. Certain kinds of compression—such as the compression used in DV encoding—are especially bad
for color keying, because they discard the subtle differences in color that you depend on for good bluescreen or greenscreen keying. It’s often best
to wait until the final rendering phase to use compression other than lossless compression. See Keying introduction and resources.
If possible, use footage with a frame rate that matches that of your output, so that After Effects doesn’t have to use frame blending or similar
methods to fill in missing frames. See Frame rate.
The kind of work that you’ll be doing in After Effects and the kind of output movie that you want to create can even influence how you shoot and
acquire your footage. For example, if you know that you want to animate using motion tracking, consider shooting your scene in a manner that
optimizes for motion tracking—for example, using tracking markers. See Motion tracking workflow.
David Van Brink shows an excellent example on his omino pixel blog of why shooting in a high- definition format is useful even for standarddefinition delivery, because the extra pixels give you a lot of room for synthetic (fake) camera work, such as zooms and pans in post-production.
Trish and Chris Meyer provide tips for planning and delivering high-definition and widescreen work in articles on the ProVideo Coalition website:
The High-Def Checklist
Open Wide: Creating That Widescreen Look
Project settings
Project settings fall into three basic categories: how time is displayed in the project, how color data is treated in the project, and what sampling rate
to use for audio. Of these settings, the color settings are the ones that you need to think about before you do much work in your project, because
they determine how color data is interpreted as you import footage files, how color calculations are performed as you work, and how color data is
converted for final output. See Color management and Timecode and time display units.
If you enable color management for your project, the colors that you see are the same colors that your audience will see when they view the
movie that you create.
Note: Click the color depth indicator at the bottom of the Project panel to open the Project Settings dialog box. Alt-click (Windows) or Option -click
(Mac OS) to cycle through color bit depths: 8 bpc, 16 bpc, and 32 bpc. See Color depth and high dynamic range color.
Composition settings
After you prepare and import footage items, you use these footage items to create layers in a composition, where you animate and apply effects.
When you create a composition, specify composition settings such as resolution, frame size, and pixel aspect ratio for your final rendered output.
Although you can change composition settings at any time, it’s best to set them correctly as you create each new composition to avoid unexpected
results in your final rendered output. For example, the composition frame size should be the image size in the playback medium. See Composition
settings.
If you’ll be rendering and exporting a composition to more than one media format, always match the pixel dimensions for your composition to
the largest pixel dimensions used for your output. Later, you can use output modules in the Render Queue panel to encode and export a
separate version of the composition for each format. See Output modules and output module settings.
Performance, memory, and storage considerations
If you work with large compositions, make sure that you configure After Effects and your computer to maximize performance. Complex
compositions can require a large amount of memory to render, and the rendered movies can take a large amount of disk space to store. Before
you attempt to render a three-hour movie, make sure that you have the disk space available to store it. See Storage requirements for output files.
If your source footage files are on a slow disk drive (or across a slow network connection), then performance will be poor. When possible, keep
the source footage files for your project on a fast local disk drive. Ideally, you’ll have three drives: one for source footage files, one from which the
application runs, and one for rendered output.
For more information, see Improve performance and Memory & Multiprocessing preferences.
Planning for playback on computer monitors and mobile devices
When you create a movie for playback on a personal computer—whether downloaded from the Web or played from a CD- ROM—specify
composition settings, render settings, and output module settings that keep file size low. Consider that a movie with a high data rate may not play
well from an older CD-ROM drive that cannot read data from the disc fast enough. Similarly, a large movie may take a long time to download over
a dial-up network connection.
When rendering your final movie, choose a file type and encoder appropriate for the final media. The corresponding decoder must be available on
the system used by your intended audience; otherwise they will not be able to play the movie. Common codecs (encoders/decoders) include the
codecs installed with media players such as Flash Player, Windows Media Player, and QuickTime Player.
Aharon Rabinowitz provides an article on the Creative COW website about planning your project with the final delivery specifications in mind.
Trish and Chris Meyer provide an article on the Artbeats website that describes some of the considerations for creating video for the Web.
For more information about encoding and compression options for After Effects, see this FAQ entry: “FAQ: What is the best format for rendering
and exporting from After Effects?”
Mobile devices
Many of the considerations for creating movies for playback on mobile devices, such as mobile phones and the Apple iPod, are similar to the
considerations for creating movies for playback on personal computers—but the limitations are even more extreme. Because the amount of
storage (disk space) and processor power are less for mobile phones than for personal computers, file size and data rate for movies must be even
more tightly controlled.
Screen dimensions, video frame rates, and color gamuts vary greatly from one mobile device to another. Adobe Device Central contains device
profiles that provide information about these characteristics. You can create a set of After Effects compositions tailored for a selected set of
devices by using the File > New Document In > After Effects command in Adobe Device Central. (See Create compositions for playback on mobile
devices.)
Use these tips when shooting video for mobile devices:
Tight shots are better. It’s hard to see a face on a tiny screen unless it’s shot in relative close-up.
Light your subjects well, and keep them separated from the background; the colors and brightness values between
background and subject should not be too similar.
Avoid excessive zooming and rolling, which hinder temporal compression schemes.
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Because stable (non-shaky) video is easier to compress, shoot video with a tripod to minimize the shaking of the camera.
Avoid using auto-focus and auto-exposure features. When these features engage, they change the appearance of all of the
pixels in an image from one frame to the next, making compression using interframe encoding schemes less efficient.
Use these tips when working in After Effects:
Use a lower frame rate (12 -24 fps) for mobile devices.
Use motion-stabilization tools and noise-reduction or blur effects before rendering to final output, to aid the compressor in
reducing file size.
Match the color palette to the mobile devices that you are targeting. Mobile devices, in general, have a limited color gamut.
Previewing in Adobe Device Central can help determine if the colors used are optimal for an individual device or range of
devices.
Consider using cuts and other fast transitions instead of zooming in and out or using fades and dissolves. Fast cuts also make
compression easier.
After you’ve rendered your movie, you can view it exactly as it will appear on any of a large variety of mobile devices, using Adobe Device Central.
Cross-platform project considerations
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After Effects project files are compatible with Mac OS and Windows operating systems, but some factors—mostly regarding the locations and
naming of footage files and support files—can affect the ease of working with the same project across platforms.
Project file paths
When you move a project file to a different computer and open it, After Effects attempts to locate the project’s footage files as follows: After Effects
first searches the folder in which the project file is located; second, it searches the file’s original path or folder location; finally, it searches the root
of the directory where the project is located.
If you are building cross -platform projects, it’s best if the full paths have the same names on Mac OS and Windows systems. If the footage and the
project are on different volumes, make sure that the appropriate volume is mounted before opening the project and that network volume names
are the same on both systems.
It’s best to store footage in the same folder as the project file or in another folder within that folder. Here’s a sample hierarchy:
/newproject/project_file.aep
/newproject/source/footage1.psd
/newproject/source/footage2.avi
You can then copy the newproject folder in its entirety across platforms, and After Effects will properly locate all of the footage.
Use the Collect Files feature to gather copies of all the files in a project into a single folder. You can then move the folder containing the copied
project to the other platform. See Collect files in one location.
File- naming conventions
Name your footage and project files with the appropriate filename extensions, such as .mov for QuickTime movies and .aep for After Effects
projects. Don’t use high-ASCII or other extended characters in filenames to be used cross -platform. If files will be used on the Web, be sure that
filenames adhere to applicable conventions for extensions and paths.
Supported file types
Some file types are supported on one platform but not another. See Supported import formats and Supported output formats.
Resources
Ensure that all fonts, effects, codecs, and other resources are available on both systems. Such resources are often plug-ins.
If you use a native After Effects effect in a project on one operating system, the effect will still work on the other operating system to which you’ve
transferred your project. However, some third-party effects and other third-party plug-ins may not continue to operate, even if you have versions of
these plug-ins on the target system. In such cases, you may need to reapply some third- party effects.
More Help topics
|
Workflows
General workflow in After Effects
Basic workflow tutorial: Create a simple movie
General workflow in After Effects
To the top
Overview of general workflow in After Effects
Whether you use Adobe After Effects to animate a simple title, create complex motion graphics, or composite realistic visual effects, you generally
follow the same basic workflow, though you may repeat or skip some steps. For example, you may repeat the cycle of modifying layer properties,
animating, and previewing until everything looks right. You may skip the step of importing footage if you intend to create graphical elements entirely
in After Effects.
1. Import and organize footage
After you create a project, import your footage into the project in the Project panel. After Effects automatically interprets many common media
formats, but you can also specify how you want After Effects to interpret attributes such as frame rate and pixel aspect ratio. You can view each
item in a Footage panel and set its start and end times to fit your composition. For more information, see Importing and interpreting footage items.
2. Create, arrange, and composite layers in a composition
Create one or more compositions. Any footage item can be the source for one or more layers in a composition. You can arrange the layers
spatially in the Composition panel or arrange them in time using the Timeline panel. You can stack layers in two dimensions or arrange them in
three dimensions. You can use masks, blending modes, and keying tools to composite (combine), the images of multiple layers. You can even use
shape layers, text layers, and paint tools to create your own visual elements. For more information, see Composition basics, Creating layers,
Transparency, opacity, and compositing, Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics, and Creating and editing text layers.
3. Modify and animate layer properties
You can modify any property of a layer, such as size, position, and opacity. You can make any combination of layer properties change over time,
using keyframes and expressions. Use motion tracking to stabilize motion or to animate one layer so that it follows the motion in another layer. For
more information, see Animation basics, Expression basics, and Tracking and stabilizing motion (CS5).
4. Add effects and modify effect properties
You can add any combination of effects to alter the appearance or sound of a layer, and even generate visual elements from scratch. You can
apply any of the hundreds of effects, animation presets, and layer styles. You can even create and save your own animation presets. You can
animate effect properties, too, which are simply layer properties within an effect property group. For more information, see Effects and animation
presets overview.
5. Preview
Previewing compositions on your computer monitor or an external video monitor is fast and convenient, even for complex projects, especially if you
use OpenGL technology to accelerate previews. You can change the speed and quality of previews by specifying their resolution and frame rate,
and by limiting the area and duration of the composition that you preview. You can use color management features to preview how your movie will
look on another output device. For more information, see Previewing and Color management.
6. Render and export
Add one or more compositions to the render queue to render them at the quality settings you choose and to create movies in the formats that you
specify. In some cases, you export using the File > Export or Composition menu, rather than the Render Queue panel. For more information, see
Basics of rendering and exporting.
Adobe recommends
Getting Started with After
Effects CS4, CS5, & CS5.5
See this page on the After Effects Region of Interest
blog for a collection of resources for getting started with
After Effects.
Have a tutorial you would like to share?
Basic workflow and terminology
overview
Adobe Press
This video from the After Effects CS5: Learn by Video
series describes the basic workflow for After Effects.
Online resources for general workflow in After Effects
This video from the “After Effects CS5: Learn by Video” series provides an introduction to the basic terminology, workflow, concepts, and user
interface items in After Effects.
See this page on the After Effects Region of Interest blog for a collection of resources for getting started with After Effects.
Read a basic step-by-step introduction to the general workflow in an excerpt from After Effects Classroom in a Book.
Read Trish and Chris Meyer’s step- by-step introduction to creating a basic animation in a PDF excerpt from their book, The After Effects
Apprentice.
Basic workflow tutorial: Create a simple movie
This tutorial assumes that you have already started After Effects and have not modified the empty default project. This example skips the step of
importing footage and shows you instead how to create your own synthetic visual elements. After you have rendered a final movie, you can import
it into After Effects to view it and use it as you would any other footage item.
Some people prefer to use the mouse and menus to interact with After Effects, whereas others prefer to use keyboard shortcuts for common tasks.
For several steps in this example, two alternative commands are shown that produce the same result—the first demonstrating the discoverability of
menu commands and the second demonstrating the speed and convenience of keyboard shortcuts. You’ll likely find that you use some
combination of keyboard shortcuts and menu commands in your work.
1. Create a new composition:
Choose Composition > New Composition.
Press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS).
2. Change the Duration value in the Composition Settings dialog box by entering 5.00 (5 seconds), choose Web Video from the
Preset menu, and click OK.
3. Create a new text layer:
Choose Layer > New > Text.
Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+T (Mac OS).
4. Type your name. Press Enter on the numeric keypad or press Ctrl+Enter (Windows) or Command+Return (Mac OS) on the
main keyboard to exit text-editing mode.
5. Set an initial keyframe for the Position property:
Click the triangle to the left of the layer name in the Timeline panel, click the triangle to the left of the Transform group
name, and then click the stopwatch button
Press Alt+Shift+P (Windows) or Option+Shift+P (Mac OS).
6. Activate the Selection tool:
Click the Selection Tool button in the Tools panel.
Press V.
7. Using the Selection tool, drag your text to the bottom-left corner of the frame in the Composition panel.
8. Move the current-time indicator to the last frame of the composition:
Drag the current-time indicator in the Timeline panel to the far right of the timeline.
Press End.
9. Using the Selection tool, drag your text to the top-right corner of the frame in the Composition panel.
A new keyframe is created at this time for the Position property. Motion is interpolated between keyframe values.
10. Preview your animation using standard preview:
Click the Play button in the Preview panel. Click Play again to stop the preview.
Press the spacebar. Press the spacebar again to stop the preview.
11. Apply the Glow effect:
Choose Effect > Stylize > Glow.
Type glow in the search field at the top of the Effects & Presets panel to find the Glow effect. Double-click the effect
name.
12. Add your composition to the render queue:
Choose Composition > Add To Render Queue.
to the left of the Position property name.
To the top
In After Effects CS5.5, and earlier, press Ctrl+Shift+/ (Windows) or Command+Shift+/ (Mac OS).
In After Effects CS6, press Ctrl+M (Windows) or Ctrl+Command+M (Mac OS). The previous keyboard shortcuts also work.
Note: In After Effects CS6, the Composition > Make Movie command has been removed. Use the Add to Render Queue
command instead.
In After Effects CS6, choose File > Export > Add to Render Queue.
13. In the Render Queue panel, click the underlined text to the right of Output To. In the Output Movie To dialog box, choose a
name and location for the output movie file, and then click Save. For the location, choose something easy to find, like your
desktop.
14. Click the Render button to process all items in the render queue. The Render Queue panel shows the progress of the
rendering operation. A sound is generated when rendering is complete.
You’ve created, rendered, and exported a movie.
You can import the movie that you’ve created and preview it in After Effects, or you can navigate to the movie and play it using a movie player
such as QuickTime Player, Windows Media Player, or Adobe Bridge.
More Help topics
|
Workspace and workflow
Setup and installation
Installing the software
Activate the software
To submit a feature request or bug report about After Effects, choose Help > Send Feedback.
Installing the software
Before installing Adobe After Effects software, review complete system requirements and recommendations in the Read Me file. The Read Me file
is on the installation disc, as well as being included in the Release Notes document available through the After Effects support section of the
Adobe website.
For assistance with installation issues, see the Creative Suite Help and Support section on the Adobe website.
In addition to the full version of Adobe After Effects, you can also install additional copies on additional computers to use as After Effects render
engines to assist with network rendering. You install render engines in the same manner as the full version of the application. You run the render
engine using the Adobe After Effects Render Engine shortcut in the Adobe After Effects CS5 or After Effects CS5.5 folder.
Limitations of the trial version for Adobe After Effects CS5.5 and later
The trial version of After Effects CS5.5 and later includes all of the codecs that are included with the full version of After Effects CS5.5 and later.
This means that you can import and export to all of the supported file formats using the trial version. The free trial version of Adobe After Effects
CS5.5 and later software does not include some features that depend upon software licensed from parties other than Adobe. For example, Cycore
(CC) effects, mocha-AE, mocha Shape, FreeForm, and Color Finesse are available only with the full version of Adobe After Effects software.
(Keylight is included, however.) If your installation of After Effects is missing some third-party components, contact your system administrator to
ensure that all licensed components have been installed correctly. For more information about limitations of the trial version for After Effects
CS5.5, see the Adobe website.
Limitations of the trial version for Adobe After Effects CS5
The free trial version of Adobe After Effects CS5 software does not include some features that depend upon software licensed from parties other
than Adobe. For example, mocha for After Effects, some effect plug-ins, and some codecs for encoding and decoding MPEG formats are available
only with the full version of Adobe After Effects software. If your installation of After Effects is missing some third-party components, contact your
system administrator to ensure that all licensed components have been installed correctly. For more information about limitations of the trial
version for After Effects CS5, see the Adobe website.
To the top
After Effects CS5 and later is a 64-bit application
After Effects CS5 and later is a 64-bit application, so it can only run on 64-bit operating systems. If you are installing Adobe Creative Suite
Production Premium or Master Collection edition on a computer with a 32-bit operating system, then you can install After Effects CS4 and
Premiere Pro CS4 using an intaller that is included with the suite. To activate the CS4 versions of these applications, you must use a separate
serial number. For assistance, contact Adobe Customer Service.
For more information about installing and activating the 32-bit applications, see the Adobe website.
Activate the software
Activation is a simple, anonymous process. After installation, your Adobe software attempts to contact Adobe to complete the license activation
process. No personal data is transmitted.
A single-user retail license activation supports two computers. For example, you can install the software on a desktop computer at work and on a
laptop computer at home.
For more information on product licensing and activation, see the Read Me file or go to the Adobe website.
Note: Before transferring an activation to a different computer, deactivate the software by choosing Help > Deactivate.
More Help topics
|
To the top
Workflows
General workflow in After Effects
Basic workflow tutorial: Create a simple movie
General workflow in After Effects
To the top
Overview of general workflow in After Effects
Whether you use Adobe After Effects to animate a simple title, create complex motion graphics, or composite realistic visual effects, you generally
follow the same basic workflow, though you may repeat or skip some steps. For example, you may repeat the cycle of modifying layer properties,
animating, and previewing until everything looks right. You may skip the step of importing footage if you intend to create graphical elements entirely
in After Effects.
1. Import and organize footage
After you create a project, import your footage into the project in the Project panel. After Effects automatically interprets many common media
formats, but you can also specify how you want After Effects to interpret attributes such as frame rate and pixel aspect ratio. You can view each
item in a Footage panel and set its start and end times to fit your composition. For more information, see Importing and interpreting footage items.
2. Create, arrange, and composite layers in a composition
Create one or more compositions. Any footage item can be the source for one or more layers in a composition. You can arrange the layers
spatially in the Composition panel or arrange them in time using the Timeline panel. You can stack layers in two dimensions or arrange them in
three dimensions. You can use masks, blending modes, and keying tools to composite (combine), the images of multiple layers. You can even use
shape layers, text layers, and paint tools to create your own visual elements. For more information, see Composition basics, Creating layers,
Transparency, opacity, and compositing, Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics, and Creating and editing text layers.
3. Modify and animate layer properties
You can modify any property of a layer, such as size, position, and opacity. You can make any combination of layer properties change over time,
using keyframes and expressions. Use motion tracking to stabilize motion or to animate one layer so that it follows the motion in another layer. For
more information, see Animation basics, Expression basics, and Tracking and stabilizing motion (CS5).
4. Add effects and modify effect properties
You can add any combination of effects to alter the appearance or sound of a layer, and even generate visual elements from scratch. You can
apply any of the hundreds of effects, animation presets, and layer styles. You can even create and save your own animation presets. You can
animate effect properties, too, which are simply layer properties within an effect property group. For more information, see Effects and animation
presets overview.
5. Preview
Previewing compositions on your computer monitor or an external video monitor is fast and convenient, even for complex projects, especially if you
use OpenGL technology to accelerate previews. You can change the speed and quality of previews by specifying their resolution and frame rate,
and by limiting the area and duration of the composition that you preview. You can use color management features to preview how your movie will
look on another output device. For more information, see Previewing and Color management.
6. Render and export
Add one or more compositions to the render queue to render them at the quality settings you choose and to create movies in the formats that you
specify. In some cases, you export using the File > Export or Composition menu, rather than the Render Queue panel. For more information, see
Basics of rendering and exporting.
Adobe recommends
Getting Started with After
Effects CS4, CS5, & CS5.5
See this page on the After Effects Region of Interest
blog for a collection of resources for getting started with
After Effects.
Have a tutorial you would like to share?
Basic workflow and terminology
overview
Adobe Press
This video from the After Effects CS5: Learn by Video
series describes the basic workflow for After Effects.
Online resources for general workflow in After Effects
This video from the “After Effects CS5: Learn by Video” series provides an introduction to the basic terminology, workflow, concepts, and user
interface items in After Effects.
See this page on the After Effects Region of Interest blog for a collection of resources for getting started with After Effects.
Read a basic step-by-step introduction to the general workflow in an excerpt from After Effects Classroom in a Book.
Read Trish and Chris Meyer’s step- by-step introduction to creating a basic animation in a PDF excerpt from their book, The After Effects
Apprentice.
Basic workflow tutorial: Create a simple movie
This tutorial assumes that you have already started After Effects and have not modified the empty default project. This example skips the step of
importing footage and shows you instead how to create your own synthetic visual elements. After you have rendered a final movie, you can import
it into After Effects to view it and use it as you would any other footage item.
Some people prefer to use the mouse and menus to interact with After Effects, whereas others prefer to use keyboard shortcuts for common tasks.
For several steps in this example, two alternative commands are shown that produce the same result—the first demonstrating the discoverability of
menu commands and the second demonstrating the speed and convenience of keyboard shortcuts. You’ll likely find that you use some
combination of keyboard shortcuts and menu commands in your work.
1. Create a new composition:
Choose Composition > New Composition.
Press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS).
2. Change the Duration value in the Composition Settings dialog box by entering 5.00 (5 seconds), choose Web Video from the
Preset menu, and click OK.
3. Create a new text layer:
Choose Layer > New > Text.
Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+T (Mac OS).
4. Type your name. Press Enter on the numeric keypad or press Ctrl+Enter (Windows) or Command+Return (Mac OS) on the
main keyboard to exit text-editing mode.
5. Set an initial keyframe for the Position property:
Click the triangle to the left of the layer name in the Timeline panel, click the triangle to the left of the Transform group
name, and then click the stopwatch button
Press Alt+Shift+P (Windows) or Option+Shift+P (Mac OS).
6. Activate the Selection tool:
Click the Selection Tool button in the Tools panel.
Press V.
7. Using the Selection tool, drag your text to the bottom-left corner of the frame in the Composition panel.
8. Move the current-time indicator to the last frame of the composition:
Drag the current-time indicator in the Timeline panel to the far right of the timeline.
Press End.
9. Using the Selection tool, drag your text to the top-right corner of the frame in the Composition panel.
A new keyframe is created at this time for the Position property. Motion is interpolated between keyframe values.
10. Preview your animation using standard preview:
Click the Play button in the Preview panel. Click Play again to stop the preview.
Press the spacebar. Press the spacebar again to stop the preview.
11. Apply the Glow effect:
Choose Effect > Stylize > Glow.
Type glow in the search field at the top of the Effects & Presets panel to find the Glow effect. Double-click the effect
name.
12. Add your composition to the render queue:
Choose Composition > Add To Render Queue.
to the left of the Position property name.
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In After Effects CS5.5, and earlier, press Ctrl+Shift+/ (Windows) or Command+Shift+/ (Mac OS).
In After Effects CS6, press Ctrl+M (Windows) or Ctrl+Command+M (Mac OS). The previous keyboard shortcuts also work.
Note: In After Effects CS6, the Composition > Make Movie command has been removed. Use the Add to Render Queue
command instead.
In After Effects CS6, choose File > Export > Add to Render Queue.
13. In the Render Queue panel, click the underlined text to the right of Output To. In the Output Movie To dialog box, choose a
name and location for the output movie file, and then click Save. For the location, choose something easy to find, like your
desktop.
14. Click the Render button to process all items in the render queue. The Render Queue panel shows the progress of the
rendering operation. A sound is generated when rendering is complete.
You’ve created, rendered, and exported a movie.
You can import the movie that you’ve created and preview it in After Effects, or you can navigate to the movie and play it using a movie player
such as QuickTime Player, Windows Media Player, or Adobe Bridge.
