The Timeline is great for timing, but the bane of the Timeline is precomping. The basic elements of a Master comp, source comps, and a render comp seem useful on a shot of just about any complexity, but the template can include a lot more than that: custom expressions, camera rigs, Color Management settings, and recurring effects setups. Organize Source folders for all footage, broken down as is most logical for your project.Why? If the source changes for any reason, using precomps makes it much easier to get meticulous adjustments like masks and paint strokes to line up without needing to redo them. It’s a smart idea never to work with source footage directly, but to place each source clip in a precomp. When you need to return to a project over the course of days or weeks, this level of organization can be a lifesaver.
Keeping the Project panel well organized and tidy can clarify your ability to think about the project itself.įigure 4.1 shows a couple of typical project templates containing multiple compositions to create one final shot, although these could certainly be adapted for a group of similar shots or a sequence. I’m always happiest with a project that is well organized, even if I’m the only one likely ever to work on it. These tips are especially useful if you’re someone who knows compositing well but find After Effects disorienting at times.
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How to keep a complex, multiple-composition pipeline organized.How and why to create a project template.It’s easy to lose track of stuff when projects get complicated. You may find the After Effects experience closer to what you might call “real-time.” Efficient rendering, however, depends on well-organized compositions and the ability to plan for bottlenecks and other complications. Understand how to use multiple compositions.This chapter helps you artistically and technically, as if the two can be separated. At other times, you’re more like a programmer, isolating and debugging elements of a project, even creating controlled tests to figure out how things are working. Sometimes you take the attitude of a master chef-you know what can be prepped and considered “done” before the guests are in the restaurant and it’s time to assemble the piece de resistance. Build a system that even a fool can use and only a fool will want to use it.