Hi Shane,
I think I know what's happening with your project in After Effects 15.0.1.
tl;dr - I suspect that you are using variable frame rate (VFR) footage, and you can fix the problems you described, in After Effects 15.0.1, by changing the new Variable Frame Rate Mode option on each VFR clip to "Smooth Video Motion".
To be sure about this, it would help if you could share with us the project and at least one of the clips, but basically all I need to know is what codec and format of footage you're using, and whether that footage uses a variable frame rate.
Quick intro to VFR if you're not familiar: Many phones, tablets, and drones now shoot video where the frame rate can vary as a means of managing compression. Screen capture applications and video game footage capture apps also do this to compensate for inconsistent frame input.
One of the changes in After Effects 15.0.1, as well as Premiere Pro 12.0.1, is better support for variable frame rate clips. Specifically, they now detect and compensate for the variations in the frame rate so that the audio syncs properly. In After Effects 15.0 and earlier versions, VFR was not detected and read at a single frame rate, which meant that the audio sync could slip when the frame rate varied. We consider preserving audio sync of VFR clips an improvement.
It's not always easy to tell when you have a VFR clip. Sometimes they're stamped with a standard frame right like 29.97, but really use a variable frame rate. If you see a weird frame rate on the file's info, like 29.90 or 30.001, that's a sure sign it's VFR. Premiere Pro 12.0.1 also now explicitly states when it detects VFR in the Properties window (right-click on the clip > Properties).
Because VFR compensation does affect the playback rate, the video could visibly stutter if there is a significant difference between the video and audio rates. That's why the new options for VFR footage are labeled "Preserve Audio Sync" vs. "Smooth Video Motion".
Also, we found that some devices or applications don't write VFR data correctly: the frame rate is not written consistently. After Effects or Premiere Pro need consistent frame rate data to correctly compensate for the variations. When After Effects or Premiere Pro detects bad VFR data, VFR compensation is disabled.
So, getting to the point: what I think is happening is that when you created the edits in your project in After Effects 15.0, and then opened it in 15.0.1, this automatic compensation for VFR is causing some of the video clips to slip a few frames, and others to stutter.
To fix this in After Effects 15.0.1, you'll need to disable this for each clip:
- Select a clip and choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.
- Click the More Options button. (More Options is only available if the footage is MPEG-4, see below if you're using QuickTime files.)
- Change the Variable Frame Rate Mode to Smooth Video Motion.
- Click OK on the dialogs.
You'll need to do this for every VFR clip. You can also use the Remember Interpretation and Apply Interpretation commands to copy (Remember) and paste (Apply) the setting from one clip to all the others. The important thing about Remember and Apply is that it pastes all of the settings, so you don't want to do this if you've made custom adjustments.
One further note: the Variable Frame Rate Mode dialog is only available for MPEG-4 codec (H.264, HEVC) files in an .mp4 container. If your VFR clips are MPEG-4 codec files in a QuickTime .mov container, you won't get the More Options button as described above. To get it, you'll need to fool After Effects into using the .mp4 importer for each clip:
- Right click on the clip in the Project panel and choose Replace Footage > File.
- Select the same file, but don't click the Open or Import button yet.
- At the bottom of the window, set Enable to All Files. (On Windows, the Enable menu isn't labeled; it's to the right of the file name box.)
- Change the Format to MPEG.
- Now click the Open (macOS) or Import (Windows) button.
Now when you go to the Interpret Footage dialog, the More Options button will be available for this .mov file.
Ultimately, the failure here is happening because After Effects 15.0.1 assumes that you want VFR audio sync compensation to be applied to any clip where it detects VFR. It doesn't consider whether the project was created in an earlier version. That's a bit of a catch-22: if you don't apply it you preserve the previous intent, but you may also miss out on fixing a clip where the audio sync was a problem.
I will file a bug describing the problem so the After Effects team can discuss whether or not we want to change a future release of After Effects to not compensate for VFR automatically in projects saved in After Effects 15.0 or earlier.
You shouldn't have problems like this when creating new projects in After Effects 15.0.1. When needed, you can disable VFR compensation on a per-clip basis before you start editing.
If you continue to have problems after making these changes, I'd like to look at your project and footage. Please file a bug report at adobe.com/go/wish and include a link to the files (Dropbox, FTP, or other file share service). I'll watch for the incoming bug report and take a look.
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