More Help topics
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Planning and setup
Planning your work
Planning for playback on computer monitors and mobile devices
Cross-platform project considerations
Planning your work
Correct project settings, preparation of footage, and initial composition settings can help you to avoid errors and unexpected results when
rendering your final output movie. Before you begin, think about what kind of work you’ll be doing in After Effects and what kind of output you
intend to create. After you have planned your project and made some basic decisions about project settings, you’ll be ready to start importing
footage and assembling compositions from layers based on that footage.
The best way to ensure that your movie is suitable for a specific medium is to render a test movie and view it using the same type of equipment
that your audience will use to view it. It’s best to do such tests before you have completed the difficult and time-consuming parts of your work, to
uncover problems early.
Aharon Rabinowitz provides an article on the Creative COW website about planning your project with the final delivery specifications in mind.
For a video tutorial on creating and organizing projects, go to the Adobe website.
For more information about encoding and compression options, see this FAQ entry: “FAQ: What is the best format for rendering and exporting
from After Effects?”
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Storyboards and scripts (screenplays)
Before you begin shooting footage or creating animations, it is often best to start by planning your movie with storyboards and a script
(screenplay).
You can use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to create storyboards. You can use Adobe Story to collaboratively write and manage
screenplays. Adobe Story also converts information from a screenplay into XMP metadata that can automate the creation of shooting scripts, shot
lists, and more.
Note: To start the Adobe Story service from within After Effects, choose File > Go To Adobe Story.
Acquiring, choosing, and preparing footage
Before importing footage, first decide which media and formats you'll use for your finished movies, and then determine the best settings for your
source material. Often, it’s best to prepare footage before importing it into After Effects.
For example, if you want an image to fill your composition frame, configure the image in Adobe Photoshop so that the image size and pixel aspect
ratio match the composition size and pixel aspect ratio. If the image is too large when you import it into After Effects, you’ll increase the memory
and processor requirements of the compositions that use it. If the image is too small, you’ll lose image quality when you scale it to the desired size.
See Pixel aspect ratio and frame aspect ratio.
If you can shoot footage with consistent lighting and colors—and otherwise prevent the need to do a lot of tedious utility work in post-production—
then you’ll have more time for creative work. Consider using Adobe OnLocation while shooting footage to make sure that you get the most out of
your time and footage.
If possible, use uncompressed footage or footage encoded with lossless compression. Lossless compression means better results for many
operations, such as keying and motion tracking. Certain kinds of compression—such as the compression used in DV encoding—are especially bad
for color keying, because they discard the subtle differences in color that you depend on for good bluescreen or greenscreen keying. It’s often best
to wait until the final rendering phase to use compression other than lossless compression. See Keying introduction and resources.
If possible, use footage with a frame rate that matches that of your output, so that After Effects doesn’t have to use frame blending or similar
methods to fill in missing frames. See Frame rate.
The kind of work that you’ll be doing in After Effects and the kind of output movie that you want to create can even influence how you shoot and
acquire your footage. For example, if you know that you want to animate using motion tracking, consider shooting your scene in a manner that
optimizes for motion tracking—for example, using tracking markers. See Motion tracking workflow.
David Van Brink shows an excellent example on his omino pixel blog of why shooting in a high- definition format is useful even for standarddefinition delivery, because the extra pixels give you a lot of room for synthetic (fake) camera work, such as zooms and pans in post-production.
Trish and Chris Meyer provide tips for planning and delivering high-definition and widescreen work in articles on the ProVideo Coalition website:
The High-Def Checklist
Open Wide: Creating That Widescreen Look
Project settings
Project settings fall into three basic categories: how time is displayed in the project, how color data is treated in the project, and what sampling rate
to use for audio. Of these settings, the color settings are the ones that you need to think about before you do much work in your project, because
they determine how color data is interpreted as you import footage files, how color calculations are performed as you work, and how color data is
converted for final output. See Color management and Timecode and time display units.
If you enable color management for your project, the colors that you see are the same colors that your audience will see when they view the
movie that you create.
Note: Click the color depth indicator at the bottom of the Project panel to open the Project Settings dialog box. Alt-click (Windows) or Option -click
(Mac OS) to cycle through color bit depths: 8 bpc, 16 bpc, and 32 bpc. See Color depth and high dynamic range color.
Composition settings
After you prepare and import footage items, you use these footage items to create layers in a composition, where you animate and apply effects.
When you create a composition, specify composition settings such as resolution, frame size, and pixel aspect ratio for your final rendered output.
Although you can change composition settings at any time, it’s best to set them correctly as you create each new composition to avoid unexpected
results in your final rendered output. For example, the composition frame size should be the image size in the playback medium. See Composition
settings.
If you’ll be rendering and exporting a composition to more than one media format, always match the pixel dimensions for your composition to
the largest pixel dimensions used for your output. Later, you can use output modules in the Render Queue panel to encode and export a
separate version of the composition for each format. See Output modules and output module settings.
Performance, memory, and storage considerations
If you work with large compositions, make sure that you configure After Effects and your computer to maximize performance. Complex
compositions can require a large amount of memory to render, and the rendered movies can take a large amount of disk space to store. Before
you attempt to render a three-hour movie, make sure that you have the disk space available to store it. See Storage requirements for output files.
If your source footage files are on a slow disk drive (or across a slow network connection), then performance will be poor. When possible, keep
the source footage files for your project on a fast local disk drive. Ideally, you’ll have three drives: one for source footage files, one from which the
application runs, and one for rendered output.
For more information, see Improve performance and Memory & Multiprocessing preferences.
Planning for playback on computer monitors and mobile devices
When you create a movie for playback on a personal computer—whether downloaded from the Web or played from a CD- ROM—specify
composition settings, render settings, and output module settings that keep file size low. Consider that a movie with a high data rate may not play
well from an older CD-ROM drive that cannot read data from the disc fast enough. Similarly, a large movie may take a long time to download over
a dial-up network connection.
When rendering your final movie, choose a file type and encoder appropriate for the final media. The corresponding decoder must be available on
the system used by your intended audience; otherwise they will not be able to play the movie. Common codecs (encoders/decoders) include the
codecs installed with media players such as Flash Player, Windows Media Player, and QuickTime Player.
Aharon Rabinowitz provides an article on the Creative COW website about planning your project with the final delivery specifications in mind.
Trish and Chris Meyer provide an article on the Artbeats website that describes some of the considerations for creating video for the Web.
For more information about encoding and compression options for After Effects, see this FAQ entry: “FAQ: What is the best format for rendering
and exporting from After Effects?”
Mobile devices
Many of the considerations for creating movies for playback on mobile devices, such as mobile phones and the Apple iPod, are similar to the
considerations for creating movies for playback on personal computers—but the limitations are even more extreme. Because the amount of
storage (disk space) and processor power are less for mobile phones than for personal computers, file size and data rate for movies must be even
more tightly controlled.
Screen dimensions, video frame rates, and color gamuts vary greatly from one mobile device to another. Adobe Device Central contains device
profiles that provide information about these characteristics. You can create a set of After Effects compositions tailored for a selected set of
devices by using the File > New Document In > After Effects command in Adobe Device Central. (See Create compositions for playback on mobile
devices.)
Use these tips when shooting video for mobile devices:
Tight shots are better. It’s hard to see a face on a tiny screen unless it’s shot in relative close-up.
Light your subjects well, and keep them separated from the background; the colors and brightness values between
background and subject should not be too similar.
Avoid excessive zooming and rolling, which hinder temporal compression schemes.
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Because stable (non-shaky) video is easier to compress, shoot video with a tripod to minimize the shaking of the camera.
Avoid using auto-focus and auto-exposure features. When these features engage, they change the appearance of all of the
pixels in an image from one frame to the next, making compression using interframe encoding schemes less efficient.
Use these tips when working in After Effects:
Use a lower frame rate (12 -24 fps) for mobile devices.
Use motion-stabilization tools and noise-reduction or blur effects before rendering to final output, to aid the compressor in
reducing file size.
Match the color palette to the mobile devices that you are targeting. Mobile devices, in general, have a limited color gamut.
Previewing in Adobe Device Central can help determine if the colors used are optimal for an individual device or range of
devices.
Consider using cuts and other fast transitions instead of zooming in and out or using fades and dissolves. Fast cuts also make
compression easier.
After you’ve rendered your movie, you can view it exactly as it will appear on any of a large variety of mobile devices, using Adobe Device Central.
Cross-platform project considerations
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After Effects project files are compatible with Mac OS and Windows operating systems, but some factors—mostly regarding the locations and
naming of footage files and support files—can affect the ease of working with the same project across platforms.
Project file paths
When you move a project file to a different computer and open it, After Effects attempts to locate the project’s footage files as follows: After Effects
first searches the folder in which the project file is located; second, it searches the file’s original path or folder location; finally, it searches the root
of the directory where the project is located.
If you are building cross -platform projects, it’s best if the full paths have the same names on Mac OS and Windows systems. If the footage and the
project are on different volumes, make sure that the appropriate volume is mounted before opening the project and that network volume names
are the same on both systems.
It’s best to store footage in the same folder as the project file or in another folder within that folder. Here’s a sample hierarchy:
/newproject/project_file.aep
/newproject/source/footage1.psd
/newproject/source/footage2.avi
You can then copy the newproject folder in its entirety across platforms, and After Effects will properly locate all of the footage.
Use the Collect Files feature to gather copies of all the files in a project into a single folder. You can then move the folder containing the copied
project to the other platform. See Collect files in one location.
File- naming conventions
Name your footage and project files with the appropriate filename extensions, such as .mov for QuickTime movies and .aep for After Effects
projects. Don’t use high-ASCII or other extended characters in filenames to be used cross -platform. If files will be used on the Web, be sure that
filenames adhere to applicable conventions for extensions and paths.
Supported file types
Some file types are supported on one platform but not another. See Supported import formats and Supported output formats.
Resources
Ensure that all fonts, effects, codecs, and other resources are available on both systems. Such resources are often plug-ins.
If you use a native After Effects effect in a project on one operating system, the effect will still work on the other operating system to which you’ve
transferred your project. However, some third-party effects and other third-party plug-ins may not continue to operate, even if you have versions of
these plug-ins on the target system. In such cases, you may need to reapply some third- party effects.
More Help topics
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Working with After Effects and other applications
Working with Adobe Bridge and After Effects
Working with Photoshop and After Effects
Working with Flash and After Effects
Working with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects
Working with Adobe Encore and After Effects
Edit audio in Adobe Soundbooth
Edit in Adobe Audition (CS5.5 and later)
Working with Adobe Bridge and After Effects
Adobe Bridge is the control center for Adobe Creative Suite software. Use Adobe Bridge to browse for project templates and animation presets;
run cross-product workflow automation scripts; view and manage files and folders; organize your files by assigning keywords, labels, and ratings to
them; search for files and folders; and view, edit, and add metadata.
To open Adobe Bridge from After Effects, choose File > Browse In Bridge.
To reveal a file in Adobe Bridge, select a file in the Project panel and choose File > Reveal In Bridge.
To use Adobe Bridge to open template projects, choose File > Browse Template Projects.
To use Adobe Bridge to browse for animation presets, choose Animation > Browse Presets.
For video tutorials on using Adobe Bridge, go to the Adobe website:
What is Adobe Bridge?
New features in Adobe Bridge CS5
Metadata and keywords in Adobe Bridge
Working with Photoshop and After Effects
If you use Photoshop to create still images, you can use After Effects to bring those still images together and make them move and change. In
After Effects, you can animate an entire Photoshop image or any of its layers. You can even animate individual properties of Photoshop images,
such as the properties of a layer style. If you use After Effects to create movies, you can use Photoshop to refine the individual frames of those
movies.
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Comparative advantages for specific tasks
The strengths of After Effects are in its animation and automation features. This means that After Effects excels at tasks that can be automated
from one frame to another. For example, you can use the motion tracking features of After Effects to track the motion of a microphone boom, and
then automatically apply that same motion to a stroke made with the Clone Stamp tool. In this manner, you can remove the microphone from
every frame of a shot, without having to paint the microphone out by hand on each frame.
In contrast, Photoshop has excellent tools for painting and drawing.
Deciding which application to use for painting depends on the task. Paint strokes in Photoshop directly affect the pixels of the layer. Paint strokes
in After Effects are elements of an effect, each of which can be turned on or off or modified at any time. If you want to have complete control of
each paint stroke after you’ve applied it, or if you want to animate the paint strokes themselves, use the After Effects paint tools. If the purpose of
applying a paint stroke is to permanently modify a still image, use the Photoshop paint tools. If you are applying several paint strokes by hand to
get rid of dust, consider using the Photoshop paint tools.
The animation and video features in Photoshop Extended include simple keyframe-based animation. After Effects uses a similar interface, though
the breadth and flexibility of its animation features are far greater.
3D objects, 3D models, and 3D images
In general, After Effects 3D functionality is limited to the manipulation of two-dimensional layers in three dimensions. Photoshop, however, can
manipulate complete 3D models and output two-dimensional composites and cross-sections of these 3D models from any angle. After Effects can
import and render 3D object layers from PSD files. You can set a layer based on a PSD 3D object layer to honor the active camera in an After
Effects composition. When the camera moves around such a layer, it views the 3D object from various angles.
To see a video tutorial about using 3D object layers from Photoshop in After Effects, see the Adobe website.
After Effects can also automatically create 3D layers to mimic the planes created by the Photoshop Vanishing Point feature.
To see video tutorials about using Vanishing Point data from Photoshop in After Effects, see the Adobe website:
Working with Vanishing Point in Photoshop and After Effects
Tom Green provides a brief video tutorial on the Layers Magazine website that shows how to use the XFL format to export an
Using Vanishing Point to map a 3D environment
Exchanging still images
After Effects can import and export still images in many formats, but you will usually want to use the native Photoshop PSD format when
transferring individual frames or still image sequences between After Effects and Photoshop.
When importing or exporting a PSD file, After Effects can preserve individual layers, masks, layer styles, and most other attributes. When you
import a PSD file into After Effects, you can choose whether to import it as a flattened image or as a composition with its layers separate and
intact.
It is often a good idea to prepare a still image in Photoshop before importing it into After Effects. Examples of such preparation include correcting
color, scaling, and cropping. It is often better for you to do something once to the source image in Photoshop than to have After Effects perform
the same operation many times per second as it renders each frame for previews or final output.
By creating your new PSD document from the Photoshop New File dialog box with a Film & Video preset, you can start with a document that is set
up correctly for a specific video output type. If you are already working in After Effects, you can create a new PSD document that matches your
composition and project settings by choosing File > New > Adobe Photoshop File.
Exchanging movies
You can also exchange video files, such as QuickTime movies, between Photoshop and After Effects. When you open a movie in Photoshop, a
video layer is created that refers to the source footage file. Video layers allow you to paint nondestructively on the movie’s frames, much as After
Effects works with layers with movies as their sources. When you save a PSD file with a video layer, you save the edits that you made to the video
layer, not edits to the source footage itself.
You can also render a movie directly from Photoshop. For example, you can create a QuickTime movie from Photoshop that can then be imported
into After Effects.
Color
After Effects works internally with colors in an RGB (red, green, blue) color space. Though After Effects can convert CMYK images to RGB, you
should do video and animation work in Photoshop in RGB.
If relevant for your final output, it is better to ensure that the colors in your image are broadcast- safe in Photoshop before you import the image into
After Effects. A good way to do this is to assign the appropriate destination color space—for example, SDTV (Rec. 601)—to the document in
Photoshop. After Effects performs color management according to color profiles embedded in documents, including imported PSD files.
Working with Flash and After Effects
If you use Adobe® Flash® to create video or animation, you can use After Effects to edit and refine the video. For example, from Flash you can
export animations and applications as QuickTime movies or Flash Video (FLV) files. You can then use After Effects to edit and refine the video.
If you use After Effects to edit and composite video, you can then use Flash to publish that video. You can also export an After Effects composition
as XFL content for further editing in Flash.
Flash and After Effects use separate terms for some concepts that they share in common, including the following:
A composition in After Effects is like a movie clip in Flash Professional.
The composition frame in the Composition panel is like the Stage in Flash Professional.
The Project panel in After Effects is like the Library panel in Flash Professional.
Project files in After Effects are like FLA files in Flash Professional.
You render and export a movie from After Effects ; you publish a SWF file from Flash Professional.
Additional resources
The following video tutorials provide additional detailed information about using Flash together with After Effects:
“Importing and exporting XFL files between Flash and After Effects” at www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4098_xp.
“Exporting an After Effects composition to Flash Professional using SWF, F4V/FLV, and XFL” at
www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4105_xp.
“Converting metadata and markers to cue points for use in Flash” at www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4111_xp.
Michael Coleman, product manager for After Effects, provides a video of a presentation from Adobe MAX on Adobe TV in
which he demonstrates the use of mocha for After Effects and Flash together to dynamically replace a video at run time in
Flash Player: http://www.adobe.com/go/learn_aefl_vid15383v1008_en
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After Effects composition for use in Flash Professional: http://www.layersmagazine.com/exporting-xfl-fomrat-from-after-effects-
to-flash.html
The following articles provide additional information about using Flash and After Effects together:
Richard Harrington and Marcus Geduld provide an excerpt, "Flash Essentials for After EffectsUsers", of their book After Effects
for Flash | Flash for After Effects on the Peachpit website. In this chapter, Richard and Marcus explain Flash in terms that an
After Effects user can understand. http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1350895
Richard Harrington and Marcus Geduld also provide "After Effects Essentials for Flash Users", another excerpt from their book
After Effects for Flash | Flash for After Effects. In this chapter, Richard and Marcus explain After Effects in terms that a Flash
user can understand. http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1350894
Tom Green provides a detailed article titled IntegratingFlash Professional CS4 with After Effects CS4 in the Flash Developer
Center: http://www.adobe.com/go/learn_aefl_integrating_fl_ae_en
Robert Powers provides a video tutorial on the Slippery Rock NYC website that shows the basics of usingAfter Effects from the
perspective of someone who is familiar withFlash Professional.
Exporting QuickTime video from Flash
If you create animations or applications with Flash, you can export them as QuickTime movies using the File > Export > Export Movie command in
Flash. For a Flash animation, you can optimize the video output for animation. For a Flash application, Flash renders video of the application as it
runs, allowing the user to manipulate it. This lets you capture the branches or states of your application that you want to include in the video file.
Rendering and exporting FLV and F4V files from After Effects
When you render finished video from After Effects, select FLV or F4V as the output format to render and export video that can play in Flash Player.
You can then import the FLV or F4V file into Flash and publish it in a SWF file, which can be played by Flash Player.
Importing and publishing video in Flash
When you import an FLV or F4V file into Flash, you can use various techniques, such as scripting or Flash components, to control the visual
interface that surrounds your video. For example, you might include playback controls or other graphics. You can also add graphic layers on top of
the FLV or F4V file for composite results.
Composite graphics, animation, and video
Flash and After Effects each include many capabilities that allow you to perform complex compositing of video and graphics. Which application you
choose to use will depend on your personal preferences and the type of final output you want to create.
Flash is the more web-oriented of the two applications, with its small final file size. Flash also allows for run-time control of animation. After Effects
is oriented toward video and film production, provides a wide range of visual effects, and is generally used to create video files as final output.
Both applications can be used to create original graphics and animation. Both use a timeline and offer scripting capabilities for controlling
animation programmatically. After Effects includes a larger set of effects, while the Flash ActionScript® language is the more robust of the two
scripting environments.
Both applications allow you to place graphics on separate layers for compositing. These layers can be turned on and off as needed. Both also
allow you to apply effects to the contents of individual layers.
In Flash, composites do not affect the video content directly; they affect only the appearance of the video during playback in Flash Player. In
contrast, when you composite with imported video in After Effects, the video file you export actually incorporates the composited graphics and
effects.
Because all drawing and painting in After Effects is done on layers separate from any imported video, it is always non-destructive. Flash has both
destructive and nondestructive drawing modes.
Exporting After Effects content for use in Flash
You can export After Effects content for use in Flash. You can export a SWF file that can be played immediately in Flash Player or used as part of
another rich media project. When you export content from After Effects in SWF format, some of the content may be flattened and rasterized in the
SWF file.
To edit your After Effects content further in Flash, export a composition as an XFL file. An XFL file is a type of Flash file that stores the same
information as a FLA file, but in XML format. When you export a composition from After Effects as XFL for use in Flash, some of the layers and
keyframes that you created in After Effects are preserved in the Flash version. When you import the XFL file in Flash, it unpacks the XFL file and
adds the assets from the file to your FLA file according to the instructions in the XFL file.
The following video tutorials provide detailed information about exporting XFL files from After Effects:
Importing and exporting XFL files between Flash and After Effects (Adobe.com)
Exporting XFL Format from After Effects to Flash (Tom Green, Layers Magazine)
Importing Flash SWF files into After Effects
Flash has a unique set of vector art tools that make it useful for a variety of drawing tasks not possible in After Effects or Adobe® Illustrator®. You
can import SWF files into After Effects to composite them with other video or render them as video with additional creative effects. Interactive
content and scripted animation are not retained. Animation defined by keyframes is retained.
Each SWF file imported into After Effects is flattened into a single continuously rasterized layer, with its alpha channel preserved. Continuous
rasterization means that graphics stay sharp as they are scaled up. This import method allows you to use the root layer or object of your SWF files
as a smoothly rendered element in After Effects, allowing the best capabilities of each tool to work together.
Working with Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects
Adobe Premiere Pro is designed to capture, import, and edit movies. After Effects is designed to create motion graphics, apply visual effects,
composite visual elements, perform color correction, and perform other post-production tasks for movies.
You can easily exchange projects, compositions, sequences, tracks, and layers between After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro:
You can import an Adobe Premiere Pro project into After Effects. (See Import an Adobe Premiere Pro project.)
You can export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project. (See Export an After Effects project as an Adobe
Premiere Pro project.)
You can copy and paste layers and tracks between After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. (See Copy between After Effects
and Adobe Premiere Pro.)
There is copy and paste support of adjustment layers between Premiere Pro CS6 and After Effects CS6.
If you have Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium or Master Collection, you can also do the following:
Start Adobe Premiere Pro from within After Effects and capture footage for use in After Effects. (See Use Adobe Premiere Pro
for capture (Production Premium and Master Collection only).)
Note: In After Effects CS6 and Premiere Pro CS6, the limitation of Dynamic Link to only work within a suite has been
removed (for example, Dynamic Link will now work between CS6 applications purchased as individual products). In After
Effects CS6, starting Premiere Pro from within After Effects and capturing footage is not supported. The File > Import >
Capture in Premiere Pro command has been removed.
Use Adobe Dynamic Link to work with After Effects compositions in Adobe Premiere Pro without first rendering them. A
dynamically linked composition appears as a clip in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Use Adobe Dynamic Link to work with Adobe Premiere Pro sequences in After Effects without first rendering them. A
dynamically linked sequence appears as a footage item in After Effects.
Start After Effects from within Premiere Pro and create a new composition with settings that match the settings of your
Premiere Pro project.
Select a set of clips in Adobe Premiere Pro and convert them to a composition in After Effects.
For information on using Dynamic Link with After Effects and Premiere Pro, see Dynamic Link and After Effects and the relevant sections of Adobe
Premiere Pro Help.
For a video tutorial about working with After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro using Dynamic Link, go to the Adobe website.
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Working with Adobe Encore and After Effects
You can use After Effects to quickly create buttons and button layers for use in Adobe Encore. Adobe Encore uses a naming standard to define a
button and the role of individual layers as subpicture highlights and video thumbnails. When you select a group of layers in After Effects to use as
an Adobe Encore button, After Effects precomposes the layers and names the precomposition according to the naming standards for buttons.
Highlight layer names receive the prefix (=1), (=2), or (=3), and video thumbnail names receive the prefix (%).
Note: In After Effects CS6, the Layer > Adobe Encore menu and submenu commands have been removed.
After Effects includes template projects that include entire DVD menus for you to use as a basis for your own DVD menus. To use Adobe
Bridge to browse and import these template projects, choose File > Browse Template Projects. (See Template projects and example projects.)
For information on using Dynamic Link with After Effects and Encore, see Dynamic Link and After Effects.
For video tutorials about using After Effects with Encore, go to the Adobe website:
Creating Encore menus with After Effects
Using Dynamic Link
Paul Tuersley provides a script on the After Effects script website for importing subtitles into After Effects and controlling their formatting.
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Create a button for Adobe Encore
1. In the Timeline panel, select the layers for use in the button.
2. Choose Layer > Adobe Encore > Create Button.
3. Enter a name for the button.
4. Use the menus to assign up to three highlight layers and one video thumbnail layer, and then click OK.
A new composition is created with the button name. In keeping with the Adobe Encore naming standards, the prefix (+) is
added to the name of the composition to indicate that it is a button.
Important: If you rename the button, be sure to retain the (+) prefix. The prefix ensures that Adobe Encore recognizes the
file as a button.
Assign a subpicture highlight and video thumbnail to a layer
1. Select the layer.
2. Choose Layer > Adobe Encore > Assign To Subpicture [number] or Assign To Video Thumbnail.
Export a button for use in Adobe Encore
1. Open the composition that represents the button, and move the current-time indicator to the desired frame.
2. Choose Composition > Save Frame As > Photoshop Layers.
Edit audio in Adobe Soundbooth
While working in After Effects, you may want to use the more comprehensive audio-editing capabilities of Adobe Soundbooth to fine-tune your
audio. You can use the Edit In Adobe Soundbooth command to start Soundbooth from within After Effects.
Note: In After Effects CS6, the Edit > Edit in Adobe Soundbooth menu and command have been removed. Use the Edit > Edit in Adobe Audition
command instead.
If you edit an audio-only file (for example, a WAV file) in Soundbooth, you change the original file. If you edit a layer that contains both audio and
video (for example, an AVI file), you edit a copy of the source audio file.
1. Select the layer that contains the audio that you want to edit. The item must be of a type that is editable in Soundbooth.
2. Choose Edit > Edit In Adobe Soundbooth to open the clip in Edit view in Soundbooth.
3. Edit the file, and then do one of the following:
If you’re editing an audio-only layer, choose File > Save to apply your edits to the original audio file, or choose File > Save
As to apply your edits to a copy of the audio file. If you choose File > Save As, you need to re-import the copy of the file
into After Effects.
If you’re editing a layer that contains both audio and video, choose File > Save As. After you save the file, import it into
After Effects, add it to the composition, and mute the original audio in the audio-video clip by deselecting the Audio switch
in the Timeline panel.
Note: Any effects applied to audio in After Effects aren’t included in the copy that is sent to Soundbooth.
Edit in Adobe Audition (CS5.5 and later)
While working in After Effects, you can use the more comprehensive audio- editing capabilities of Adobe Audition to fine-tune your audio. You can
use the Edit in Adobe Audition command to start Adobe Audition from within After Effects.
If you edit an audio-only file (for example, a WAV file) in Adobe Audition, you change the original file. If you edit a layer that contains both audio
and video (for example, an AVI file), you edit a copy of the source audio file.
1. Select the layer that contains the audio that you want to edit. The item must be of a type that is editable in Adobe Audition.
2. Choose Edit > Edit In Adobe Audition to open the clip in Edit view in Adobe Audition.
3. Edit the file, and then do one of the following:
If you’re editing an audio-only layer, choose File > Save to apply your edits to the original audio file. You can also choose
file > Save As to apply your edits to a copy of the audio file. If you choose File > Save As, import the copy of the file into
After Effects.
If you’re editing a layer that contains both audio and video, choose File > Save As. After you save the file, import it into
After Effects. Then, add it to the composition, and mute the original audio in the audio-video clip by deselecting the Audio
switch in the Timeline panel.
Note: Any effects applied to audio in After Effects aren’t included in the copy that is sent to Adobe Audition.
Tutorials and resources about using Adobe Audition to modify audio from After Effects can be found on this post from the After Effects Region of
Interest blog.
More Help topics
Opening XFL files
Importing After Effects compositions
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Dynamic Link and After Effects
About Dynamic Link
Create and link to After Effects compositions with Dynamic Link
Modify a dynamically linked composition in After Effects
Delete a dynamically linked composition or clip
Create a linked sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro with Dynamic Link
Dynamic Link performance
Dynamic Link features of After Effects are available only with Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium edition and Adobe Creative Suite Master
Collection edition.
About Dynamic Link
In the past, sharing media assets among post-production applications has required you to render and export your work from one application before
importing it into another. This workflow was inefficient and time-consuming. If you wanted to change the original asset, you rendered and exported
the asset again. Multiple rendered and exported versions of an asset consume disk space, and they can lead to file -management challenges.
Dynamic Link offers an alternative to this workflow. You can create dynamic links between After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Encore.
Creating a dynamic link is as simple as importing any other type of asset. Dynamically linked assets appear with unique icons and label colors to
help you identify them. Dynamic links are saved in projects generated by these applications.
Create and link to After Effects compositions with Dynamic Link
You can create After Effects compositions, and dynamically link to them, from Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore. You can also dynamically link to
existing After Effects compositions from Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore.
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Create a composition from clips in Adobe Premiere Pro
You can replace selected clips in Adobe Premiere Pro with a dynamically linked After Effects composition based on those clips. The new
composition inherits the sequence settings from Adobe Premiere Pro.
1. In a sequence, select the clips you want in the composition.
2. Right-click any of the selected clips.
3. Select Replace With After Effects Composition.
Create a dynamically linked composition from Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore
Creating a new dynamically linked composition from Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore launches After Effects.After Effects then creates a project and
composition with the dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, frame rate, and audio sample rate of the originating project. (If After Effects is already running,
it creates a composition in the current project.) The new composition name is based on the Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore project name, followed
by Linked Comp [x].
1. In Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe Encore, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > New After Effects Composition.
2. If the After EffectsSave As dialog box appears, enter a name and location for the After Effects project, and click Save.
When you create a dynamically linked After Effects composition, the composition duration is set to 30 seconds. To change
the duration, select the composition in After Effects, choose Composition > Composition Settings. Click the Basic tab, and
specify a new value for Duration.
Link to an existing composition
For best results, match composition settings (such as dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, and frame rate) to the settings in the Adobe Premiere Pro or
Encore project.
Do one of the following:
In Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > Import After Effects Composition. Choose an After
Effects project file (.aep), and then choose one or more compositions.
In Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore, choose an After Effects project file and click Open. Then choose a composition in the
displayed dialog box and click OK.
Drag one or more compositions from the After EffectsProject panel to the Adobe Premiere Pro Project panel or the Encore
Project panel.
Note: You can link to a single After Effects composition multiple times in a single Adobe Premiere Pro project. In an Adobe Encore project,
however, you can link to an After Effects composition only once.
If you create a dynamically linked composition from Encore, turn off subpicture highlight layers in After Effects, so that you can control their display
in Encore.
Dynamically linked After Effects compositions
Drag an After Effects project file into the AdobePremiere Pro Project panel. If the After Effects project file contains multiple
compositions, the Import Composition dialog box opens.
Modify a dynamically linked composition in After Effects
Use the Edit Original command in Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore to modify a linked After Effectscomposition. Once the composition is open in
After Effects, you can change the composition without having to use the Edit Original command again.
1. Select the After Effects composition in the Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore Project panel, or choose a linked clip in the Timeline,
and choose Edit > Edit Original.
2. Change the composition in After Effects. Then, switch back to Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore to view your changes.
The changes made in After Effects appear in Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro stops using any preview files rendered for the clip before
the changes.
Note: You can change the name of the composition in After Effects after creating a dynamic link to it from Adobe Premiere Pro.
Adobe Premiere Pro does not update the linked composition name in the Project panel. Adobe Premiere Pro does retain the dynamic link,
however.
Delete a dynamically linked composition or clip
You can delete a linked composition from an Encore project if the composition isn’t used in the project. You can delete a linked composition from
an Adobe Premiere Pro project at any time, even if the composition is used in a project.
You can delete linked clips from the timeline of an Adobe Premiere Pro sequence or from an Encore menu or timeline at any time.
In Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore, select the linked composition or clip and press the Delete key.
Create a linked sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro with Dynamic Link
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Link to a new sequence
Creating an Adobe Premiere Pro sequence from After Effects launches Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro then creates a project and
sequence with the dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, frame rate, and audio sample rate of the originating project. (If Adobe Premiere Pro is already
running, it creates a sequence in the current project.)
In After Effects, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > New Premiere Pro Sequence.
Link to an existing sequence
For best results, match sequence settings and project settings in Adobe Premiere Pro (such as dimensions, pixel aspect ratio, and frame rate) to
those settings in the After Effects project.
Do one of the following:
In After Effects, choose File > Adobe Dynamic Link > Import Premiere Pro Sequence. Choose an Adobe Premiere Proproject,
and then choose one or more sequences.
Drag one or more sequences from the Adobe Premiere Pro Project panel to the After Effects Project panel.
Dynamic Link performance
A linked clip can refer to a complex source composition. Actions you perform on the complex source composition require additional processing
time. After Effects takes time to apply the actions and make the final data available to Adobe Premiere Pro or Encore. In some cases, the
additional processing time delays preview or playback.
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To reduce playback delays, do one of the following:
take the linked composition offline
disable a linked clip to temporarily stop referencing a composition
render the composition and replace the dynamically linked composition with the rendered file
If you commonly work with complex source compositions, try adding RAM or a faster processor.
Note: A linked After Effects composition will not support Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously multiprocessing. See Improve performance by
optimizing memory, cache, and multiprocessing settings.
More Help topics
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Workspaces, panels, and viewers
Workspaces and panels
Viewers
Workspaces and panels
Adobe video and audio applications provide a consistent, customizable user interface. Although each application has its own set of panels, you
move and group panels in the same way in each application.
The main window of a program is the application window. Panels are organized in this window in an arrangement called a workspace.
Each application includes several predefined workspaces that optimize the layout of panels for specific tasks. You can also create and customize
your own workspaces by arranging panels in the layout that best suits your working style for specific tasks.
You can drag panels to new locations, move panels into or out of a group, place panels alongside each other, and undock a panel so that it floats
in a new window above the application window. As you rearrange panels, the other panels resize automatically to fit the window.
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Example workspace
A. Application window B. Grouped panels C. Individual panel
To increase the available screen space, use multiple monitors. When you work with multiple monitors, the application window appears on the main
monitor, and you place floating windows on the second monitor. Monitor configurations are stored in the workspace.
Workspaces are stored in XML files in the preferences folder. With some caveats regarding monitor size and layout, these workspaces can be
moved to another computer and used there.
(Windows) [drive]:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\After Effects\10.5\ModifiedWorkspaces
(Mac OS) [drive]/Users/[user_name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe/After Effects/10.5/ModifiedWorkspaces
Chris and Trish Meyer provide a video overview of the After Effects user interface on the Focal Press website.
See this video tutorial about workspaces by Andrew Devis on the Creative Cow website for more details.
Online resources about panels and workspaces
For a video about panels and workspaces, go to the Adobe website: www.adobe.com/go/vid0249.
Chris and Trish Meyer provide a video overview of the After Effects user interface on the Focal Press website.
Choose a workspace
Choose Window > Workspace, and select the desired workspace.
Choose a workspace from the Workspace menu in the Tools panel.
If the workspace has a keyboard shortcut assigned, press Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or Shift+F12.
To assign a keyboard shortcut to the current workspace, choose Window > Assign Shortcut To [Workspace Name] Workspace.
Save, reset, or delete workspaces
Save a custom workspace
As you customize a workspace, the application tracks your changes, storing the most recent layout. To store a specific layout more permanently,
save a custom workspace. Saved custom workspaces appear in the Workspace menu, where you can return to and reset them.
Arrange the frames and panels as desired, and then choose Window > Workspace > New Workspace. Type a name for the workspace, and
click OK.
Note: (After Effects, Premiere Pro, Encore) If a project saved with a custom workspace is opened on another system, the application looks for a
workspace with a matching name. If it can’t find a match (or the monitor configuration doesn’t match), it uses the current local workspace.
Reset a workspace
Reset the current workspace to return to its original, saved layout of panels.
Choose Window > Workspace > Reset workspace name.
Delete a workspace
1. Choose Window > Workspace >Delete Workspace.
2. Choose the workspace you want to delete, and then click OK.
Note: You cannot delete the currently active workspace.
Dock, group, or float panels
You can dock panels together, move them into or out of groups, and undock them so they float above the application window. As you drag a
panel, drop zones—areas onto which you can move the panel—become highlighted. The drop zone you choose determines where the panel is
inserted, and whether it docks or groups with other panels.
Docking zones
Docking zones exist along the edges of a panel, group, or window. Docking a panel places it adjacent to the existing group, resizing all groups to
accommodate the new panel.
Dragging panel (A) onto docking zone (B) to dock it (C)
Grouping zones
Grouping zones exist in the middle of a panel or group, and along the tab area of panels. Dropping a panel on a grouping zone stacks it with other
panels.
Dragging panel (A) onto grouping zone (B) to group it with existing panels (C)
Dock or group panels
1. If the panel you want to dock or group is not visible, choose it from the Window menu.
2. Do one of the following:
To move an individual panel, drag the gripper area in the upper-left corner of a panel’s tab onto the desired drop zone.
Drag panel gripper to move one panel
To move an entire group, drag the group gripper in the upper-right corner onto the desired drop zone.
Drag group gripper to move entire group
The application docks or groups the panel, according to the type of drop zone.
Undock a panel in a floating window
When you undock a panel in a floating window, you can add panels to the window and modify it similarly to the application window. You can use
floating windows to use a secondary monitor, or to create workspaces like the workspaces in earlier versions of Adobe applications.
Select the panel you want to undock (if it’s not visible, choose it from the Window menu), and then do one of the following:
Choose Undock Panel or Undock Frame from the panel menu. Undock Frame undocks the panel group.
Hold down Ctrl (Windows®) or Command (Mac OS®), and drag the panel or group from its current location. When you release
the mouse button, the panel or group appears in a new floating window.
Drag the panel or group outside the application window. (If the application window is maximized, drag the panel to the
Windows taskbar.)
Resize panel groups
To quickly maximize a panel beneath the pointer, press the ` (accent grave) key. (The accent grave is the unshifted character under the tilde, ~,
on standard US keyboards.) Press the key again to return the panel to its original size.
When you drag the divider between panel groups, all groups that share the divider are resized.
1. Do either of the following:
To resize either horizontally or vertically, position the pointer between two panel groups. The pointer becomes a double
arrow
To resize in both directions at once, position the pointer at the intersection between three or more panel groups. The
pointer becomes a four-way arrow
2. Hold down the mouse button, and drag to resize the panel groups.
.
.
Dragging divider between panel groups to resize them horizontally
A. Original group with resize pointer B. Resized groups
Open, close, and show panels and windows
Even if a panel is open, it may be out of sight, beneath other panels. Choosing a panel from the Window menu opens it and brings it to the front of
its group.
When you close a panel group in the application window, the other groups resize to use the newly available space. When you close a floating
window, the panels within it close, too.
To open or close a panel, choose the panel from the Window menu.
To close a panel or window, click its Close button .
To open or close a panel, use its keyboard shortcut.
If a frame contains multiple panels, place the pointer over a tab and roll the mouse scroll wheel forward or backward to change
which panel is active.
If a frame contains more grouped panels than can be shown at once, drag the scroll bar that appears above the tabs.
Scroll bar for showing tabs of other panels
Viewers
A viewer is a panel that can contain multiple compositions, layers, or footage items, or multiple views of one such item. The Composition, Layer,
Footage, Flowchart, and Effect Controls panels are viewers.
Locking a viewer prevents the currently displayed item from being replaced when you open or select a new item. Instead, when a viewer is locked
and a new item is opened or selected, After Effects creates a new viewer panel for that item. If you select the item from the viewer menu of a
locked viewer, a new viewer isn't created; the existing viewer is used.
Instead of housing multiple items in a single viewer and using the viewer menu to switch between them, you can choose to open a separate
viewer for each open composition, layer, or footage item. When you have multiple viewers open, you can arrange them by docking or grouping
them, like any other panels.
For example, you can create one Composition viewer each for different 3D views (Top, Bottom, Back, Front, custom views) so that you can
maximize each of the views with the ` (accent grave) keyboard shortcut, which maximizes or restores the panel under the pointer.
To create a custom workspace with multiple viewers, ensure that all viewers are unlocked before you save the workspace. Locked viewers are
associated with a specific project context and are therefore not saved in the preferences file.
To create a new viewer, choose New from the viewer menu. (See Open panel, viewer, and context menus.)
To lock or unlock a viewer, choose Locked from the viewer menu, or click the Toggle Viewer Lock button.
To lock the current viewer, split the current frame, and create a new viewer of the same type in the new frame, press
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+N (Mac OS).
To cycle forward or backward through the items in the viewer menu list for the active viewer, press Shift+period (.) or
Shift+comma (,).
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Edit this, look at that (ETLAT) and locked Composition viewers
If a Composition viewer is locked, the Timeline panel for another composition is active, and the Composition viewer for the active composition is
not shown, then most commands that affect views and previews operate on the composition for which the viewer is shown. For example, pressing
the spacebar can start a standard preview for the composition visible in a locked Composition viewer rather than the composition associated with
the active Timeline panel.
This behavior facilitates a working setup sometimes referred to as edit-this-look-at-that (ETLAT). The most common scenario in which this
behavior is useful is the scenario in which you make a change in the Timeline panel for a nested (upstream) composition and want to preview the
result of the change in a containing (downstream) composition.
Note: ETLAT behavior works for keyboard shortcuts for zooming, fitting, previewing, taking and viewing snapshots, showing channels, showing
and hiding grids and guides, and showing the current frame on a video preview device.
To prevent this behavior, unlock the Composition viewer or show the Composition viewer for the composition that you want to view or preview.
See this video on the Video2Brain website to learn about the improvements in ETLAT (edit -this-look-at-that) workflow in After Effects CS5.5 and
later.
More Help topics
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General user interface items
Activate a tool
Open panel, viewer, and context menus
Columns
Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels
Scroll or zoom with the mouse wheel
Undo changes
After Effects user interface tips
Activate a tool
The Tools panel can be displayed as a toolbar across the top of the application window or as a normal, dockable panel.
Note: Controls related to some tools appear only when the tool is selected in the Tools panel.
Click the button for the tool. If the button has a small triangle at its lower- right corner, hold down the mouse button to view the
hidden tools. Then, click the tool you want to activate.
Press the keyboard shortcut for the tool. (Placing the pointer over a tool button displays a tool tip with the name and keyboard
shortcut for the tool.)
To cycle through hidden tools within a tool category, repeatedly press the keyboard shortcut for the tool category. (For
example, press G repeatedly to cycle through the pen tools.)
To momentarily activate a tool, hold down the key for the desired tool; release the key to return to the previously active tool.
(This technique does not work with all tools.)
To momentarily activate the Hand tool, hold down the spacebar, the H key, or the middle mouse button. (The middle mouse
button does not activate the Hand tool under a few circumstances, including when the Unified Camera tool is active.)
To pan around in the Composition, Layer, or Footage panel, drag with the Hand tool. Hold Shift, too, to pan faster.
To show or hide panels most relevant to the active tool, click the panel button
active opens or closes the Paint and Brushes panels. Select the Auto-Open Panels option in the Tools panel to automatically open the relevant
panels when certain tools are activated.
if available. For example, clicking this button when a paint tool is
Open panel, viewer, and context menus
Panel menus provide commands relative to the active panel or frame. Viewer menus provide lists of compositions, layers, or footage items that
can be shown in the viewer, as well as commands for closing items and locking the viewer. Context menus provide commands relative to the item
that is context-clicked. Many items in the After Effects user interface have associated context menus. Using context menus can make your work
faster and easier.
To open a panel menu, click the button in the upper- right corner of the panel.
To open a viewer menu, click the name of the active composition, layer, or footage item in the viewer tab.
To open a context menu, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS). This action is sometimes referred to as context-
clicking.
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Columns
The Project, Timeline, and Render Queue panels contain columns.
To show or hide columns, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) a column heading (or choose Columns from the
panel menu), and select the columns that you want to show or hide. A check mark indicates that the column is shown.
Note: In general, the search and filter functions in the Project and Timeline panels only operate on the content of columns
that are shown.
To reorder columns, select a column name and drag it to a new location.
To resize columns, drag the bar next to a column name. Some columns cannot be resized.
In After Effects CS5.5 and later, sort footage items in the Project panel, click the column heading. Click once more to sort them
in reverse order.
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Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels
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The Project, Timeline, and Effects & Presets panels each contain search fields that you can use to filter items in the panel.
To place the insertion point in a search field, click in the search field.
To place the insertion point in the search field for the active panel, choose File > Find or press Ctrl+F (Windows) or
Command+F (Mac OS).
To clear the search field, click the button that appears to the right of the text in the search field.
When you type in the search field, the list of items in the panel is filtered, showing some items and hiding others. Only items with entries that
match the search query that you’ve typed are shown. The folders, layers, categories, or property groups that contain the matched items are also
shown, to provide context.
In general, only text in columns that are shown is searched for this filtering operation. For example, you may need to show the Comments column
to search and filter by the contents of comments. (See Columns.)
If one or more layers are selected in a composition, the filtering operation in the Timeline panel only affects selected layers. In this case,
unselected layers are not filtered out (hidden) if they don’t match the search query. However, if no layers are selected in the composition, the
filtering operation applies to all layers in the composition. This behavior matches that for showing and hiding of layer properties by pressing their
property shortcut keys. (See Show or hide properties in the Timeline panel.)
Clearing the search field and ending the search causes expanded folders and property groups to collapse (close). Therefore, it’s easier to work
with the items that are found by the filter operation if you operate on them before you clear the search field and end the search.
If the text that you type in the search field in the Project or Timeline panel contains spaces, the spaces are treated as and-based operators. For
example, typing dark solid matches footage items or layers named Dark Red Solid and Dark Gray Solid. In the Effects & Presets panel, spaces
are treated as space characters in the search field. For example, typing change color matches the Change Color effect, but not the Change To
Color effect.
Project, Timeline, and Effects & Presets panels accept or-based searching in After Effects CS5.5 and later. In an or-based search, a comma
denotes an or, with and-based operators taking precedence over or-based ones. For example, sometimes the name of the property that
determines the amount for a blur effect is Amount, sometimes it is Blurriness, and sometimes it is Blur Radius. If you search for Amount,
Blurriness, Radius, then you will see the equivalent values for all of your blur effects.
Project, Timeline, and Effects and Presets panels accept mru-based (most recently used) searching in After Effects CS5.5 and later. When you
type in a search field, recent search strings that match your input appear.
This search method also allows a way to save items you use often via a menu that opens when you click the search icon in the search field. The
search menu consists of two lists, separated by a divider. The top list contains the six most recent searches, with the most recent one at the top.
The bottom list contains saved search items. As you type, the top list filters to show matching terms.
To save a search item, Shift- click it in the top list of the search menu. Up to ten items may be saved.
To delete a saved search item from either list, hover the mouse over the the item to highlight it, and then press Delete or
Backspace.
See this video on the Video2Brain website to learn about the new features for searching and filtering in panels in After Effects CS5.5.
Examples of searches in the Project panel
To show only footage items for which the name or comment contains a specific string, start typing the string.
To show only footage items for which the source file is missing, type the entire word missing. (This search works whether or
not the File Path column is shown, which is an exception to the general rule that only shown columns are searched.)
To show only unused footage items, type the entire word unused.
To show only used footage items, type the entire word used.
To show only Cineon footage items, type Cineon with the Type column shown.
Examples of searches in the Timeline panel
To show only layers and properties for which the name or comment contains a specific string, type the string. For example,
type starch to show pins created by the Puppet Starch tool.
To show only properties that have an expression that uses a specific method, type the method name.
To show only layers with a specific label, type the label name. (See Color labels for layers, compositions, and footage items.)
Click the swatch for a label to see the context menu that lists the label names. Alternatively, drag the right edge of the
Label column heading to expand the column to read the label names.
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Scroll or zoom with the mouse wheel
You can use the mouse wheel to zoom in the Timeline, Composition, Layer, and Footage panels. You can use the mouse wheel to scroll in the
Timeline, Project, Render Queue, Flowchart, Effect Controls, Metadata, and Effects & Presets panels.
To zoom into the center of the panel, or into the feature region when tracking, roll the mouse wheel forward.
To zoom out of the center of the panel, or out of the feature region when tracking, roll the mouse wheel backward.
To zoom into the area under the pointer, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you roll the mouse wheel forward. In
the Timeline, Footage, and Layer panels, this action zooms in time when the pointer is over the time navigator or time ruler.
To zoom out of the area under the pointer, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you roll the mouse wheel
backward. In the Timeline, Footage, and Layer panels, this action zooms in time when the pointer is over the time navigator or
time ruler.
To scroll vertically, roll the mouse wheel forward or backward.
To scroll horizontally, hold down Shift as you roll the mouse wheel backward or forward. In the Timeline, Footage, and Layer
panels, Shift-rolling backward moves forward in time and vice versa when the pointer is over the time navigator or time ruler.
You can scroll or zoom with the mouse wheel in a panel even if it is not currently active, as long as the pointer is over it.
Undo changes
You can undo only those actions that alter the project data. For example, you can undo a change to a property value, but you cannot undo the
scrolling of a panel or the activation of a tool.
You can sequentially undo as many as 99 of the most recent changes made to the project, depending on the Levels Of Undo setting (Edit >
Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS)). The default is 32.
To avoid wasting time undoing accidental modifications, lock a layer when you want to see it but do not want to modify it.
To undo the most recent change, choose Edit > Undo [action].
To undo a change and all changes after it, choose Edit > History, and select the first change that you want to undo.
To revert to the last saved version of the project, choose File > Revert. All changes made and footage items imported since
you last saved are lost. You cannot undo this action.
After Effects user interface tips
Use ClearType text anti-aliasing on Windows. ClearType makes the outlines of system text, such as menus and dialog boxes,
easier to read. See Windows Help for information on how to enable ClearType text anti-aliasing.
To show tool tips, select the Show Tool Tips preference (Edit > > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > General
(Mac OS)).
Use a workspace that contains the Info panel, and leave that panel in front of other panels in its panel group whenever
possible. The Info panel shows messages about what After Effects is doing, information about items under the pointer, and
much more.
In Windows, disable the Aero compositing mode. Hardware acceleration of panels and OpenGL features perform better in After
Effects when Windows is operating in Basic mode. For information, see the Microsoft website.
Use context menus.
Use keyboard shortcuts.
More Help topics
To the top
To the top
|
Keyboard shortcuts reference
General (keyboard shortcuts)
Projects (keyboard shortcuts)
Preferences (keyboard shortcuts)
Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows (keyboard shortcuts)
Activating tools (keyboard shortcuts)
Compositions and the work area (keyboard shortcuts)
Time navigation (keyboard shortcuts)
Previews (keyboard shortcuts)
Views (keyboard shortcuts)
Footage (keyboard shortcuts)
Effects and animation presets (keyboard shortcuts)
Layers (keyboard shortcuts)
Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel (keyboard shortcuts)
Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel (keyboard shortcuts)
Modifying layer properties (keyboard shortcuts)
3D layers (keyboard shortcuts)
Keyframes and the Graph Editor (keyboard shortcuts)
Text (keyboard shortcuts)
Masks (keyboard shortcuts)
Paint tools (keyboard shortcuts)
Shape layers (keyboard shortcuts)
Markers (keyboard shortcuts)
Motion tracking (keyboard shortcuts)
Saving, exporting, and rendering (keyboard shortcuts)
General (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Select all Ctrl+A Command+A
Deselect all F2 or Ctrl+Shift+A F2 or Command+Shift+A
Rename selected layer, composition, folder, effect, group,
or mask
Open selected layer, composition, or footage item Enter on numeric
Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items down
(back) or up (forward) in stacking order
Move selected layers, masks, effects, or render items to
bottom (back) or top (front) of stacking order
Extend selection to next item in Project panel, Render
Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel
Extend selection to previous item in Project panel, Render
Queue panel, or Effect Controls panel
Enter on main
keyboard
keypad
Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow
or Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Down
Arrow or
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Up
Arrow
Shift+Down Arrow Shift+Down Arrow
Shift+Up Arrow Shift+Up Arrow
Return
Enter on numeric keypad
Command+Option+Down Arrow
or Command+Option+Up Arrow
Command+Option+Shift+Down
Arrow or
Command+Option+Shift+Up
Arrow
To the top
Duplicate selected layers, masks, effects, text selectors,
animators, puppet meshes, shapes, render items, output
modules, or compositions
Ctrl+D Command+D
Quit Ctrl+Q Command+Q
Undo Ctrl+Z Command+Z
Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z Command+Shift+Z
Purge all Ctrl+Alt+/ (on numeric
keypad)
Interrupt running a script Esc Esc
Command+Option+/ (on
numeric keypad)
Projects (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
New project Ctrl+Alt+N Command+Option+N
Open project Ctrl+O Command+O
Open most recent project Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P Command+Option+Shift+P
New folder in Project panel Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N Command+Option+Shift+N
Open Project Settings dialog
box
Find in Project panel Ctrl+F Command+F
Cycle through color bit depths
for project
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K Command+Option+Shift+K
Alt-click bit-depth button at bottom of
Project panel
Option-click bit-depth button at bottom of
Project panel
To the top
Open Project Settings dialog
box
Preferences (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Open Preferences dialog
box
Restore default
preferences settings
Panels, viewers, workspaces, and windows (keyboard shortcuts)
Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9 -F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for
instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.
Result Windows Mac OS
Open or close Project panel Ctrl+0 Command+0
Click bit- depth button at bottom of
Project panel
Ctrl+Alt+; (semicolon) Command+Option+; (semicolon)
Hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift while starting
After Effects
Click bit- depth button at bottom of Project
panel
Hold down Command+Option+Shift while
starting After Effects
To the top
To the top
Open or close Render Queue panel Ctrl+Alt+0 Command+Option+0
Open or close Tools panel Ctrl+1 Command+1
Open or close Info panel Ctrl+2 Command+2
Open or close Preview panel Ctrl+3 Command+3
Open or close Audio panel Ctrl+4 Command+4
Open or close Effects & Presets panel Ctrl+5 Command+5
Open or close Character panel Ctrl+6 Command+6
Open or close Paragraph panel Ctrl+7 Command+7
Open or close Paint panel Ctrl+8 Command+8
Open or close Brushes panel Ctrl+9 Command+9
Open or close Effect Controls panel for selected layer F3 or
Ctrl+Shift+T
Open Flowchart panel for project flowchart Ctrl+F11 Command+F11
Switch to workspace Shift+F10,
Shift+F11, or
Shift+F12
Close active viewer or panel (closes content first) Ctrl+W Command+W
Close active panel or all viewers of type of active viewer (closes
content first). For example, if a Timeline panel is active, this
command closes all Timeline panels.
Split the frame containing the active viewer and create a new viewer
with opposite locked/unlocked state
Maximize or restore panel under pointer ` (accent grave) ` (accent grave)
Resize application window or floating window to fit screen. (Press
again to resize window so that contents fill the screen.)
Move application window or floating window to main monitor; resize
window to fit screen. (Press again to resize window so that contents
fill the screen.)
Ctrl+Shift+W Command+Shift+W
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N Command+Option+Shift+N
Ctrl+\ (backslash) Command+\ (backslash)
Ctrl+Alt+\
(backslash)
F3 or Command+Shift+T
Shift+F10, Shift+F11, or
Shift+F12
Command+Option+\
(backslash)
Toggle activation between Composition panel and Timeline panel for
current composition
Cycle to previous or next item in active viewer (for example, cycle
through open compositions)
Cycle to previous or next panel in active frame (for example, cycle
through open Timeline panels)
Activate a view in a multi-view layout in the Composition panel
without affecting layer selection
Activating tools (keyboard shortcuts)
Note: You can activate some tools only under certain circumstances. For example, you can activate a camera tool only when the active
composition contains a camera layer.
To momentarily activate a tool with a single-letter keyboard shortcut, hold down the key; release the key to return to the previously active tool.
To activate a tool and keep it active, press the key and immediately release it.
\ (backslash) \ (backslash)
Shift+, (comma)
or Shift+. (period)
Alt+Shift+,
(comma) or
Alt+Shift+.
(period)
click with middle
mouse button
Shift+, (comma) or Shift+.
(period)
Option+Shift+, (comma) or
Option+Shift+. (period)
click with middle mouse
button
To the top
Result Windows Mac OS
Cycle through tools Alt-click tool
button in Tools
panel
Activate Selection tool V V
Activate Hand tool H H
Temporarily activate Hand tool Hold down
spacebar or the
middle mouse
button.
Activate Zoom In tool Z Z
Activate Zoom Out tool Alt (when Zoom
In tool is active)
Activate Rotation tool W W
Activate Roto Brush tool Alt+W Option+W
Activate and cycle through Camera tools (Unified Camera, Orbit Camera,
Track XY Camera, and Track Z Camera)
Activate Pan Behind tool Y Y
C C
Option-click tool
button in Tools
panel
Hold down
spacebar or the
middle mouse
button.
Option (when
Zoom In tool is
active)
Activate and cycle through mask and shape tools (Rectangle, Rounded
Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star)
Activate and cycle through Type tools (Horizontal and Vertical) Ctrl+T Command+T
Activate and cycle through pen tools (Pen, Add Vertex, Delete Vertex, and
Convert Vertex) (CS5.5, and earlier)
Activate and cycle between the Pen and Mask Feather tools (CS6) G G
Temporarily activate Selection tool when a pen tool is selected Ctrl Command
Temporarily activate pen tool when the Selection tool is selected and pointer
is over a path (Add Vertex tool when pointer is over a segment; Convert
Vertex tool when pointer is over a vertex)
Activate and cycle through Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser tools Ctrl+B Command+B
Activate and cycle through Puppet tools Ctrl+P Command+P
Temporarily convert Selection tool to Shape Duplication tool Alt (in shape
Temporarily convert Selection tool to Direct Selection tool Ctrl (in shape
Q Q
G G
Ctrl+Alt Command+Option
Option (in shape
layer)
layer)
layer)
Command (in
shape layer)
Compositions and the work area (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
New composition Ctrl+N Command+N
To the top
Open Composition Settings dialog box for selected composition Ctrl+K Command+K
Set beginning or end of work area to current time B or N B or N
Set work area to duration of selected layers or, if no layers are selected, set work
area to composition duration
Ctrl+Alt+B Command+Option+B
Open Composition Mini-Flowchart for active composition
Note: If you tap Shift several times without any intervening keystrokes, you may
invoke a feature of your operating system’s StickyKeys or Sticky Keys
accessibility software. See your operating system’s documentation for disabling
this feature.
Activate the most recently active composition that is in the same composition
hierarchy (network of nested compositions) as the currently active composition
Tap Shift Tap Shift
Shift+Esc Shift+Esc
Time navigation (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Go to specific time Alt+Shift+J Option+Shift+J
Go to beginning or end of work area Shift+Home or
Shift+End
Go to previous or next visible item in time ruler (keyframe,
layer marker, work area beginning or end)
Note: Also goes to beginning, end, or base frame of Roto
Brush span if viewing Roto Brush in Layer panel.
Go to beginning of composition, layer, or footage item Home or Ctrl+Alt+Left
J or K J or K
Arrow
Shift+Home or Shift+End
Home or
Command+Option+Left Arrow
To the top
Go to end of composition, layer, or footage item End or Ctrl+Alt+Right
Arrow
Go forward 1 frame Page Down or
Ctrl+Right Arrow
Go forward 10 frames Shift+Page Down or
Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow
Go backward 1 frame Page Up or Ctrl+Left
Arrow
Go backward 10 frames Shift+Page Up or
Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow
Go to layer In point I I
Go to layer Out point O O
Go to previous In point or Out point Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Left
Arrow
Go to next In point or Out point Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Right
Arrow
Scroll to current time in Timeline panel D D
End or
Command+Option+Right
Arrow
Page Down or
Command+Right Arrow
Shift+Page Down or
Command+Shift+Right Arrow
Page Up or Command+Left
Arrow
Shift+Page Up or
Command+Shift+Left Arrow
Command+Option+Shift+Left
Arrow
Command+Option+Shift+Right
Arrow
Previews (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Start or stop standard preview spacebar spacebar
RAM preview 0 on numeric keypad* 0 on numeric keypad* or Control+0
(zero) on main keyboard
RAM preview with alternate settings Shift+0 on numeric keypad* Shift+0 on numeric keypad* or
Shift+Control+0 (zero) on main
keyboard
To the top
Save RAM preview Ctrl-click RAM Preview button or
press Ctrl+0 on numeric keypad*
Save RAM preview with alternate
settings
Preview only audio, from current time . (decimal point) on numeric
Preview only audio, in work area Alt+. (decimal point) on numeric
Manually preview (scrub) video Drag or Alt- drag current-time
Manually preview (scrub) audio Ctrl-drag current-time indicator Command-drag current-time indicator
RAM preview number of frames
specified by Alternate RAM Preview
preference (defaults to 5)
Show current frame on video preview
device
Ctrl+Shift-click RAM Preview
button or press Ctrl+Shift+0 on
numeric keypad*
keypad*
keypad*
indicator, depending on Live
Update setting
Alt+0 on numeric keypad* Option+0 on numeric keypad* or
/ (on numeric keypad) / (on numeric keypad)
Command-click RAM Preview button or
press Command+0 on numeric keypad*
Command+Shift-click RAM Preview
button or press Command+Shift+0 on
numeric keypad*
. (decimal point) on numeric keypad* or
Control+. (period) on main keyboard
Option+. (decimal point) on numeric
keypad* or Control+Option+. (period)
on main keyboard
Drag or Option-drag current-time
indicator, depending on Live Update
setting
Control+Option+0 (zero) on main
keyboard
Toggle Output Device preference
between Desktop Only and video
preview device
Take snapshot Shift+F5, Shift+F6, Shift+F7, or
Display snapshot in active viewer F5, F6, F7, or F8 F5, F6, F7, or F8
Purge snapshot Ctrl+Shift+F5, Ctrl+Shift+F6,
Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.
Views (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Turn display color management on or off for active view Shift+/ (on
Ctrl+/ (on numeric keypad) Command+/ (on numeric keypad)
Shift+F5, Shift+F6, Shift+F7, or
Shift+F8
Ctrl+Shift+F7, or Ctrl+Shift+F8
Shift+F8
Command+Shift+F5,
Command+Shift+F6,
Command+Shift+F7, or
Command+Shift+F8
numeric
keypad)
Shift+/ (on numeric
keypad)
To the top
Show red, green, blue, or alpha channel as grayscale Alt+1, Alt+2,
Alt+3, Alt+4
Option+1, Option+2,
Option+3, Option+4
Show colorized red, green, or blue channel Alt+Shift+1,
Alt+Shift+2,
Alt+Shift+3
Option+Shift+1,
Option+Shift+2,
Option+Shift+3
Toggle showing straight RGB color Alt+Shift+4 Option+Shift+4
Show alpha boundary (outline between transparent and opaque
Alt+5 Option+5
regions) in Layer panel
Show alpha overlay (colored overlay on transparent regions) in Layer
Alt+6 Option+6
panel
Reset view in the Composition panel to 100% and center composition
in the panel
Zoom in in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel . (period) on
Double-click
Hand tool
main keyboard
Double-click Hand tool
. (period) on main
keyboard
Zoom out in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel , (comma) , (comma)
Zoom to 100% in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel / (on main
/ (on main keyboard)
keyboard)
Zoom to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel Shift+/ (on main
keyboard)
Zoom up to 100% to fit in Composition, Layer, or Footage panel Alt+/ (on main
keyboard)
Shift+/ (on main
keyboard)
Option+/ (on main
keyboard)
Set resolution to Full, Half, or Custom in Composition panel Ctrl+J,
Ctrl+Shift+J,
Ctrl+Alt+J
Command+J,
Command+Shift+J,
Command+Option+J
Open View Options dialog box for active Composition panel Ctrl+Alt+U Command+Option+U
Zoom in time = (equal sign)
on main
= (equal sign) on main
keyboard
keyboard
Zoom out time - (hyphen) on
main keyboard
Zoom in Timeline panel to single-frame units (Press again to zoom out
; (semicolon) ; (semicolon)
- (hyphen) on main
keyboard
to show entire composition duration.)
Zoom out in Timeline panel to show the entire composition duration
(Press again to zoom back in to the duration specified by the Time
Shift+;
(semicolon)
Shift+; (semicolon)
Navigator.)
Suspend image updates Caps Lock Caps Lock
Show or hide safe zones ' (apostrophe) ' (apostrophe)
Show or hide grid Ctrl+'
Command+' (apostrophe)
(apostrophe)
Show or hide proportional grid Alt+'
Option+' (apostrophe)
(apostrophe)
Show or hide rulers Ctrl+R Command+R
Show or hide guides Ctrl+; Command+; (semicolon)
(semicolon)
Turn snapping to grid on or off Ctrl+Shift+'
(apostrophe)
Command+Shift+'
(apostrophe)
Turn snapping to guides on or off Ctrl+Shift+;
(semicolon)
Lock or unlock guides Ctrl+Alt+Shift+;
(semicolon)
Show or hide layer controls Ctrl+Shift+H Command+Shift+H
Command+Shift+;
(semicolon)
Command+Option+Shift+;
(semicolon)
Footage (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Import one file or image sequence Ctrl+I Command+I
Import multiple files or image sequences Ctrl+Alt+I Command+Option+I
Open movie in an After Effects Footage panel Alt-double-click Option-double-click
Add selected items to most recently activated
composition
Replace selected source footage for selected
layers with footage item selected in Project panel
Ctrl+/ (on main keyboard) Command+/ (on main keyboard)
Ctrl+Alt+/ (on main keyboard) Command+Option+/ (on main
keyboard)
To the top
Replace source for a selected layer Alt-drag footage item from
Project panel onto selected
layer
Delete a footage item without a warning Ctrl+Backspace Command+Delete
Open Interpret Footage dialog box for selected
footage item
Remember footage interpretation Ctrl+Alt+C Command+Option+C
Edit selected footage item in application with
which it’s associated (Edit Original)
Replace selected footage item Ctrl+H Command+H
Reload selected footage items Ctrl+Alt+L Command+Option+L
Set proxy for selected footage item Ctrl+Alt+P Command+Option+P
Ctrl+Alt+G Command+Option+G
Ctrl+E Command+E
Option-drag footage item from
Project panel onto selected layer
Effects and animation presets (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
To the top
Delete all effects from selected layers Ctrl+Shift+E Command+Shift+E
Apply most recently applied effect to selected layers Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E Command+Option+Shift+E
Apply most recently applied animation preset to selected layers Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F Command+Option+Shift+F
Layers (keyboard shortcuts)
Note: Some operations do not affect shy layers.
Result Windows Mac OS
New solid layer Ctrl+Y Command+Y
New null layer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Y Command+Option+Shift+Y
New adjustment layer Ctrl+Alt+Y Command+Option+Y
To the top
Select layer (1-999) by its number (enter digits
rapidly for two-digit and three-digit numbers)
Toggle selection of layer (1-999) by its number
(enter digits rapidly for two- digit and three-digit
numbers)
Select next layer in stacking order Ctrl+Down Arrow Command+Down Arrow
Select previous layer in stacking order Ctrl+Up Arrow Command+Up Arrow
Extend selection to next layer in stacking order Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow Command+Shift+Down Arrow
Extend selection to previous layer in stacking order Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow Command+Shift+Up Arrow
Deselect all layers Ctrl+Shift+A Command+Shift+A
Scroll topmost selected layer to top of Timeline
panel
Show or hide Parent column Shift+F4 Shift+F4
Show or hide Layer Switches and Modes columns F4 F4
Turn off all other solo switches Alt-click solo switch Option-click solo switch
Turn Video (eyeball) switch on or off for selected
layers
0-9 on numeric keypad* 0-9 on numeric keypad*
Shift+0-9 on numeric keypad* Shift+0-9 on numeric keypad*
X X
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+V Command+Option+Shift+V
Turn off Video switch for all video layers other than
selected layers
Open settings dialog box for selected solid, light,
camera, null, or adjustment layer
Paste layers at current time Ctrl+Alt+V Command+Option+V
Split selected layers (If no layers are selected, split
all layers.)
Precompose selected layers Ctrl+Shift+C Command+Shift+C
Open Effect Controls panel for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+T Command+Shift+T
Open layer in Layer panel (opens source
composition for precomposition layer in Composition
panel)
Open source of a layer in Footage panel (opens
precomposition layer in Layer panel)
Reverse selected layers in time Ctrl+Alt+R Command+Option+R
Ctrl+Shift+V Command+Shift+V
Ctrl+Shift+Y Command+Shift+Y
Ctrl+Shift+D Command+Shift+D
Double-click a layer Double-click a layer
Alt-double-click a layer Option-double-click a layer
Enable time remapping for selected layers Ctrl+Alt+T Command+Option+T
Move In point or Out point of selected layers to
current time
Trim In point or Out point of selected layers to
current time
Add or remove expression for a property Alt-click stopwatch Option-click stopwatch
Add an effect (or multiple selected effects) to
selected layers
Set In point or Out point by time-stretching Ctrl+Shift+, (comma) or
Move In point of selected layers to beginning of
composition
Move Out point of selected layers to end of
composition
Lock selected layers Ctrl+L Command+L
Unlock all layers Ctrl+Shift+L Command+Shift+L
Set Quality to Best, Draft, or Wireframe for selected
layers
[ (left bracket) or ] (right
bracket)
Alt+[ (left bracket) or Alt+]
(right bracket)
Double-click effect selection in
Effects & Presets panel
Ctrl+Alt+, (comma)
Alt+Home Option+Home
Alt+End Option+End
Ctrl+U, Ctrl+Shift+U, or
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U
[ (left bracket) or ] (right
bracket)
Option+[ (left bracket) or
Option+] (right bracket)
Double-click effect selection in
Effects & Presets panel
Command+Shift+, (comma) or
Command+Option+, (comma)
Command+U,
Command+Shift+U,
Command+Option+Shift+U
Cycle forward or backward through blending modes
for selected layers
Find in Timeline panel Ctrl+F Command+F
Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.
Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel (keyboard shortcuts)
Note: This table contains double-letter shortcuts (for example, LL). To use these shortcuts, press the letters in quick succession.
Result Windows Mac OS
Find in Timeline panel Ctrl+F Command+F
Toggle expansion of selected layers to show all
properties
Toggle expansion of property group and all child
property groups to show all properties
Show only Anchor Point property (for lights and
cameras, Point Of Interest)
Shift+ - (hyphen) or Shift+=
(equal sign) on the main
keyboard
Ctrl+` (accent grave) Command+` (accent grave)
Ctrl-click triangle to the left of
the property group name
A A
Shift+ - (hyphen) or Shift+=
(equal sign) on the main
keyboard
Command-click triangle to the left
of the property group name
To the top
Show only Audio Levels property L L
Show only Mask Feather property F F
Show only Mask Path property M M
Show only Mask Opacity property TT TT
Show only Opacity property (for lights, Intensity) T T
Show only Position property P P
Show only Rotation and Orientation properties R R
Show only Scale property S S
Show only Time Remap property RR RR
Show only instances of missing effects FF FF
Show only Effects property group E E
Show only mask property groups MM MM
Show only Material Options property group AA AA
Show only expressions EE EE
Show only modified properties UU UU
Show only paint strokes, Roto Brush strokes,
and Puppet pins
Show only audio waveform LL LL
Show only properties with keyframes or
expressions
Show only selected properties and groups SS SS
Hide property or group Alt+Shift-click property or
Add or remove property or group from set that is
shown
Add or remove keyframe at current time Alt+property shortcut Option+property shortcut
PP PP
U U
Option+Shift-click property or
group name
Shift+property or group
shortcut
group name
Shift+property or group shortcut
Showing properties in the Effect Controls panel (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Toggle expansion of selected effects to show all
properties
Ctrl+` (accent grave) Command+` (accent grave)
To the top
Toggle expansion of property group and all child
property groups to show all properties
Ctrl-click triangle to the left of
the property group name
Command-click triangle to the left
of the property group name
Modifying layer properties (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Modify property value by default increments Drag property value Drag property value
Modify property value by 10x default increments Shift -drag property value Shift-drag property value
Modify property value by 1/10 default increments Ctrl-drag property value Command-drag property value
Open Auto-Orientation dialog box for selected Ctrl+Alt+O Command+Alt+O
To the top
layers
Scale and reposition selected layers to fit Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H Command+Option+Shift+H
Open Opacity dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+O Command+Shift+O
Open Rotation dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+R Command+Shift+R
Open Position dialog box for selected layers Ctrl+Shift+P Command+Shift+P
Center selected layers in view (modifies Position
Ctrl+Home Command+Home
property to place anchor points of selected layers
in center of current view)
Move selected layers 1 pixel at current
arrow key arrow key
magnification (Position)
Move selected layers 10 pixels at current
Shift+arrow key Shift+arrow key
magnification (Position)
Move selected layers 1 frame earlier or later Alt+Page Up or Alt+Page
Down
Move selected layers 10 frames earlier or later Alt+Shift+Page Up or
Alt+Shift+Page Down
Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of
selected layers by 1°
Increase or decrease Rotation (Z Rotation) of
selected layers by 10°
Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light
layers) of selected layers by 1%
+ (plus) or - (minus) on
numeric keypad
Shift++ (plus) or Shift+-
(minus) on numeric keypad
Ctrl+Alt++ (plus) or
Ctrl+Alt+- (minus) on
numeric keypad
Increase or decrease Opacity (or Intensity for light
layers) of selected layers by 10%
Ctrl+Alt+Shift++ (plus) or
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+- (minus) on
numeric keypad
Option+Page Up or Option+Page
Down
Option+Shift+Page Up or
Option+Shift+Page Down
+ (plus) or - (minus) on numeric
keypad
Shift++ (plus) or Shift+- (minus)
on numeric keypad
Control+Option++ (plus) or
Control+Option+- (minus) on
numeric keypad
Control+Option+Shift++ (plus) or
Control+Option+Shift+- (minus) on
numeric keypad
Increase Scale of selected layers by 1% Ctrl++ (plus) or Alt++ (plus)
on numeric keypad
Decrease Scale of selected layers by 1% Ctrl+- (minus) or Alt+-
(minus) on numeric keypad
Increase Scale of selected layers by 10% Ctrl+Shift++ (plus) or
Alt+Shift++ (plus) on
numeric keypad
Decrease Scale of selected layers by 10% Ctrl+Shift+- (minus) or
Alt+Shift+- (minus) on
numeric keypad
Modify Rotation or Orientation in 45° increments Shift-drag with Rotation
Command++ (plus) or Option++
(plus) on numeric keypad
Command+- (minus) or Option+(minus) on numeric keypad
Command+Shift++ (plus) or
Option+Shift++ (plus) on numeric
keypad
Command+Shift+- (minus) or
Option+Shift+- (minus) on numeric
keypad
Shift-drag with Rotation tool
tool
Modify Scale, constrained to footage frame aspect
ratio
Shift-drag layer handle
with Selection tool
Shift-drag layer handle with
Selection tool
Reset Rotation to 0° Double-click Rotation tool Double-click Rotation tool
Reset Scale to 100% Double-click Selection tool Double-click Selection tool
Scale and reposition selected layers to fit
Ctrl+Alt+F Command+Option+F
composition
composition width, preserving image aspect ratio
for each layer
Scale and reposition selected layers to fit
composition height, preserving image aspect ratio
for each layer
3D layers (keyboard shortcuts)
Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9 -F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for
instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.
Result Windows Mac OS
Switch to 3D view 1 (defaults to Front) F10 F10
Switch to 3D view 2 (defaults to Custom View 2) F11 F11
Switch to 3D view 3 (defaults to Active Camera) F12 F12
Return to previous view Esc Esc
New light Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L Command+Option+Shift+L
New camera Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C Command+Option+Shift+C
Move the camera and its point of interest to look at selected 3D layers Ctrl+Alt+Shift+\ Command+Option+Shift+\
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G Command+Option+Shift+G
To the top
With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest
to look at selected 3D layers
With a camera tool selected, move the camera and its point of interest
to look at all 3D layers
Turn Casts Shadows property on or off for selected 3D layers Alt+Shift+C Option+Shift+C
Keyframes and the Graph Editor (keyboard shortcuts)
Note: (Mac OS) Shortcuts involving function keys F9 -F12 may conflict with shortcuts used by the operating system. See Mac OS Help for
instructions to reassign Dashboard & Expose shortcuts.
Result Windows Mac OS
Toggle between Graph Editor and layer bar modes Shift+F3 Shift+F3
Select all keyframes for a property Click property
Select all visible keyframes and properties Ctrl+Alt+A Command+Option+A
Deselect all keyframes, properties, and property groups Shift+F2 or
F F
Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F
Click property name
name
Shift+F2 or
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A
Command+Option+Shift+A
To the top
Move keyframe 1 frame later or earlier Alt+Right Arrow or
Alt+Left Arrow
Move keyframe 10 frames later or earlier Alt+Shift+Right
Arrow or
Alt+Shift+Left Arrow
Set interpolation for selected keyframes (layer bar mode) Ctrl+Alt+K Command+Option+K
Option+Right Arrow or
Option+Left Arrow
Option+Shift+Right Arrow
or Option+Shift+Left Arrow
Set keyframe interpolation method to hold or Auto Bezier Ctrl+Alt+H Command+Option+H
Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or Auto Bezier Ctrl-click in layer
bar mode
Set keyframe interpolation method to linear or hold Ctrl+Alt-click in
layer bar mode
Easy ease selected keyframes F9 F9
Easy ease selected keyframes in Shift+F9 Shift+F9
Easy ease selected keyframes out Ctrl+Shift+F9 Command+Shift+F9
Set velocity for selected keyframes Ctrl+Shift+K Command+Shift+K
Add or remove keyframe at current time (For property shortcuts,
see Showing properties and groups in the Timeline panel
(keyboard shortcuts).)
Alt+property
shortcut
Command-click in layer
bar mode
Command+Option-click in
layer bar mode
Option+property shortcut
Text (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
New text layer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T Command+Option+Shift+T
To the top
Align selected horizontal text left,
center, or right
Align selected vertical text top,
center, or bottom
Extend or reduce selection by one
character to right or left in horizontal
text
Extend or reduce selection by one
word to right or left in horizontal text
Extend or reduce selection by one
line up or down in horizontal text
Extend or reduce selection by one
line to right or left in vertical text
Extend or reduce selection one word
up or down in vertical text
Extend or reduce selection by one
character up or down in vertical text
Select text from insertion point to
beginning or end of line
Ctrl+Shift+L, Ctrl+Shift+C, or
Ctrl+Shift+R
Ctrl+Shift+L, Ctrl+Shift+C, or
Ctrl+Shift+R
Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left
Arrow
Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow or
Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow
Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down
Arrow
Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left
Arrow
Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow or
Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow
Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down
Arrow
Shift+Home or Shift+End Shift+Home or Shift+End
Command+Shift+L, Command+Shift+C, or
Command+Shift+R
Command+Shift+L, Command+Shift+C, or
Command+Shift+R
Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow
Command+Shift+Right Arrow or
Command+Shift+Left Arrow
Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow
Shift+Right Arrow or Shift+Left Arrow
Command+Shift+Up Arrow or
Command+Shift+Down Arrow
Shift+Up Arrow or Shift+Down Arrow
Move insertion point to beginning or
end of line
Select all text on a layer Double-click text layer Double-click text layer
Select text from insertion point to
beginning or end of text frame
Home or End Home or End
Ctrl+Shift+Home or
Ctrl+Shift+End
Command+Shift+Home or
Command+Shift+End
Select text from insertion point to
mouse click point
Shift-click Shift-click
Decrease or increase kerning or Alt+Left Arrow or Alt+Right Arrow Option+Left Arrow or Option+Right Arrow
In horizontal text, move insertion
point one character left or right; one
line up or down; one word left or
right; or one paragraph up or down
In vertical text, move insertion point
one character up or down; one left or
right; one word up or down; or one
paragraph left or right
Select word, line, paragraph, or
entire text frame
Turn All Caps on or off for selected
text
Turn Small Caps on or off for
selected text
Turn Superscript on or off for
selected text
Turn Subscript on or off for selected
text
Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Up
Arrow or Down Arrow; Ctrl+Left
Arrow or Ctrl+Right Arrow; or
Ctrl+Up Arrow or Ctrl+Down
Arrow
Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Left
Arrow or Right Arrow; Ctrl+Up
Arrow or Ctrl+Down Arrow; or
Ctrl+Left Arrow or Ctrl+Right
Arrow
Double-click, triple-click,
quadruple-click, or quintuple -click
with Type tool
Ctrl+Shift+K Command+Shift+K
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K Command+Option+Shift+K
Ctrl+Shift+= (equals) Command+Shift+= (equals)
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+= (equals) Command+Option+Shift+= (equals)
Left Arrow or Right Arrow; Up Arrow or
Down Arrow; Command+Left Arrow or
Command+Right Arrow; or Command+Up
Arrow or Command+Down Arrow
Up Arrow or Down Arrow; Left Arrow or
Right Arrow; Command+Up Arrow or
Command+Down Arrow; or
Command+Left Arrow or Command+Right
Arrow
Double-click, triple-click, quadruple-click,
or quintuple-click with Type tool
Set horizontal scale to 100% for
Ctrl+Shift+X Command+Shift+X
selected text
Set vertical scale to 100% for
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+X Command+Option+Shift+X
selected text
Auto leading for selected text Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A Command+Option+Shift+A
Reset tracking to 0 for selected text Ctrl+Shift+Q Command+Shift+Control+Q
Justify paragraph; left align last line Ctrl+Shift+J Command+Shift+J
Justify paragraph; right align last line Ctrl+Alt+Shift+J Command+Option+Shift+J
Justify paragraph; force last line Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F
Decrease or increase font size of
selected text by 2 units
Decrease or increase font size of
selected text by 10 units
Increase or decrease leading by 2
Ctrl+Shift+, (comma) or
Ctrl+Shift+. (period)
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+, (comma) or
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+. (period)
Command+Shift+, (comma) or
Command+Shift+. (period)
Command+Option+Shift+, (comma) or
Command+Option+Shift+. (period)
Alt+Down Arrow or Alt+Up Arrow Option+Down Arrow or Option+Up Arrow
units
Increase or decrease leading by 10
units
Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow or
Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow
Command+Option+Down Arrow or
Command+Option+Up Arrow
Decrease or increase baseline shift
by 2 units
Decrease or increase baseline shift
by 10 units
Alt+Shift+Down Arrow or
Alt+Shift+Up Arrow
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Down Arrow or
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Up Arrow
Option+Shift+Down Arrow or
Option+Shift+Up Arrow
Command+Option+Shift+Down Arrow or
Command+Option+Shift+Up Arrow
tracking 20 units (20/1000 ems)
Decrease or increase kerning or
tracking 100 units (100/1000 ems)
Toggle paragraph composer Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T Command+Option+Shift+T
Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow or
Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow
Command+Option+Left Arrow or
Command+Option+Right Arrow
Masks (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
New mask Ctrl+Shift+N Command+Shift+N
Select all points in a mask Alt-click mask Option- click mask
Select next or previous
mask
Enter free-transform mask
editing mode
Exit free-transform mask
editing mode
Scale around center point
in Free Transform mode
Alt+` (accent grave) or Alt+Shift+`
(accent grave)
Double-click mask with Selection tool or
select mask in Timeline panel and press
Ctrl+T
Esc Esc
Ctrl-drag Command-drag
Option+` (accent grave) or Option+Shift+`
(accent grave)
Double-click mask with Selection tool or
select mask in Timeline panel and press
Command+T
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Move selected path points
1 pixel at current
magnification
Move selected path points
10 pixels at current
magnification
Toggle between smooth
and corner points
Redraw Bezier handles Ctrl+Alt-drag vertex Command+Option -drag vertex
Invert selected mask Ctrl+Shift+I Command+Shift+I
Open Mask Feather dialog
box for selected mask
Open Mask Shape dialog
box for selected mask
arrow key arrow key
Shift+arrow key Shift+arrow key
Ctrl+Alt-click vertex Command+Option-click vertex
Ctrl+Shift+F Command+Shift+F
Ctrl+Shift+M Command+Shift+M
Paint tools (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
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Swap paint background color and foreground colors X X
Set paint foreground color to black and background
color to white
Set foreground color to the color currently under any
paint tool pointer
D D
Alt-click Option-click
Set foreground color to the average color of a 4-pixel x
4-pixel area under any paint tool pointer
Set brush size for a paint tool Ctrl-drag Command-drag
Ctrl+Alt-click Command+Option-click
Set brush hardness for a paint tool Ctrl-drag, then release
Ctrl while dragging
Join current paint stroke to the previous stroke Hold Shift while
beginning stroke
Set starting sample point to point currently under Clone
Stamp tool pointer
Momentarily activate Eraser tool with Last Stroke Only
option
Show and move overlay (change Offset value of
aligned Clone Stamp tool or change Source Position
value of unaligned Clone Stamp tool)
Activate a specific Clone Stamp tool preset 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 on the
Duplicate a Clone Stamp tool preset in Paint panel Alt-click the button for
Set opacity for a paint tool Digit on numeric keypad
Set opacity for a paint tool to 100% . (decimal) on numeric
Alt-click Option-click
Ctrl+Shift Command+Shift
Alt+Shift-drag with Clone
Stamp tool
main keyboard
the preset
(for example, 9=90%,
1=10%)*
keypad*
Command-drag, then release
Command while dragging
Hold Shift while beginning
stroke
Option+Shift-drag with Clone
Stamp tool
3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 on the main
keyboard
Option-click the button for the
preset
Digit on numeric keypad (for
example, 9=90%, 1=10%)*
. (decimal) on numeric keypad*
Set flow for a paint tool Shift+a digit on numeric
keypad (for example,
9=90%, 1=10%)*
Set flow for a paint tool to 100% Shift+. (decimal) on
numeric keypad*
Move earlier or later by number of frames specified for
stroke Duration
Note: Some shortcuts are marked with an asterisk (*) to remind you to make sure that Num Lock is on when you use the numeric keypad.
Ctrl+Page Up or
Ctrl+Page Down (or 1 or
2 on the main keyboard)
Shape layers (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Group selected shapes Ctrl+G Command+G
Ungroup selected shapes Ctrl+Shift+G Command+Shift+G
Enter free-transform path editing mode Select Path property in
Timeline panel and press
Ctrl+T
Shift+a digit on numeric keypad
(for example, 9=90%, 1=10%)*
Shift+. (decimal) on numeric
keypad*
Command+Page Up or
Command+Page Down (or 1 or
2 on the main keyboard)
To the top
Select Path property in
Timeline panel and press
Command+T
Increase star inner roundness Page Up when dragging to
create shape
Decrease star inner roundness Page Down when dragging Page Down when dragging to
Page Up when dragging to
create shape
to create shape create shape
Increase number of points for star or polygon;
increase roundness for rounded rectangle
Up Arrow when dragging to
create shape
Up Arrow when dragging to
create shape
Decrease number of points for star or polygon;
decrease roundness for rounded rectangle
Reposition shape during creation Hold spacebar when
Set rounded rectangle roundness to 0 (sharp
corners); decrease polygon and star outer roundness
Set rounded rectangle roundness to maximum;
increase polygon and star outer roundness
Constrain rectangles to squares; constrain ellipses to
circles; constrain polygons and stars to zero rotation
Change outer radius of star Ctrl when dragging to
Down Arrow when dragging
to create shape
dragging to create shape
Left Arrow when dragging
to create shape
Right Arrow when dragging
to create shape
Shift when dragging to
create shape
create shape
Markers (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Set marker at current time (works during RAM
preview and audio-only preview)
* (multiply) on
numeric keypad
* (multiply) on numeric keypad or Control+8
on main keyboard
Down Arrow when dragging to
create shape
Hold spacebar when dragging
to create shape
Left Arrow when dragging to
create shape
Right Arrow when dragging to
create shape
Shift when dragging to create
shape
Command when dragging to
create shape
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Set marker at current time and open marker
dialog box
Set and number a composition marker (0-9) at
the current time
Go to a composition marker (0-9) 0-9 on main
Display the duration between two layer
markers or keyframes in the Info panel
Remove marker Ctrl-click marker Command-click marker
Alt+* (multiply) on
numeric keypad
Shift+0-9 on main
keyboard
keyboard
Alt-click the
markers or
keyframes
Option+* (multiply) on numeric keypad or
Control+Option+8 on main keyboard
Shift+0-9 on main keyboard
0-9 on main keyboard
Option-click the markers or keyframes
Motion tracking (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Move feature region, search region, and attach point 1 pixel at current
magnification
Move feature region, search region, and attach point 10 pixels at current
magnification
arrow key arrow key
Shift+arrow key Shift+arrow key
To the top
Move feature region and search region 1 pixel at current magnification Alt+arrow key Option+arrow key
Move feature region and search region 10 pixels at current magnification Alt+Shift+arrow
key
Option+Shift+arrow
key
Saving, exporting, and rendering (keyboard shortcuts)
Result Windows Mac OS
Save project Ctrl+S Command+S
Increment and save project Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S Command+Option+Shift+S
Save As Ctrl+Shift+S Command+Shift+S
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Add active composition or selected items to render queue
Add active composition or selected items to render queue (After
Effects CS6, and earlier.)
Add current frame to render queue Ctrl+Alt+S Command+Option+S
Duplicate render item with same output filename as original Ctrl+Shift+D Command+Shift+D
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Ctrl+Shift+/ (on main
keyboard)
Ctrl+M
Command+Shift+/ (on
main keyboard)
Ctrl+Command+M
Modify keyboard shortcuts
To modify keyboard shortcuts, use the KeyEd Up script from Jeff Almasol, which is available on the Adobe After Effects Exchange website.
Sebastien Perier provides instructions on his website for assigning keyboard shortcuts to scripts so that you can run a script with a single
keystroke. This technique relies on the KeyEd Up script.
For information on remapping keyboard shortcuts for keyboard layouts other than the standard US English layout, see Jonas Hummelstrand’s
website.
For a reference of keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts reference.
Note: On Mac OS, some keyboard commands for interacting with the operating system conflict with keyboard commands for interacting with After
Effects. Select Use System Shortcut Keys in the General preferences to override the After Effects keyboard command in some cases in which
there’s a conflict with the Mac OS keyboard command.
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Preferences
General preferences
Previews preferences (CS5.5, and earlier)
Previews preferences (CS6)
Display preferences
Import preferences
Output preferences
Grids & Guides preferences
Labels preferences
Media & Disk Cache preferences
Video Preview preferences
Appearance preferences
Auto-Save preferences
Memory & Multiprocessing preferences
Audio Hardware and Audio Output Mapping preferences
To open the Preferences dialog box, choose Edit > Preferences > [category name] (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences >
[category name] (Mac OS).
To open the Preferences dialog box to the General category, press Ctrl+Alt+; (semicolon) (Windows) or Command+Option+;
(Mac OS).
To restore default preference settings, hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (Mac OS) while the application
is starting. To also restore default keyboard shortcuts, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the OK button.
Preferences, including keyboard shortcuts and workspaces, are stored in files in the following locations:
(Mac OS) <drive>/Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/Adobe/After Effects/10.0
(Windows) <drive>\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\After Effects\10.0
In After Effects CS6, preferences can be revealed without searching your hard drive for them. To reveal preferences, choose Edit > Preferences >
General (Windows), or After Effects > Preferences > Genereal (Mac OS) and do one of the following:
Click the Reveal Preferences in Explorer button (Windows).
Click the Reveal Preferences in Finder button (Mac OS).
Clicking the button opens the folder containing the After Effects preference files.
Note: You shouldn’t need to modify the files in this directory manually. In general, modify preferences in the Preferences dialog box. For
information on modifying keyboard shortcuts, see Modify keyboard shortcuts. For information on managing workspaces, see Workspaces and
panels.
This section provides links to pages in which the various preferences that aren’t self-explanatory are explained in context.
General preferences
Levels Of Undo: Undo changes
Path Point Size: Specifies size of Bezier direction handles and vertices for masks and shapes, direction handles for motion
paths, and other similar controls.
Show Tool Tips: After Effects user interface tips
Create Layers At Composition Start Time: Layers overview
Switches Affect Nested Comps: About precomposing and nesting
Default Spatial Interpolation To Linear: About spatial and temporal keyframe interpolation
Preserve Constant Vertex Count When Editing Masks: Designate the first vertex for a Bezier path
Note: Preserve Constant Vertex Count when Editing Masks has been renamed to “Preserve Constant Vertex and Feather
Count when Editing Masks” in After Effects CS6.
Pen Tool Shortcut Toggles Between Pen and Mask Feather Tools (After Effects CS6): Variable-width mask feather (CS6)
Synchronize Time Of All Related Items: Preferences and composition settings that affect nested compositions
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Expression Pick Whip Writes Compact English: Edit an expression with the pick whip
Create Split Layers Above Original Layer: Split a layer
Allow Scripts To Write Files And Access Network: Loading and running scripts
Enable JavaScript Debugger: After Effects scripting guide at the Adobe After Effects Developer Center on the Adobe website
Use System Color Picker: Choose a color picker
Create New Layers At Best Quality: Layer image quality and subpixel positioning
Use System Shortcut Keys (Mac OS only): Keyboard shortcuts
Dynamic Link with After Effects Uses Project File Name with Highest Number (After Effects CS6): About Dynamic Link
Previews preferences (CS5.5, and earlier)
Adaptive Resolution Limit: Preview modes and Fast Previews preferences
Enable OpenGL and Accelerate Effects Using OpenGL (When Possible): Render with OpenGL
Enable Adaptive Resolution With OpenGL: Preview modes and Fast Previews preferences
Viewer Quality (Zoom Quality and Color Management Quality): Viewer Quality preferences
Audio Preview Duration: Preview video and audio
Previews preferences (CS6)
Adaptive Resolution Limit: Preview modes and Fast Previews preferences
Also, see Fast Previews (CS6).
The OpenGL Information button and dialog box has been replaced with a GPU Information dialog box in After Effects CS6.
The dialog box is available for checking on texture memory for your GPU, and to set the ray-tracing preference to the GPU, if
it is available. The OptiX version number is available, as well as, Copy button to copy the general information at the top of the
dialog box to the system clipboard.
Viewer Quality (Zoom Quality and Color Management Quality): Viewer Quality preferences
Audio Preview Duration: Preview video and audio
Display preferences
Motion Path: Motion paths
Disable Thumbnails In Project Panel: Composition thumbnail images
Show Rendering Progress In Info Panel And Flowchart: Preview video and audio
Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, And Footage Panels: Improve performance
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Import preferences
Still Footage: Create layers from footage items or change layer source
Sequence Footage: Import a single still image or a still-image sequence
Interpret Unlabeled Alpha As: Alpha channel interpretation: premultiplied or straight
Drag Import Multiple Items As: Import footage items by dragging
Adobe After Effects CS5.5 and later contains a dropdown menu to choose drop-frame or non-drop-frame timecode for
Indeterminate Media NTSC, which applies to imports like still image sequences in which timecode values are not present or
are unknown.
Output preferences
Segment Sequences At, Segment Movie Files At, and Audio Block Duration: Segment settings
Use Default File Name And Folder: Name output files automatically
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Grids & Guides preferences
Safe zones, grids, guides, and rulers
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Labels preferences
Color labels for layers, compositions, and footage items
Media & Disk Cache preferences
Enable Disk Cache and Maximum Disk Cache Size: Caches: RAM cache, disk cache, and media cache
Conformed Media Cache and Clean Database & Cache: Media cache
Create Layer Markers From Footage XMP Metadata and Write XMP IDs To Files On Import: XMP metadata in After Effects
Video Preview preferences
Preview on an external video monitor
Appearance preferences
Use Label Color For Layer Handles And Paths and Use Label Color For Related Tabs: Color labels for layers, compositions,
and footage items
Cycle Mask Colors: Cycle through colors for mask paths
Use Gradients: Use gradients in user interface.
Brightness: Brightens or darkens user interface (UI) colors.
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Auto-Save preferences
Save and back up projects in After Effects CS5
Memory & Multiprocessing preferences
Memory & Multiprocessing preferences
Audio Hardware and Audio Output Mapping preferences
Preview video and audio
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Projects and compositions
Projects
About projects
Create and open projects
Save and back up projects
Template projects and example projects
Flowchart panel
About projects
An After Effects project is a single file that stores compositions and references to all of the source files used by footage items in that project.
Compositions are collections of layers. Many layers use footage items (such as movies or still images) as a source, though some layers—such as
shape layers and text layers—contain graphics that you create within After Effects.
A project file has the filename extension .aep or .aepx. A project file with the .aep filename extension is a binary project file. A project file with the
.aepx filename extension is a text-based XML project file.
The name of the current project appears at the top of the application window.
A template project file has the filename extension .aet. (See Template projects and example projects.)
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XML project files
Text-based XML project files contain some project information as hexadecimal -encoded binary data, but much of the information is exposed as
human-readable text in string elements. You can open an XML project file in a text editor and edit some details of the project without opening the
project in After Effects. You can even write scripts that modify project information in XML project files as part of an automated workflow.
For a video tutorial about the XML project file format, go to the Adobe website.
Elements of a project that you can modify in an XML project file:
Marker attributes, including comments, chapter point parameters, and cue point parameters
File paths of source footage items, including proxies
Composition, footage item, layer, and folder names and comments
Note: Footage item names are exposed in string elements in XML project files only if the names have been customized.
Footage item names derived automatically from the names of source files and solid color names are not exposed in string
elements
Some strings, such as workspace and view names, are exposed as human-readable strings, but modifications made to these strings are not
respected when After Effects opens the project file.
Important: Do not use the XML project file format as your primary file format. The primary project file format for After Effects is the binary project
file (.aep) format. Use the XML project file format to save a copy of a project and as an intermediate format for automation workflows.
To save an XML project (.aepx) file as a binary project (.aep) file, choose File > Save As and enter a file name ending with .aep, without the x.
(See Save and back up projects in After Effects CS5.)
Project links embedded in QuickTime, Video for Windows, FLV, and F4V files
When you render a movie and export it to a container format, you can embed a link to the After Effects project in the container file. Container
formats include FLV, F4V, QuickTime (MOV), and Video for Windows (AVI).
To import the project, import the container file, and choose Project from the Import As menu in the Import File dialog box. If the container file
contains a link to a project that has been moved, you can browse to locate the project.
Note: After Effects CS5 can open projects using project links included in movies rendered and exported by After Effects CS4 and later.
Create and open projects
Only one project can be open at a time. If you create or open another project file while a project is open, After Effects prompts you to save
changes in the open project, and then closes it. After you create a project, you can import footage into the project.
Note: After Effects CS5 can open and import After Effects projects created by After Effects 6.0 and later.
Note: After Effects CS6 can open After Effects CS (7.0) projects or newer. After Effects 6.5 projects and older will not open in After Effects CS6.
To create a project, choose File > New > New Project.
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To open a project, choose File > Open Project, locate the project, and then click Open.
Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that creates and saves a new project for each selected composition in the current project.
Lloyd Alvarez provides a script on his After Effects Scripts website that gives you the ability to specify a project or template project that After
Effects opens each time that After Effects starts.
Save and back up projects
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Save and back up projects in After Effects CS5
To save a project, choose File > Save.
To save a copy of the project with a new automatically generated name, choose File > Increment And Save, or press
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift+S (Mac OS).
A copy of the current project is saved in the same folder as the original project. The name of the copy is the name of the
original followed by a number. If the name of the original ends with a number, that number is increased by 1.
To save the project with a different name or to a different location, choose File > Save As.
The open project takes the new name and location; the original file remains unchanged.
To save the project as a copy in the XML project file format, choose File > Save A Copy As XML. (See About projects.)
To save a copy of the project with a different name or to a different location, choose File > Save A Copy.
The open project retains its original name and location, and a copy is created with the new settings but is not opened.
To automatically save copies of projects at regular intervals, choose Edit > Preferences > Auto-Save (Windows) or After
Effects > Preferences > Auto-Save (Mac OS), and select Automatically Save Projects.
Auto-saved files are saved in the After Effects Auto- Save folder, which is located in the same folder as the original project file.
Auto-saved filenames are based on the project name: After Effects adds “auto-save n” (where n is the number of the file in the
auto-save series) to the end of the filename. Maximum Project Versions specifies how many versions of each project file you
want to save. When the number of versions saved reaches the maximum you specify, the Auto-Save feature overwrites them
starting with the oldest file.
To save a copy of the project and copies of assets used in the project to a single folder on disk, use the Collect Files
command. (See Collect files in one location.)
An After Effects CS5 project cannot be saved for use in After Effects CS4 or earlier.
Note: After Effects will only execute an auto-save when there are unsaved changes in the currently open project. This also applies when the
program is in the background or minimized. The potential consequence is leaving open with unsaved changes for a long enough period of time
that eventually all of the auto -save versions will be identical. For example, when auto -save is set to save every 10 minutes and to keep 10
versions, after 1 hour and 40 minutes all auto-saves will be identically overwritten.
Save and back up projects in After Effects CS5.5 and After Effects CS6
Saving and backing up projects in After Effects CS5.5 or After Effects CS6 is similar to previous versions, however, there are new ways to to do
so. For example, you can now save a project in the XML project file format, or as a previous project format.
To save the project with a different name or to a different location, choose File > Save As > Save As.
To save the project as a copy in the XML project file format, choose File > Save As > Save A Copy As XML.
To save a copy of the project with a different name or to a different location, choose File > Save As > Save A Copy.
In After Effects CS5.5, to save a project that can be opened in After Effects CS5, choose File > Save As > Save A Copy As
CS5.
In After Effects CS6, to save a project that can be opened in After Effects CS5.5, choose File > Save As > Save A Copy As
CS5.5.
For details, tutorials, and resources about saving a project from After Effects CS5.5 as a copy that can be opened in After Effects CS5, see this
post on the After Effects Region of interest blog.
Note: New features from After Effects CS5.5 that are used in a project will be ignored after the project is saved as an After Effects CS5 project.
For example, the 3D Glasses effect has new parameters in After Effects CS5.5. If you used the 3D Glasses effect in an After Effects CS5.5 project,
the parameters from the newer effect would not carry over to the project when saved to disk. Likewise, new features from After Effects CS6 that
are used in a project are ignored after the project is saved as an After Effects CS5.5 project.
Template projects and example projects
A template project is a file with the filename extension .aet. You can use the many template projects included with After Effects—including DVD
menu templates—as the basis for your own projects, and you can create new templates base on your projects
Note: After Effects CS6 doesn’t install template projects, however, you can download the same template projects that came with previous
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versions of After Effects on the After Effects Exchange. For more information, see this post on the After Effects team blog.
When you open a template project, After Effects creates a new, untitled project based on the template. Saving changes to this new project does
not affect the template project.
A great way to see how advanced users use After Effects is to open one of the template projects included with After Effects, open a
composition to activate it, and press U or UU to reveal only the animated or modified layer properties. Viewing the animated and modified
properties shows you what changes the designer of the template project made to create the template.
Often, the creator of a template project locks layers that should be left unmodified, and leaves layers that should be modified unlocked. This is a
convenient way to prevent accidental or inappropriate modifications.
You can download example projects and template projects from many websites, including the After Effects Exchange on the Adobe website. For
more sources of After Effects example projects and template projects, see After Effects community resources on the Adobe website.
See this video tutorial by Andrew Devis on the Creative Cow website for information about where to find template projects and sample
expressions included with After Effects.
Open a template project
To browse and open template projects using Adobe Bridge, choose File > Browse Template Projects. Double-click a template
project to open it.
Note: In After Effects CS6, the File > Browse Template Projects command has been removed.
To open a template project, choose File > Open Project. On Windows, choose Adobe After Effects Project Template from the
Files Of Type menu.
Create a template project
To convert a project to a template project, change the filename extension from .aep to .aet.
To save a copy of a project as a template project, choose File > Save A Copy, and then rename the copy with the filename
extension .aet.
Flowchart panel
In the flowchart for each project or composition, individual boxes (or tiles) represent each composition, footage item, and layer. Directional arrows
represent the relationships between components.
Note: The Flowchart panel shows you only the existing relationships. You cannot use it to change relationships between elements.
Nested compositions and other elements that make up the composition appear when you expand a composition tile.
Mid-gray lines between tiles in the flowchart indicate that the Video or Audio switch for those items is deselected in the Timeline panel. Black or
light gray lines indicate that the switch is selected, depending on the Brightness setting in the Appearance preferences.
To open the project flowchart, press Ctrl+F11 (Windows) or Command+F11 (Mac OS), or click the Project Flowchart button
at the top of the vertical scroll bar on the right edge of the Project panel.
To open a composition flowchart, select the composition and choose Composition > Composition Flowchart, or click the
Composition Flowchart
To activate (select) an item, click its tile in the Flowchart panel.
When you click a composition in the flowchart, it becomes active in the Project panel and the Timeline panel. When you click a
layer, it becomes active in the Timeline panel. When you click a footage item, it becomes active in the Project panel.
To customize the appearance of the flowchart, use the Flowchart panel menu and the buttons along the bottom of the panel.
For tool tips identifying the buttons in the Flowchart panel, let your pointer hover over a button until the tool tip appears.
To delete elements, select them and press Delete. If the selected element is a footage item or composition, it is deleted from
the project and no longer appears in the Timeline and Project panels. If the selected element is a layer, it is deleted from the
composition in which it appears.
To access the context menu for a selected element, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the icon to the left of the
name in the element tile. The icons have various appearances, depending on the element type, such as layers
compositions . For example, you can use the context menu for a layer to work with masks and effects, or to change
switches, apply transformations, and adjust layer image quality.
Note: When you change element properties in the Flowchart panel, be careful to context-click the icon in the tile, not the
name of the element. The context menu associated with the element icon is different from the one that opens from the element
name.
Rich Young provides additional information about the Flowchart panel and the Composition Mini-flowchart on the After Effects Portal website.
More Help topics
button at the bottom of the Composition panel.
and
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Timecode and time display units
Change time- display units in After Effects CS5
Change time- display units in After Effects CS5.5 and later
Options for time-display units in After Effects CS5
Options for time-display units in After Effects CS5.5 and later
Source timecode (CS5.5 and later)
Online resources about timecode
Many quantities in After Effects are either points in time or spans of time, including the current time, layer In and Out points, and durations of
layers, footage items, and compositions.
By default, After Effects displays time in Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) timecode: hours, minutes, seconds, and
frames. You can change to another system of time display, such as frames, or feet and frames of 16mm or 35mm film.
You may want to see time values in feet plus frames format, for example, if you are preparing a movie for eventual output to film; or in simple
frame numbers if you plan to use your movie in an animation program such as Flash. The format you choose applies to the current project only.
Important: Changing the time display format does not alter the frame rate of your assets or output—it changes only how frames are numbered
for display in After Effects.
Video-editing workstations often use SMPTE timecode that is recorded onto videotape for reference. If you are creating video that will be
synchronized with video that uses SMPTE timecode, use the default timecode display style.
In After Effects CS5.5 and later, timecode from source files can be displayed from a variety of file formats. Source timecode is found in several
areas of the interface including the Project panel, Project Settings dialog box, Composition Settings dialog box and Preferences dialog box. See
Source timecode (CS5.5 and later) for more information.
For details, tutorials, and resources about source timecode and Timecode effect changes in After Effects CS5.5, see this post on the After Effects
Region of Interest blog.
Change time-display units in After Effects CS5
To cycle through Timecode Base, Frames, and Feet + Frames, Ctrl -click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the currenttime display. The current- time display is in the upper-left corner of the Timeline panel and at the bottom of the Layer,
Composition, and Footage panels. (See Timeline panel.)
To change time display units, choose File > Project Settings, and choose from the options in the Display Style section.
Change time-display units in After Effects CS5.5 and later
To cycle through Timecode Base, or Frames / Feet + Frames (depending if you have the “Use Feet + Frames” option checked
in the Project Settings), Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the current-time display. The current-time display is
in the upper- left corner of the Timeline panel and at the bottom of the Layer, Composition, and Footage panels. (See Timeline
panel.) The option that is not selected in Project Settings will be displayed as smaller text underneath.
To change time display units, choose File > Project Settings, and choose from the options in the Time Display Style section.
Options for time-display units in After Effects CS5
Timecode Base Displays time as timecode, using the frame rate that you specify as the timecode base. Auto uses the rounded frame rate of the
footage item or composition. If an item doesn’t have timecode (such as an audio file), After Effects uses a default value (30 fps for English,
Japanese, and Korean versions of After Effects, or 25 fps for French, German, Spanish, and Italian versions) or the last non-auto value you
specified in the Project Settings dialog box. You can also specify that After Effects use a specific frame rate.
Note: You can specify specific frame rates for display in the Timecode Base menu; however, in most cases, you should leave the timecode base
set to Auto.
Drop Frame versus Non-Drop Frame Two of the more commonly used combinations of time display settings are 30 fps drop-frame timecode
and 30 fps non-drop-frame timecode. When the frame rate is a non-integer number—as is the case with the NTSC frame rate of 29.97 frames per
second—a compromise of one sort or another must be made in displaying time. Either the time display can accurately show clock time (after one
hour, the time display shows 1:00:00:00) or the time display can be continuously numbered (frame n is always followed by frame n + 1, modulo the
number of frames per second). Drop-frame timecode does the former; non-drop -frame timecode does the latter. In the case of NTSC 30 fps dropframe timecode, two frame numbers are skipped for each minute, except for every tenth minute. Drop-frame timecode is conventionally indicated
by separating the time units with semicolons. The most common case for which drop-frame versus non-drop-frame timecode is relevant is 29.97
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fps NTSC, but it also applies to 23.976 fps (which After Effects treats as non-drop-frame timecode) and 59.94 fps.
Timecode for 59.94 fps compositions and footage items matches that in Premiere Pro: When the timecode base is 30 fps, each timecode value
repeats twice. When the timecode base is 60 fps drop-frame, frame numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3 are dropped in the same places as where 0 and 1 are
dropped for drop-frame timecode with a timecode base of 30 fps.
Frames Displays frame number instead of time. Use this setting for convenience when doing work that you are integrating with a frame -based
application or format, like Flash or SWF.
Feet + Frames Displays number of feet of film, plus frames for fractional feet, for 16mm or 35mm film. Numbering starts at the frame number that
you specify with the Start Numbering Frames At value.
Options for time-display units in After Effects CS5.5 and later
Timecode Displays time as timecode in the time rulers of the Timeline, Layer and Footage panels, using either Use Media Source (source
timecode) or starting at 00:00:00:00. Select the Timecode option to use timecode instead of Frames. Note that there are no options for choosing
frame rate or drop-frame / non- drop-frame, as source timecode is detected and used instead.
Note: In After Effects CS5.5 and later, timecode is no longer a global setting for projects. You may have both drop-frame and non-drop-frame
timecode in any composition within a project.
Frames Displays frame number instead of time. Use this setting for convenience when doing work that you are integrating with a frame -based
application or format, like Flash or SWF. To use Frames, select Frames and deselect Feet + Frames.
Feet + Frames Displays the number of feet of film, plus frames for fractional feet, for 16mm or 35mm film. To use Feet + Frames, select Frames
and select Feet + Frames.
Frame Count Determines the starting number for the time display style for Frames.
Timecode Conversion Timecode value of the item is used for the starting number (if the item has source timecode). If there is no
timecode value, counting begins with zero. Timecode Conversion causes After Effects to behave as it has in previous versions, where the
frame count and the timecode count of all assets are mathematically equivalent.
Start at 0 The counting for frames begins at zero.
Start at 1 The counting for frames begins at one.
Note: The new options of “Start at 0” and “Start at 1” allow you to specify different frame counting schemes between the “Frames” and
“Timecode.” For example, you might choose to honor the source timecode of footage items, but count frames beginning at zero or one.
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Source timecode (CS5.5 and later)
Source timecode support file formats After Effects can read and use timecode for most formats including: QuickTime, DV, AVI, P2, MPEG-2,
MPEG-4, h.264, AVCHD, RED, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD, WAV and DPX image sequence importers.
Project panel Source timecode is displayed in columns in the Project panel: Media Start, Media End, Media Duration and Tape Name. These
refer to the source’s start, end and total duration. In addition, columns have been added for In, Out, and Duration, which reflect the In and Out
points set by the user in the Footage panel for footage item, or the work area for compositions.
Project Settings The Project Settings dialog box has been substantially reworked to accommodate the source timecode feature set. For details,
see Options for time-display units in After Effects CS5.5 and later.
Composition Settings dialog box The Composition Settings dialog box has been changed to accomodate the source timecode feature set. For
details, see Frame rate.
Preferences dialog box The Preferences dialog box’s Import pane has been changed to support source timecode features. See Import
preferences.
For details, tutorials, and resources about source timecode and Timecode effect changes in After Effects CS5.5, see this post on the After Effects
Region of Interest blog.
Online resources about timecode
Trish and Chris Meyer provide an article on the ProVideo Coalition website that describes the difference between drop-frame and non-drop- frame
timecode.
Chris Pirazzi provides technical details about timecode on his Lurker's Guide to Video website.
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Composition basics
About compositions
Create a composition
Create compositions for playback on mobile devices
Timeline panel
Composition settings
Composition thumbnail images
For more information about creating compositions, see this video by Andrew Devis on the Creative Cow website.
About compositions
A composition is the framework for a movie. Each composition has its own timeline. A typical composition includes multiple layers that represent
components such as video and audio footage items, animated text and vector graphics, still images, and lights. You add a footage item to a
composition by creating a layer for which the footage item is the source. You then arrange layers within a composition in space and time, and
composite using transparency features to determine which parts of underlying layers show through the layers stacked on top of them. (See Layers
and properties and Transparency and compositing.)
A composition in After Effects is similar to a movie clip in Flash Professional or a sequence in Premiere Pro.
You render a composition to create the frames of a final output movie, which is encoded and exported to any number of formats. (See About
rendering and exporting.)
Simple projects may include only one composition; complex projects may include hundreds of compositions to organize large amounts of footage
or many effects.
In some places in the After Effects user interface, composition is abbreviated as comp.
Each composition has an entry in the Project panel. Double-click a composition entry in the Project panel to open the composition in its own
Timeline panel. To select a composition in the Project panel, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) in the Composition panel or Timeline
panel for the composition and choose Reveal Composition In Project from the context menu.
Use the Composition panel to preview a composition and modify its contents manually. The Composition panel contains the composition frame and
a pasteboard area outside the frame that you can use to move layers into and out of the composition frame. The offstage extents of layers—the
portions not in the composition frame—are shown as rectangular outlines. Only the area inside the composition frame is rendered for previews and
final output.
The composition frame in the Composition panel in After Effects is similar to the Stage in Flash Professional.
When working with a complex project, you may find it easiest to organize the project by nesting compositions—putting one or more compositions
into another composition. You can create a composition from any number of layers by precomposing them. If you are finished modifying some
layers of your composition, you can precompose those layers and then pre-render the precomposition, replacing it with a rendered movie. (See
Nesting, precomposing, and pre-rendering.)
You can navigate within a hierarchy of nested compositions using the Composition Navigator and Composition Mini-Flowchart. (See Opening and
navigating nested compositions.)
Use the Flowchart panel to see the structure of a complex composition or network of compositions.
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Timeline button
Press the backslash (\) key to switch activation between the Composition panel and Timeline panel for the current composition.
Comp button
Flowchart button
Create a composition
You can change composition settings at any time. However, it’s best to specify settings such as frame aspect ratio and frame size when you create
the composition, with your final output in mind. Because After Effects bases certain calculations on these composition settings, changing them late
in your workflow can affect your final output.
Click this button at the bottom of the Composition panel to activate the Timeline panel for the current composition.
Click this button in the upper-right corner of the Timeline panel to activate the Composition panel for the current composition.
Click this button at the bottom of the Composition panel to activate the Flowchart panel for the current composition.
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Note:
For more information about creating compositions, see this video by Andrew Devis on the Creative Cow website.
You can override some composition settings when rendering to final output. For example, you can use different frame sizes for the same
movie. For more information see Render settings and Output modules and output module settings.
When you create a composition without changing settings in the Composition Settings dialog box, the new composition uses the settings from the
previous time that composition settings were set.
Note:
New compositions do not inherit the previous Preserve Frame Rate When Nested Or In Render Queue and Preserve Resolution When
Nested settings.
You can create a set of After Effects compositions tailored for a selected set of devices by using the File > New Document In > After Effects
command in Adobe Device Central. See Create compositions for playback on mobile devices.
In After Effects CS6, you can create a ray-traced 3D composition for working with extruded text and shape layers. See Creating a ray-traced 3D
composition.
Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that creates and saves a new project for each selected composition in the current project. If
a folder is selected in the Project panel when you create a new composition, the new composition is placed in the selected folder.
Create a composition and manually set composition settings
Choose Composition > New Composition, or press Ctrl+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac OS).
Create a composition from a single footage item
Drag the footage item to the Create A New Composition button at the bottom of the Project panel or choose File > New
Comp From Selection.
Composition settings, including frame size (width and height) and pixel aspect ratio, are automatically set to match the
characteristics of the footage item.
Create a single composition from multiple footage items
1. Select footage items in the Project panel.
2. Drag the selected footage items to the Create A New Composition button
> New Comp From Selection.
3. Select Single Composition and other settings in the New Composition From Selection dialog box:
Use Dimensions From
size (width and height) and pixel aspect ratio.
Still Duration
Add To Render Queue
Sequence Layers, Overlap, Duration, and Transition
the duration of the transitions, and choose a transition type.
The duration for the still images being added.
Choose the footage item from which the new composition gets composition settings, including frame
Add the new composition to the render queue.
Arrange the layers in a sequence, optionally overlap them in time, set
at the bottom of the Project panel, or choose File
Create multiple compositions from multiple footage items
1. Select footage items in the Project panel.
2. Drag the selected footage items to the Create A New Composition button
> New Comp From Selection.
3. Select Multiple Compositions and other settings in the New Composition From Selection dialog box:
Still Duration
Add To Render Queue
The duration of the compositions created from still images.
Add the new compositions to the render queue.
at the bottom of the Project panel, or choose File
Duplicate a composition
1. Select the composition in the Project panel.
2. Choose Edit > Duplicate or press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (Mac OS).
Create compositions for playback on mobile devices
Screen dimensions and video frame rates vary from one mobile device to another. Adobe Device Central contains a database of device profiles
that provide information about these characteristics. Using this information, you can create movies that play correctly and look as you intend on the
mobile devices that you choose.
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For information on acquiring footage for playback on mobile devices, see Planning for playback on computer monitors and mobile devices.
For a video tutorial about creating compositions for mobile devices, go to the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4110_xp.
1. In Adobe Device Central, choose File > New Document In > After Effects.
2. Select one or more devices.
3. In the New Composition tab, select Create Master Composition.
4. Click Create in the lower-right corner of the New Composition tab.
If After Effects is already running, then the new compositions are created in the existing project. If After Effects is not already
running, then After Effects starts and the new compositions are created in a new project.
You do your design, animation, and other work in the Device Master composition. You use the device-specific compositions for previews and to
render for final output.
The Device Master composition is nested and centered in each of the device-specific compositions. The frame rate, height, and width settings for
the Device Master composition are each set to the maximum of the values for the device-specific compositions. You can resize or move the
nested Device Master composition within each device-specific composition—for example, to tweak layout for different frame aspect ratios. A guide
layer for each device in the Device Master composition facilitates your design work.
A Preview composition is also created. The Preview composition consists of a grid of device-specific compositions so that you can preview your
master composition in the context of several mobile devices simultaneously.
After you render and export the compositions, you can preview and test the resulting movies on the simulated devices within Adobe Device
Central.
Timeline panel
Each composition has its own Timeline panel. You use the Timeline panel to perform many tasks, such as animating layer properties, arranging
layers in time, and setting blending modes. The layers at the bottom of the layer stacking order in the Timeline panel are rendered first and—in the
case of 2D image layers— appear farthest back in the Composition panel and in the final composite.
To cycle forward through Timeline panels, press Alt+Shift+period (.) (Windows) or Option+Shift+period (.) (Mac OS). To cycle backward through
Timeline panels, press Alt+Shift+comma (,) (Windows) or Option+Shift+comma (,) (Mac OS).
The current time for a composition is indicated by the current-time indicator (CTI), the vertical red line in the time graph. The current time for a
composition also appears in the current time display in the upper- left corner of the Timeline panel. For more information on moving the current-time
indicator, see Move the current- time indicator.
The left side of the Timeline panel consists of columns of controls for layers. The right side of the Timeline panel—the time graph—contains a time
ruler, markers, keyframes, expressions, duration bars for layers (in layer bar mode), and the Graph Editor (in Graph Editor mode).
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A. Current-time display B. Current-time indicator (CTI) C. Time ruler D. Layer switches E. Time graph
Press the backslash (\) key to switch activation between the Composition panel and Timeline panel for the current composition.
Composition settings
You can enter composition settings manually, or you can use composition settings presets to automatically set frame size (width and height), pixel
aspect ratio, and frame rate for many common output formats. You can also create and save your own custom composition settings presets for
later use. Resolution, Start Timecode (or Start Frame), Duration, and Advanced composition settings are not saved with composition settings
presets.
Note:
The limit for composition duration is three hours. You can use footage items longer than three hours, but time after three hours does not
display correctly. The maximum composition size is 30,000x30,000 pixels. A 30,000x30,000 8-bpc image requires approximately 3.5 GB; your
maximum composition size may be less, depending on your operating system and available RAM.
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Working with composition settings
To open the Composition Settings dialog box to change composition settings, do one of the following:
Select a composition in the Project panel or activate the Timeline or Composition panel for a composition, and choose
Composition > Composition Settings, or press Ctrl+K (Windows) or Command+K (Mac OS).
Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) a composition in the Project panel or Composition panel (not on a layer),
and choose Composition Settings from the context menu.
To save a custom composition settings preset, set Width, Height, Pixel Aspect Ratio, and Frame Rate values in the
Composition Settings dialog box, and then click the Save button
To delete a composition settings preset, choose it from the Preset menu in the Composition Settings dialog box, and click the
Delete button
To restore default composition settings presets, Alt- click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Delete button or the Save
button
Note:
You cannot move custom composition settings presets from one system to another, as they are embedded into the preferences file.
To scale an entire composition, choose File > Scripts > Scale Composition.jsx.
Note:
Ensure all layers are unlocked in the selected composition or the script will fail.
Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website to set the frame rate and duration of the current composition and all compositions nested
within it.
Christopher Green provides a script (Selected_Comps_Changer.jsx) on his website with which you can change the composition settings for
compositions selected in the Project panel.
.
in the Composition Settings dialog box.
.
Basic composition settings
Start Timecode or Start Frame
merely specifies where to start counting from.
Timecode or frame number assigned to the first frame of the composition. This value does not affect rendering; it
Background Color
note: When you add one composition to another (nesting), the background color of the containing composition is preserved, and the background
of the nested composition becomes transparent. To preserve the background color of the nested composition, create a solid-color layer to use as a
background layer in the nested composition.
For information on specific Basic composition settings not listed here, see the related sections:
Pixel aspect ratio and frame aspect ratio
Frame rate
Resolution
Use the color swatch or eyedropper to pick a composition background color. (See Select a color or edit a gradient.)
Advanced composition settings
Anchor
For information on specific Advanced composition settings not listed here, see the related sections:
Click an arrow button to anchor layers to a corner or edge of the composition as it is resized.
Specify resolution to use for rendering shadows
Preferences and composition settings that affect nested compositions
Motion blur
Advanced composition settings (CS6)
After Effects CS6 includes an updated advanced section to allow for ray-traced 3D renderer options. The 3D renderer plug-in has been renamed
as, "Renderer" for these choices because you are choosing one renderer or another for a composition.
To choose a composition type, select one of the following from the Renderer menu:
Classic 3D
Ray-traced 3D
Click the Options button to launch the Ray-traced 3D Renderer Options dialog box. You can also Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS)
the Current Renderer Indicator button in the upper -right of the Composition panel to launch the dialog box.
Here you can choose:
Ray-tracing quality: Click the Ray-tracing quality setting to change it according to your workflow.
Higher values for ray-tracing quality decrease noise but greatly increase render time.
Ray-tracing quality controls the number of rays fired per pixel (for example, a value of 4 fires 16 or 4x4 rays, and 8 fires 64
rays).
A larger number produces a more accurate pixel at the expense of computation time.
A value of 1 will provide better performance, but there won't be any reflection blur (for example, it is always sharp), soft
shadow, depth of field, or motion blur.
Increasing the Ray-tracing Quality value will not increase the sharpness. Instead it decreases the noise inherent in point sampling. You should use
the lowest value that produces an acceptable amount of noise or no noise.
Anti-aliasing Filter : Controls the method of averaging the fired rays for a pixel. None fires all rays within the bounds of a pixel,
whereas the others spreads the grid of fired rays partially across adjacent pixels to produce a better average. Box, Tent, and
Cubic (which is not bicubic) are listed in the order of better quality.
None
Box
Tent
Cubic
The anti-aliasing filter controls the amount of blurriness. None gives the sharpest result but the edges of the projection catcher may look aliased,
with Box blur, Triangle, and Cubic giving blurrier results.
Note:
Ray-traced 3D layers use Ray-tracing Quality to control the appearance of motion blur.
Depth of field calculations in Ray- traced 3D are more accurate than they are in Classic 3D (and previously in Advanced 3D).
Anchor
Click an arrow button to anchor layers to a corner or edge of the composition as it is resized.
For information on specific Advanced composition settings not listed here, see the related sections:
Specify resolution to use for rendering shadows
Preferences and composition settings that affect nested compositions
Motion blur
Composition thumbnail images
You can choose which frame of a composition to show as a thumbnail image (poster frame) for the composition in the Project panel. By default,
the thumbnail image is the first frame of the composition, with transparent portions shown as black.
To set the thumbnail image for a composition, move the current-time indicator to the desired frame of the composition in the
Timeline panel, and choose Composition > Set Poster Time.
To add a transparency grid to the thumbnail view, choose Thumbnail Transparency Grid from the Project panel menu.
To hide the thumbnail images in the Project panel, choose Edit > Preferences > Display (Windows) or After Effects >
Preferences > Display (Mac OS) and select Disable Thumbnails In Project Panel.
Flowchart panel
Basics of rendering and exporting
About nesting and precomposing
Test content in Adobe Device Central
Show and hide layers in the Timeline panel
Layer switches and columns in the Timeline panel
The Graph Editor
Columns
Keyboard shortcuts
About nesting and precomposing
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Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering
About precomposing and nesting
Precompose layers
Opening and navigating nested compositions
Pre-render a nested composition
Render order and collapsing transformations
About precomposing and nesting
If you want to group some layers that are already in a composition, you can precompose those layers. Precomposing layers places them in a new
composition, which replaces the layers in the original composition. The new nested composition becomes the source for a single layer in the
original composition. The new composition appears in the Project panel and is available for rendering or use in any other composition. You can
nest compositions by adding an existing composition to another composition, just as you would add any other footage item to a composition.
Precomposing a single layer is useful for adding transform properties to a layer and influencing the order in which elements of a composition are
rendered.
Nesting is the inclusion of one composition within another. The nested composition appears as a layer in the containing composition.
A nested composition is sometimes called a precomposition, which is occasionally abbreviated in casual use to precomp or pre-comp. When a
precomposition is used as the source footage item for a layer, the layer is called a precomposition layer.
During rendering, the image data and other information can be said to flow from each nested composition into the composition that contains it. For
this reason, nested compositions are sometimes referred to as being upstream of the compositions that contain them, and the containing
compositions are said to be downstream of the nested compositions that they contain. A set of compositions connected through nesting is called a
composition network. You can navigate within a composition network using the Composition Navigator and Mini-Flowchart. (See Opening and
navigating nested compositions.)
Precompositions in After Effects are similar to Smart Objects in Adobe Photoshop.
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Uses for precomposing and nesting
Precomposing and nesting are useful for managing and organizing complex compositions. By precomposing and nesting, you can do the following:
Apply complex changes to an entire composition You can create a composition that contains multiple layers, nest the composition within the
overall composition, and animate and apply effects to the nested composition so that all of the layers change in the same ways over the same
time period.
Reuse anything you build You can build an animation in its own composition and then drag that composition into other compositions as many
times as you want.
Update in one step When you make changes to a nested composition, those changes affect every composition in which it is used, just like
changes made to a source footage item affect every composition in which it is used.
Alter the default rendering order of a layer You can specify that After Effects render a transformation (such as rotation) before rendering effects,
so that the effect applies to the rotated footage.
Add another set of transform properties to a layer The layer that represents the composition has its own properties, in addition to the
properties of the layers that it contains. This allows you to apply an additional set of transformations to a layer or set of layers.
For example, you can use nesting to make a planet both rotate and revolve (moving like the Earth, which spins on its own axis and also travels
around the Sun). To create such a system, animate the Rotation property of the planet layer, precompose that layer, modify the Anchor Point
property of the precomposition layer, and then animate the Rotation property of the precomposition layer.
Preferences and composition settings that affect nested compositions
Because a precomposition is itself a layer, you can control its behavior using layer switches and composition switches in the Timeline panel. You
can choose whether changes made to the switches in the containing composition are propagated to the nested composition. To prevent layer
switches from affecting nested compositions, choose Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS),
and then deselect Switches Affect Nested Comps.
In the Advanced tab of the Composition Settings dialog box (Composition > Composition Settings), choose Preserve Resolution When Nested or
Preserve Frame Rate When Nested Or In Render Queue for a composition to retain its own resolution or frame rate, and not inherit those settings
from the containing composition. For example, if you deliberately used a low frame rate in a composition to create a jerky, hand-animated result,
you should preserve the frame rate for that composition when it is nested. Similarly, the results of rotoscoping may look wrong when converted to
a different frame rate or resolution. Use this setting instead of the Posterize Time effect, which is less efficient.
Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that makes toggling the Preserve Resolution When Nested or Preserve Frame Rate
When Nested Or In Render Queue preference setting more convenient.
Changing the current time in one panel updates the current time in other panels associated with that composition. By default, the current time is
also updated for all compositions related to the current composition by nesting. To prevent compositions related by nesting from updating their
current times when you change the current time in one composition, deselect the Synchronize Time Of All Related Items preference (Edit >
Preferences > General (Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > General (Mac OS)).
Online resources about precomposing and nesting
Angie Taylor provides an extensive discussion and explanation of animation using nesting, parenting, expressions, and null object layers in a PDF
excerpt from her book Creative After Effects 7: Workflow Techniques for Animation, Visual Effects, and Motion Graphics.
Chris and Trish Meyer provide an introduction to precomposing and nesting in a PDF excerpt from the “Parenting and Nesting” chapter of their
book After Effects Apprentice: Real-World Skills for the Aspiring Motion Graphics Artist.
Chris and Trish Meyer share tips on setting up a composition hierarchy so that making changes in a project is easier in this article from the
ProVideo Coalition website.
See this page on aescripts website for the Un -Precompose script, which extracts layers from a precomposition.
See this page on aescripts website for the Zorro-The Layer Tagger script, which allows you to group layers in your composition using tags rather
than precomposing.
Precompose layers
Precomposing layers places them in a new composition (sometimes called a precomposition), which replaces the layers in the original composition.
Precomposing a single layer is useful for adding transform properties to a layer and influencing the order in which elements of a composition are
rendered.
1. Select the layers in the Timeline panel, and choose Layer > Pre-compose or press Ctrl+Shift+C (Windows) or
Command+Shift+C (Mac OS).
2. Select one of the following:
Leave All Attributes In Leaves the properties and keyframes of the precomposed layer in the original composition, applied to
the new layer that represents the precomposition. The frame size of the new composition is the same as the size of the
selected layer. This option is not available when you select more than one layer, a text layer, or a shape layer.
Move All Attributes Into The New Composition Moves the properties and keyframes of the precomposed layers one level
further from the root composition in the composition hierarchy. When you use this option, changes you applied to the
properties of the layers remain with the individual layers within the precomposition. The frame size of the new composition is
the same as the frame size of the original composition.
Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that precomposes selected layers to the duration of the selected layers, with options for
head and tail durations for more editing flexibility.
Opening and navigating nested compositions
Nested compositions are sometimes referred to as being upstream of the compositions that contain them, and the containing compositions are
said to be downstream of the nested compositions that they contain. The root composition is the most downstream; the most deeply nested
composition is the most upstream. A composition flow path is a chain of compositions that are related to one another by containing or being
nested within one another. A composition network is the entire set of compositions that are related to one another through nesting.
After Effects provides several ways to open a nested composition (precomposition):
Double-click the composition entry in the Project panel.
Double-click a precomposition layer in the Timeline panel. Alt-double-click (Windows) or Option-double-click (Mac OS) to open
the precomposition layer as a layer in the Layer panel.
Note: Double-clicking a precomposition layer when a paint tool or the Roto Brush tool is active opens the layer in the Layer
panel.
To open the most recently active composition in the same composition network as the currently active composition, press
Shift+Esc.
Use the Composition Navigator.
Use the Composition Mini -Flowchart.
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The Composition Navigator
The Composition Navigator is a bar along the top edge of the Composition panel that shows the composition active in that viewer in relation to
other compositions in the same composition network. The compositions shown are the most recently active compositions in the flow path of the
currently active composition.
A. Active (current) composition B. Arrow for opening Composition Mini-Flowchart C. Panel
menu button D. Ellipsis
Arrows between the composition names indicate the direction in which pixel information flows for this flow path. The default is to show
compositions in the Composition Navigator bar with downstream compositions on the left and upstream compositions on the right. This default is
indicated by the Flow Right To Left option in the Composition panel menu. To show compositions in the other order, choose Flow Left To Right.
This setting is a global preference; it applies to all compositions and to the Composition Mini-Flowchart view.
The names of downstream compositions are dim to indicate that their contents are not used or shown in the active composition.
To show or hide the Composition Navigator bar, choose Show Composition Navigator from the Composition panel menu.
To activate any composition shown in the Composition Navigator bar, click the composition name.
If the flow path is too long to show in the Composition panel, an ellipsis button appears at the left or right edge of the
Composition Navigator bar. To temporarily show the entire flow path, click the ellipsis button.
To scroll through a long flow path, place the pointer over a composition button in the Composition Navigator and roll the
mouse scroll wheel.
The Composition Mini-Flowchart
The Composition Mini-Flowchart is a transient control that you can use to quickly navigate within a composition network. When you open the
Composition Mini-Flowchart, it shows the compositions immediately upstream and downstream of the selected composition.
A. Indicator that composition does not flow into other compositions B. Flow
direction C. Active (current) composition D. Upstream compositions E. Indicators that other compositions flow into these compositions
Colors in the Composition Mini-Flowchart are based on the label colors assigned to compositions in the Project panel. If a composition is used
multiple times within one composition, the multiple instances of the nested composition appear as one entry with a number in parentheses
indicating the number of instances.
To open the Composition Mini-Flowchart, do one of the following:
Tap the Shift key when a Composition, Layer, or Timeline panel is active.
Note: Do not hold the Shift key down; press it briefly. Tapping the Shift key to open the Composition Mini-Flowchart doesn’t
work if the insertion point is in a search field, text field, or expression field.
Click the arrow to the right of a composition name in the Composition Navigator bar.
Choose Composition Mini-Flowchart from the Composition menu, the Composition panel menu, or the Timeline panel menu.
Click the Composition Mini-Flowchart button at the top of the Timeline panel.
As with the Composition Navigator, you can choose whether to show the flow direction from left to right or from right to left. Arrows indicate the
direction of the flow. If a composition has a
into it or it does not flow into any compositions.
Upstream compositions in the Composition Mini-Flowchart are sorted from top to bottom either alphabetically or by layer order. To switch between
these sorting orders, press the S key when the Composition Mini-Flowchart is open. When sorting by layer order, a composition used multiple
times is sorted according to its topmost instance in the stacking order. Downstream compositions are always sorted alphabetically.
To navigate among and select compositions in the Composition Mini-Flowchart, use the arrow keys or click the arrow or
side of a composition. To activate the selected composition, press the spacebar or Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS). To close the
Composition Mini-Flowchart without taking any action, press Esc, tap Shift, or click outside the Composition Mini-Flowchart.
Rich Young provides additional information about the Flowchart panel and the Composition Mini-flowchart on the After Effects Portal website.
next to it instead of an arrow, then the composition either does not have any compositions flowing
buttons on either
Pre-render a nested composition
A complex nested composition can take a long time to render, either for previews or for final output. If you have a nested composition that you do
not expect to work on further, you can save time during each rendering operation by pre-rendering the nested composition into a movie and
replacing the composition with the rendered movie. You can still modify the original nested composition, because it remains in the Project panel. If
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you make a significant change to the original nested composition, just render it again.
Pre-rendering a nested composition is especially beneficial when you will use it multiple times in a project.
Note: Apply your final output settings when you pre-render the nested composition.
1. Select the composition in the Project or Composition panel.
2. Choose Composition > Pre-render.
The Pre-render command adds the composition to the render queue and sets the Import & Replace Usage post-render action
to replace the composition with the rendered movie.
3. In the Render Queue panel, adjust settings as necessary, and click the Render button to render the composition.
See this video tutorial on the Video2Brain website about how to save time with pre-rendering and proxies in After Effects.
Note: An alternative to replacing the composition with the movie is to use the rendered movie as a proxy for the nested composition.
Render order and collapsing transformations
A composition consists of layers stacked on top of one another in the Timeline panel. When the composition is rendered—either for previewing or
for final output—the bottom layer is rendered first. Within each raster (non-vector) layer, elements are applied in the following order: masks,
effects, transformations, and layer styles. For continuously rasterized vector layers, the default rendering order is masks, followed by
transformations, and then effects.
Transformations are changes to those properties grouped under the Transform category in the Timeline panel, including Anchor Point, Position,
Scale, Rotation, and Opacity. What you see in the Layer panel is the result of the rendering before transformations are performed.
Note: For additional control over when transformations are performed, you can apply the Transform effect and reorder it with respect to other
effects.
In a group of effects or masks, items are processed from top to bottom. For example, if you apply the Circle effect and then apply the Magnify
effect, the circle is magnified. However, if you drag the Magnify effect above (before) the Circle effect in the Effect Controls or Timeline panel, the
circle is drawn after the magnification and isn’t magnified.
After a layer has been rendered, rendering begins for the next layer. The rendered layer below may be used as input to the rendering of the layer
above—for example, for determining the result of a blending mode.
If a composition contains other compositions nested within it, the nested composition is rendered before other layers in the containing composition.
Note: Some effects ignore masks on the layer to which they’re applied. To have such an effect operate on a masked layer, pre-compose the
layer with the mask applied, and then apply the effect to the pre-composed layer. (See About precomposing and nesting.)
Collapsing transformations
If the Collapse Transformations switch
performed until after the masks and effects for the containing composition are rendered. This render order allows the transformations for the
nested composition and the containing composition to be combined—or collapsed—and performed together. The same is true for vector layers
that are not continuously rasterized.
Note: Instead of a Collapse Transformations switch, vector layers have a Continuously Rasterize switch in the same location. Vector layers
include shape layers, text layers, and layers with vector graphic files as the source footage. Text layers and shape layers are always continuously
rasterized.
Collapsing transformations can, for example, preserve resolution when a layer is scaled down by half in a nested composition, and the nested
composition is scaled up by a factor of two in the containing composition. In this case, rather than performing both transformations and losing
image data in the process, one transformation can be performed—doing nothing, because the individual transformations cancel each other.
If transformations are not collapsed, a nested composition that contains 3D layers is rendered as a 2D image of the 3D arrangement, using the
default composition camera. This rendering prevents the nested composition from intersecting with 3D layers, casting shadows on 3D layers, and
receiving shadows from 3D layers in the containing composition. The nested composition is also not controlled by the cameras and lights of the
containing composition.
If transformations are collapsed, the 3D properties of the layers in the nested composition are exposed to the containing composition. Thus, the
nested composition can intersect with 3D layers, cast shadows on 3D layers, and receive shadows from 3D layers in the containing composition.
The containing composition's camera and lights can also control the nested composition.
Essentially, collapsing transformations for a nested composition tells After Effects to not flatten and crop the layers in the precomposition. Because
an adjustment layer operates on the composite of all of the layers beneath it within the same composition, an adjustment layer within a nested
composition with collapsed transformations will force the flattening and cropping that collapsing transformations would normally prevent.
When a closed mask (with mask mode other than None), a layer style, or an effect is applied to a nested composition with collapsed
transformations, the layers in the nested composition are first rendered on their own, then masks and effects are applied, and then the result is
composited into the main composition. This rendering order means that the blending modes of the nested layers are not applied to any underlying
layers in the main composition, and that 3D layers above and below the collapsed layer cannot intersect or cast shadows on each other.
is selected for a nested composition, then the transformations for the nested composition are not
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Online resources
This video from the “After Effects CS5: Learn by Video” series provides a detailed visual demonstration of the render order and how to work with
(and around) it.
Chris and Trish Meyer explain collapsing transformations and continuous rasterization in this article on the ProVideo Coalition website.
More Help topics
About Smart Objects
|
Importing footage
Importing and interpreting video and audio
Interlaced video and separating fields
Remove 3:2 or 24Pa pulldown from video
Import assets in Panasonic P2 format
Interlaced video and separating fields
Interlacing is a technique developed for transmitting television signals using limited bandwidth. In an interlaced system, only half the number of
horizontal lines for each frame of video are transmitted at a time. Because of the speed of transmission, the afterglow of displays, and the
persistence of vision, the viewer perceives each frame in full resolution. All of the analog television standards use interlacing. Digital television
standards include both interlaced and noninterlaced varieties. Typically, interlaced signals are generated from interlaced scanning, whereas
noninterlaced signals are generated from progressive scanning.
Each interlaced video frame consists of two fields. Each field contains half the number of horizontal lines in the frame; the upper field (or Field 1)
contains the odd-numbered lines, and the lower field (or Field 2 ) contains the even-numbered lines. An interlaced video monitor displays each
frame by first drawing all of the lines in one field and then drawing all of the lines in the other field. Field order specifies which field is drawn first. In
NTSC video, new fields are drawn to the screen approximately 60 times per second, corresponding to a frame rate of approximately 30 frames per
second.
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Interlaced scanning of interlaced video fields compared with progressive scanning of noninterlaced video frame.
A. For interlaced video, entire upper field (odd-numbered lines) is drawn to screen first, from top to bottom, in one pass. B. Next, entire lower
field (even-numbered lines) is drawn to screen, from top to bottom, in one pass. C. For noninterlaced video, entire frame (all lines in counting
order) is drawn to screen, from top to bottom, in one pass.
Noninterlaced video frames aren’t separated into fields. A progressive-scan monitor displays a noninterlaced video frame by drawing all the
horizontal lines, from top to bottom, in one pass. Computer monitors are almost all progressive- scan monitors, and most video displayed on
computer monitors is noninterlaced.
The terms progressive and noninterlaced are thus closely related and are often used interchangeably, but progressive scanning refers to the
recording or drawing of the scan lines by a camera or monitor, whereas noninterlaced refers to the fact that the video data itself isn’t separated into
fields.
Separate video fields
If you want to use interlaced or field-rendered footage (such as NTSC video) in an After Effects project, you get the best results if you separate the
video fields when you import the footage. After Effects separates video fields by creating a full frame from each field, preserving all of the image
data from the original footage.
Separating fields is critical if you plan to make significant changes to the image. When you scale, rotate, or apply effects to interlaced video,
unwanted artifacts, such as crossed fields, are often introduced. By separating fields, After Effects accurately converts the two interlaced frames in
the video to noninterlaced frames, while preserving the maximum amount of image quality. Using noninterlaced frames allows After Effects to apply
edits and effects consistently and at the highest quality.
After Effects creates field-separated footage from a single formerly interlaced frame by splitting it into two independent frames. Each new frame has
only half the information of the original frame, so some frames may appear to have a lower resolution than others when viewed at Draft quality.
When you render the final composition, After Effects reproduces high-quality interlaced frames for output. When you render a movie at Best
quality, After Effects interpolates between the scan lines of a field to produce maximum image quality.
If your output will not be interlaced, it’s best to use noninterlaced source footage, to avoid the need to separate fields. However, if a noninterlaced
version of your source footage is not available, interlaced footage will work fine.
Always separate fields for interlaced footage. Never separate fields for noninterlaced footage items.
You can only remove pull-down after you have separated fields.
When you render a composition containing field- separated footage, set the Field Rendering option to the same field order as your video
equipment. If you don’t field- render the composition, or if you field-render with the incorrect settings, the final movie may appear too soft, jerky, or
distorted.
To quickly give video footage a more film-like appearance, import the footage twice, and interpret each footage item with a different field order.
Then add them both to the same composition and blend them together. The misinterpreted layer adds some film-like blur.
After Effects automatically separates fields for D1 and DV video footage items. You can manually separate fields for all other types of video
footage in the Interpret Footage dialog box.
1. Select the footage item in the Project panel.
2. Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.
3. Choose an option from the Separate Fields menu.
4. Click Preserve Edges (Best Quality Only) to increase image quality in nonmoving areas when the image is rendered at Best
quality. Then click OK.
Note: If the field settings in the Interpret Footage dialog box are correct for the input footage and the field settings in the Render Settings dialog
box are correct for the output device, you can mix footage items of different field orders in a composition. If either of these settings is incorrect,
however, the frames will be in the correct order, but the field order may be reversed, resulting in jerky, unacceptable images.
Determine the original field order
The field order for an interlaced video footage item determines the order in which the two video fields (upper and lower) are displayed. A system
that draws the upper lines before the lower lines is called upper-field first; one that draws the lower lines before the upper lines is called lower-field
first. Many standard-definition formats (such as DV NTSC) are lower-field first, whereas many high-definition formats (such as 1080i DVCPRO HD)
are upper-field first.
The order in which the fields are displayed is important, especially when the fields contain motion. If you separate video fields using the wrong field
order, motion does not appear smooth.
Some programs, including After Effects, label the field order when rendering interlaced video files. When you import a labeled video file, After
Effects honors the field order label automatically. You can override this field order by applying different footage interpretation settings.
If a file does not contain a field order label, you can match the original field order of your footage. If you are not sure which field order was used to
interlace a footage item, use this procedure to find out.
1. Select the item in the Project panel.
2. Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.
3. In the Interpret Footage dialog box, select Upper Field First from the Separate Fields menu, and then click OK.
4. In the Project panel, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you double-click the footage to open it in the Footage panel.
5. If the Preview panel is not visible, choose Window > Preview.
6. In the Footage panel, find a segment that contains one or more moving areas.
7. Using the Next Frame button
should move consistently in one direction. If the moving areas move backward every other frame, the wrong field-separation
option has been applied to the footage.
in the Preview panel, step forward at least five frames in the Footage panel. Moving areas
Online resources about fields and interlaced video
Chris Pirazzi provides technical details of fields and interlacing on his Lurker's Guide to Video website.
This video from the “After Effects CS5: Learn by Video” series provides an introduction to fields and interlacing, and shows how to avoid common
problems.
Trish and Chris Meyer provide a variety of materials about interlacing, field order, field dominance, field rendering, and separating fields:
article (PDF) introducing interlacing and field separation on the Artbeats website
article introducing interlacing and field order on the ProVideo Coalition website
article clarifying meanings of the terms field order and field dominance on the ProVideo Coalition website
video overview of fields and interlacing on the Lynda.com website
Remove 3:2 or 24Pa pulldown from video
When you transfer 24-fps film to 29.97- fps video, you use a process called 3:2 pulldown , in which the film frames are distributed across video
fields in a repeating 3:2 pattern. The first frame of film is copied to fields 1 and 2 of the first frame of video, and also to field 1 of the second video
frame. The second frame of film is then spread across the next two fields of video—field 2 of the second video frame and field 1 of the third frame
of video. This 3:2 pattern is repeated until four frames of film are spread over five frames of video, and then the pattern is repeated.
The 3:2 pulldown process results in whole frames (represented by a W) and split-field frames (represented by an S). The three whole video frames
contain two fields from the same film frame. The remaining two split-field frames contain a video frame from two different film frames. The two splitfield frames are always adjacent to each other. The phase of 3:2 pulldown refers to the point at which the two split-field frames fall within the first
five frames of the footage.
Phase occurs as a result of two conversions that happen during 3:2 pulldown: 24-fps film is redistributed through 30-fps video, so each of four
frames of 24-fps film is spread out over five frames of 30(29.97)-fps video. First, the film is slowed down 0.1% to match the speed difference
between 29.97 fps and 30 fps. Next, each film frame is repeated in a special pattern and mated to fields of video.
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When you apply 3:2 pulldown to footage, one frame of the film (A) is separated into two or three interlaced video fields (B) which are grouped into
video frames containing two fields each.
When importing interlaced video that was originally transferred from film, you can remove the 3:2 pulldown that was applied during the transfer
from film to video as you separate fields so that effects you apply in After Effects don’t appear distorted.
It’s important to remove 3:2 pulldown from video footage that was originally film so that effects you add in After Effects synchronize perfectly with
the original frame rate of film. Removing 3:2 pulldown reduces the frame rate by 1/5—from 30 to 24 fps or from 29.97 to 23.976 fps, which also
reduces the number of frames you have to change. To remove 3:2 pulldown, you must also indicate the phase of the 3:2 pulldown.
After Effects also supports Panasonic DVX100 24p DV camera pulldown, called 24P Advance (24Pa). Some cameras use this format to capture
23.976 progressive- scan imagery using standard DV tapes.
Before you remove 3:2 pulldown, separate the fields as either upper-field first or lower-field first. Once the fields are separated, After Effects can
analyze the footage and determine the correct 3:2 pulldown phase and field order. If you already know the phase and field order, choose them
from the Separate Fields and the Remove Pulldown menus in the Interpret Footage dialog box.
1. In the Project panel, select the footage item from which to remove 3:2 pulldown.
2. Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.
3. In the Fields and Pulldown section, select Upper Field First or Lower Field First from the Separate Fields menu.
4. Do one of the following and click OK:
If you know the phase of the 3:2 or 24Pa pulldown, choose it from the Remove Pulldown menu.
To have After Effects determine the correct settings, click Guess 3:2 Pulldown or Guess 24Pa Pulldown.
Note: If your footage file contains frames from different sources, the phase may not be consistent. If the phase is
inconsistent, import the footage multiple times, once for each phase, and interpret each footage item with a different
setting. Then, add each footage item to your composition and trim each layer to use only the appropriate frames. In other
words, if you have an asset that has multiple pulldown phases, then you need to cut that asset into pieces and remove
pulldown separately for each of the pieces. This can come up if the asset is a movie that has been edited together from
several sources in an NLE.
Online resources about pulldown
Chris Meyer provides a video tutorial on identifying pulldown on the Lynda.com website.
Chris and Trish Meyer provides an overview of 3:2 pulldown in an article on the Artbeats website.
Chris Meyer provides links to resources about pulldown on the ProVideo Coalition website.
Import assets in Panasonic P2 format
A P2 card is a solid-state memory device that plugs into the PCMCIA slot of a Panasonic P2 video camera. The digital video and audio data from
the video camera is recorded onto the card in a structured, codec- independent format known as MXF (Media eXchange Format). Specifically,
Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects support the Panasonic Op-Atom variant of MXF, with video in AVC-Intra 50, AVC-Intra 100, DV, DVCPRO,
DVCPRO50, and DVCPRO HD formats. A clip is said to be in the P2 format if its audio and video are contained in Panasonic Op-Atom MXF files,
and these files are located in a specific folder structure.
The root of the P2 folder structure is a CONTENTS folder. Each essence item (an item of video or audio) is contained in a separate MXF wrapper
file; the video MXF files are in the VIDEO subfolder, and the audio MXF files are in the AUDIO subfolder. The relationships between essence files
and the metadata associated with them are tracked by XML files in the CLIP subfolder.
Note: Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects do not support proxies recorded by Panasonic P2 camcorders in P2 card PROXY folders.
The video and audio on a P2 card are already in a digital form, as if the P2 card were a hard disk, so no capture step is involved in importing
media from a P2 card. The process of reading the data from the card and converting it to a format that can be used in a project is sometimes
referred to as ingest.
For your computer to read P2 cards, you must install the appropriate driver, which you can download from the Panasonic website. Panasonic also
provides the P2 Viewer application, with which you can browse and play media stored on a P2 card. See the Panasonic website for details.
Because Panasonic P2 cards use the FAT32 file system, each file is limited to a size of 4 GB. When a shot is recorded that requires more than
the 4 GB, a P2 camera creates another file and continues recording the shot to the new file without interruption. This is referred to as clip
spanning, because the shot spans more than one file or clip. Similarly, a camera may span a shot across files on different P2 cards: if the camera
has more than one P2 card loaded, it will record the shot until it runs out of room on the first P2 card, create a new file on the next P2 card with
available space, and continue recording the shot to it. Although a single shot can be recorded to a group of multiple spanned clips, the multiple-file
shot is designed to be treated as a single clip or footage item in a video editing application. For After Effects to automatically import a group of
spanned clips simultaneously and assemble them into a single footage item, they must all have been recorded to the same P2 card and none of
the files can be missing, including the associated XML metadata file.
1. (Optional) Copy the entire contents of the P2 card to a hard disk.
Though it is possible to import assets into Adobe Premiere Pro or After Effects directly from a P2 card, it is usually more
efficient to copy the contents of the P2 card to a hard disk before importing.
2. Choose File > Import.
3. Navigate to the CONTENTS folder.
4. Select one or more MXF files:
To import a video essence item and its associated audio essence items, select the MXF files from the VIDEO folder.
To import only the audio essence items, select the MXF files from the AUDIO folder.
To import a group of spanned clips for a shot that were recorded onto the same P2 card, select only one of the MXF files
in the group from the VIDEO folder. The group is imported as a single footage item with a duration equal to the total
duration of all the spanned clips it includes. If you select more than one of these spanned clips, you import duplicates of
the whole group of spanned clips, as duplicate footage items in the Project panel.
You cannot import spanned clips from a shot that spans two different cards as a single footage item. Rather, you must select a
single MXF file belonging to the shot from each card to create a separate footage item for the part of the shot recorded on
each card. For example, if a group of spanned clips for a single shot itself spans two cards, you must select a spanned clip
from the group on card 1 and another from the group on card 2. This imports the contents of the shot into two footage items in
the Project panel.
The Date column in the Project panel shows when each source clip was acquired. After you import spanned clips, you can use the Date value to
determine their correct chronological order within the shot.
Note: After Effects can’t directly export to the P2 format. To render and export to the P2 format, use Adobe Media Encoder or Premiere Pro.
For additional information on the Panasonic P2 format and workflows with Adobe digital video software, see the Adobe website:
Adobe workflow guides for P2, RED, XDCAM, AVCCAM, and DSLR cameras and footage
P2 workflow guide for Adobe digital video products
Dave Helmly’s video introduction to the P2 workflow in After Effects
More Help topics
File formats supported for export
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Working with footage items
Organize, view, manage, and trim footage items
Edit footage in its original application
Remove items from a project
Placeholders and proxies
Loop a footage item
Organize, view, manage, and trim footage items
Compositions and footage items are listed in the Project panel. Unlike items in the Timeline panel and Effect Controls panel, the order of items in
the Project panel has no influence on the appearance of the movies that you create. You can organize footage items and compositions however
you like, including organizing them using folders. Solid-color footage items are automatically placed in the Solids folder.
Folders that you create in the Project panel exist only in the Project panel. You can expand a folder to reveal its contents, and put folders inside
other folders. To move a file or folder to the top level of the Project panel, drag it to the gray information area at the top of the panel.
You can use the search field in the Project panel to find footage items that meet various criteria, such as those with missing source files. See
Search and filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels.
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Scripts for managing footage items
Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that automatically writes specified information about footage items or layers to the
Comment fields for the respective items in the Project panel or Timeline panel.
Christopher Green provides a script (Project_Items_Renamer.jsx) on his website with which you can rename compositions and footage items
selected in the Project panel. You can search and replace text in the names, append characters to the beginning or end of the names, or trim a
specified number of characters from the beginning or end of the names.
Lloyd Alvarez provides a script on the After Effects Scripts website with which you can search an After Effects project and replace the file paths for
the sources of footage items. This is convenient for swapping out source files, updating a project after moving sources, or updating a project after
moving it to a different computer system.
Show information for items
To show information about a footage item or composition, select it in the Project panel. Information is displayed at the top of
the Project panel next to the thumbnail image.
To show the file creator ID for a footage item, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) it in the Project panel.
Create a folder
Choose File > New > New Folder, or click the Create A New Folder icon at the bottom of the Project panel.
Rename and sort items
To rename a composition, footage item, or folder, do one of the following:
Select the item in the Project panel, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS), and enter the new name.
Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the item, choose Rename, and enter the new name.
To rename the Comment column, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the column heading and choose Rename
This.
You can use the Comment column to create a custom sorting option. Rename the column, enter corresponding information
for each item (for example, camera number), and then sort by that column.
To sort items by entries in any column, click the column name in the Project panel.
Copy items
To duplicate or copy an item in the Project panel, select it and choose Edit > Duplicate or Edit > Copy.
To copy a footage item to Windows Explorer (Windows) or the Finder (Mac OS), drag the footage item from the Project panel
to the desktop.
Reveal footage items
To reveal where a footage item is used in a composition, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the footage item in
the Project panel and choose Reveal In Composition; then select the specific instance you want to reveal (composition name,
layer name).
To reveal the source footage item for a layer in the Project panel, right-click (Windows) or Control- click (Mac OS) the layer in
the Timeline panel, and then choose Reveal Layer Source In Project.
To reveal the location of a footage item in Adobe Bridge, Windows Explorer, or the Finder, right-click (Windows) or Controlclick (Mac OS) the footage item in the Project panel and choose Reveal In Bridge, Reveal In Windows Explorer, or Reveal In
Finder.
Refresh footage items
To refresh footage items selected in the Project panel to use the current versions of the source footage files, choose File > Reload Footage.
View footage item in the Footage panel or media player assigned by operating system
When items are previewed in the Footage panel, they show the results of the footage interpretation operations. (See Interpret footage items.)
To open a footage item in a Footage panel, double-click the footage item in the Project panel.
To open selected footage items in the Footage panel, press Enter on the numeric keypad when the Project panel is active.
Note: To open the source for a footage item using the player application associated with that file type, Alt -double- click (Windows) or Optiondouble-click (Mac OS) the footage item in the Project panel. See the documentation for your operating system for instructions for changing the
associations between applications and file types.
Trim footage items in the Footage panel
You can use the Set In Point , Set Out Point , Ripple Insert Edit , and Overlay Edit controls in the Footage panel to trim a footage item
and insert it into a composition. Trimming in the Footage panel can be more convenient than adding the footage item to a composition and then
trimming its layer in the Timeline panel.
Edit footage in its original application
You can open and edit a footage item in the application in which it was created, directly from an After Effects project. The original application must
be installed on the computer that you are using, which must have enough available RAM for it to run. When you edit and save changes to the
footage in the original application, the changes are applied to all instances of the footage when After Effects becomes the active application.
Note: If you’re editing footage that has an alpha channel, make sure that you’re viewing and editing all of the channels, including the alpha
channel, in the other application. Otherwise, changes you make may not be applied to the alpha channel, and it may become misaligned with the
color channels.
When you edit a still-image sequence selected in the Timeline or Composition panel, the individual image that is currently displayed opens. When
you edit a still-image sequence selected in the Project panel, the first image in the sequence opens.
1. In the Project panel, Composition panel, or Timeline panel, select the footage item or a layer that uses the footage item as its
source. If you selected a still-image sequence from the Composition or Timeline panel, move the current-time indicator to the
frame displaying the still image you want to edit.
2. Choose Edit > Edit Original.
3. Edit the footage in its original application, and save the changes.
Remove items from a project
Before reducing your project, removing unused footage, or consolidating footage, consider making a backup by incrementing and saving your
project first. (See Save and back up projects in After Effects CS5.)
Carl Larsen demonstrates the use of the Collect Files command and the Consolidate All Footage command in a video tutorial on the Creative
COW website that shows how to organize, consolidate, and archive project files and footage.
To remove an item from a project, select the item in the Project panel and press Delete.
To remove all unused footage items from a project, choose File > Remove Unused Footage.
To remove all duplicate footage items from a project, Choose File > Consolidate All Footage. After Effects considers footage
items to be duplicates only if they use the same Interpret Footage settings.
When a duplicate item is removed, layers that refer to the duplicate item are updated to refer to the remaining copy.
To remove unselected compositions and unused footage items from selected compositions in the Project panel, choose File >
Reduce Project. This command is available only when the Project panel is active.
This command removes both unused footage items and all other compositions that are not included within a selected
composition as nested (subordinate) compositions.
If the selected composition includes items that are turned off (that is, the Video or Audio switch is deselected in the Timeline
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panel), the Reduce Project command does not remove those items.
If an expression in a selected composition refers to an element in a nonsubordinate composition, Reduce Project removes the
nonsubordinate composition and the applied expression. A message appears after you choose Reduce Project to remind you
of this possibility, so you can undo the command if needed. To avoid removing the expressions from a nonsubordinate
composition, drag the nonsubordinate composition into the composition that refers to it. Then deselect the Audio and Video
switches for the composition that you added.
The SaveCompAsProject script from Sebastian Perier on the AEScripts website saves selected compositions as individual projects.
Placeholders and proxies
When you want to temporarily use a substitute for a footage item, use either a placeholder or a proxy.
Placeholder A still image of color bars used to temporarily take the place of a missing footage item. Use a placeholder when you are building a
composition and want to try out ideas for a footage item that is not yet available. After Effects generates placeholders automatically, so you do not
have to provide a placeholder footage item.
Proxy Any file used to temporarily replace a footage item, but most often a lower-resolution or still version of an existing footage item used to
replace the original. Often, storyboard images are used as proxies. You can use a proxy either before you have the final footage or when you
have the actual footage item but you want to speed up previewing or rendering of test movies. You must have a file available to use as a proxy.
Any masks, attributes, expressions, effects, and keyframes that you apply to the layer are retained when you replace its placeholder or proxy with
the final footage item.
In the Project panel, After Effects marks the footage name to indicate whether the actual footage item or its proxy is currently in use:
A filled box indicates that a proxy item is currently in use throughout the project. The name of the proxy appears in bold type at
the top of the Project panel when the footage item is selected.
An empty box indicates that the footage item is in use throughout the project, though a proxy has been assigned.
No box indicates that no proxy is assigned to the footage item.
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Proxy items in Project panel
A. Proxy assigned and in use B. Proxy assigned, but original in use C. No proxy assigned D. Proxy name
Work with placeholders and missing footage items
For best results, set the placeholder to the same size, duration, and frame rate as the actual footage.
If After Effects cannot find source footage when you open a project, the footage item appears in the Project panel labeled Missing, and the name
of the missing footage appears in italics. Any composition using that item replaces it with a placeholder. You can still work with the missing item in
the project, and any effects you applied to the original footage remain intact. When you replace the placeholder with the source footage, After
Effects places the footage in its correct location in all the compositions that use it.
You can find footage items for which the source items are missing by typing missing in the search field in the Project panel. See Search and
filter in the Timeline, Project, and Effects & Presets panels.
To use a placeholder, choose File > Import > Placeholder.
To replace the selected footage item with a placeholder, choose File > Replace Footage > Placeholder.
To replace a placeholder with the actual footage item, select the placeholder you want to replace in the Project panel, choose
File > Replace Footage > File, and locate the actual footage.
Work with proxies for footage items
When you use a proxy, After Effects replaces the actual footage with the proxy in all compositions that use the actual footage item. When you
finish working, you can switch back to the actual footage item in the project list. After Effects then replaces the proxy with the actual footage item in
any composition.
When you render your composition as a movie, you may choose to use either all the actual high-resolution footage items or their proxies. You may
want to use the proxies for a rendered movie if, for example, you simply want to test motion using a rough movie that renders quickly.
For best results, set a proxy so that it has the same frame aspect ratio as the actual footage item. For example, if the actual footage item is a
640x480-pixel movie, create and use a 160x120-pixel proxy. When a proxy item is imported, After Effects scales the item to the same size and
duration as the actual footage. If you create a proxy with a frame aspect ratio that is different from the frame aspect ratio of the actual footage
item, scaling takes longer.
In the Project panel, do any of the following:
To locate and use a proxy, select a footage item, choose File > Set Proxy > File, locate and select the file you want to use as
a proxy, and click Open.
To toggle between using the original footage and its proxy, click the proxy indicator to the left of the footage name.
To stop using a proxy, select the original footage item, and choose File > Set Proxy > None.
Create a proxy
Use the Create Proxy command to create a proxy from footage or compositions selected in the Project panel or the Timeline panel. This command
adds the selected footage to the Render Queue panel and sets the Post-Render Action option to Set Proxy.
1. Open a footage item or composition in the Project or Timeline panel.
2. Move the current-time indicator in the Footage panel to the frame that you want to use as the proxy still item, or for the poster
frame for the movie footage item.
3. Choose one of the following commands:
File > Create Proxy > Still to create a still image proxy.
File > Create Proxy > Movie to create a moving image proxy.
4. Specify a name and output destination for the proxy.
5. In the Render Queue panel, specify render settings, and click Render.
Create placeholders for output
You can create placeholder files that can be used in different compositions. For example, you can create a placeholder for an item in the render
queue that will create a 24-fps movie and then drag that placeholder into a 30-fps composition. Then, when you render the 30- fps composition,
After Effects first renders the placeholder at 24 fps and uses this rendered version as it renders the 30-fps composition.
Drag the Output Module heading for a queued item from the Render Queue panel to the Project panel. After Effects creates a placeholder for
output in the Project panel and sets the Post-Render Action option for the item to Import & Replace Usage.
Additional resources for working with placeholders and proxies
Trish and Chris Meyer give tips on prerendering and proxies in After Effects in this article on the ProVideo Coalition website.
Andrew Kramer provides a video tutorial with tips for working with proxies, output modules, and output module templates on the Video Copilot
website.
Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that creates, sets, and unsets proxies and placeholders.
Charles Bordenave (nab) provides a script on the After Effects Scripts website with which you can create proxies for multiple selected items.
Chris and Trish Meyer explain how to use Footage Proxies with RED footage in After Effects with this article on the Pro Video Coalition website.
See this video tutorial on the Video2Brain website by Todd Kopriva for information about saving time by pre-rendering and using proxies in After
Effects.
Loop a footage item
If you intend to loop a visual footage item continuously in your project, you only need to create one cycle of the footage item in After Effects.
1. In the Project panel, select the footage item to loop.
2. Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.
3. Type an integer value for Loop and click OK.
Lloyd Alvarez provides a script on the After Effects Scripts website that automatically loops a footage item, composition, or layer.
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