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Chisnamic
Chisnamic
Inspiring
June 17, 2017
Answered

Overwrite & Insert editing

  • June 17, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 6303 views

Hello , I am very new to After effects  . . just starting right now so I'll be asking quite a lot of what seem to everyone to be very simple questions , but to me there are very hard questions . So thanks in advance for your patience and assistance so here we go . . . .

I have a clip in the monitor with the in \ out points selected but I cannot get it into the timeline . The tutorial says that there are supposed to be insert / overwrite buttons in the timeline but I cannot find anything in my timeline , are there shortcut insert / overwrite keys etc ?

Thanks .

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Roei Tzoref
    are there shortcut insert / overwrite keys etc ?

    Ae is not that good in editing tools. you got ripple insert and insert edit in the footage window

    you can also drag the video from the project panel to the timeline or use the shortcut Ctrl+/ (on Windows).

    if you want to replace source from project window to the timeline, you can drag the video from the project panel to the timeline and hold Alt as you place it on top of another video in the timeline. can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+/ if both are highlighted.

    having said all that, if you want to control you edits, or if you are doing mainly editing, you will feel much more comfortable doing this in premiere. Ae is your tool for things you can't do in Premiere.

    3 replies

    Chisnamic
    ChisnamicAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 21, 2017

    Thanks guys for understanding what I am talking about  , the majority is saying that this kind of editing cannot be done in AE but yet still , I just recently this instructional video :

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHIA1qMg_Hs&t=1092s

    At approx :18:00 mins into the video the instructor  is doing the EXACT same thing that I was asking about  and yet they are some who is saying that AE cannot do this kind of editing.

    R
    Community Expert
    Rick GerardCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 21, 2017

    Nobody said you can't do what that guy is doing, but doing it with multiple clips from the comp panel, not the footage panel is not possible. You can use the insert and overlay features, you can drag to the timeline, but editing does not work like it does in a NLE. If you go back to the footage panel and change the in or out point the clip will not shift in the comp. If you use the insert or overlay again you get another copy of the clip. AE is not a film editing app, that's all there is to it.

    It's important to vet your trainers. As knowledgable as the guy doing the tutorial seems to appear, right after he adds the video he grabs a large JPEG and uses the Fit to composition command. This is a really notorious rookie mistake that will distort your JPEG images unless the frame aspect ratio is precisely the same as the frame aspect ratio of the composition panel. I can even see slight distortion in the tutorial with the first image and the second image the guy's face becomes seriously distorted. Squares become rectangles, circles become ovals and you wonder what went wrong. You should never Fit to comp, you should only use Fit horizontally or fit vertically and you should check to make sure that the X and Y scale values for any layer are exactly equal to avoid distortion.

    I watched the entire tutorial and there were several other questionable workflow techniques used. AE is not simple, it's easy to foul everything up and end up with a video that won't compress properly or display properly or without distortion, and most importantly, it is extremely easy to waste a bunch of time doing things in AE, like editing, that are better suited to other apps. I get hired and get paid because I get things done on time and under budget 99.99999% of the time. Using the right tools for the job and using them correctly is the key to success in one of the toughest creative fields there ever was and it's just getting tougher to make a living. Ten or fifteen years ago anyone with the knowledge to get AE open and create a composite could demand a decent fee for their work. Now, even if you are very good at it it's really hard to get well compensated for your time. We're just trying to help you be more productive.

    Chisnamic
    ChisnamicAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 21, 2017

    Understood Sir  , thank you very much for your time , explanation and response. , as I said when I asked the question I am very new to AE and have no clue how it works but with the assistance of everyone I hope to learn very soon.

    Respectfully.

    C_ Mac.D

    Mike_Abbott
    Mike_Abbott
    Legend
    June 19, 2017

    Just be aware that After Effects isn't something you can learn 'as you go' without a lot of  time wasting and frustration. It works very differently to an NLE.

    If you haven't done so already, I'd recommend you spend some time here:

    Adobe After Effects Learn & Support

    Roei Tzoref
    Roei TzorefCorrect answer
    Legend
    June 17, 2017
    are there shortcut insert / overwrite keys etc ?

    Ae is not that good in editing tools. you got ripple insert and insert edit in the footage window

    you can also drag the video from the project panel to the timeline or use the shortcut Ctrl+/ (on Windows).

    if you want to replace source from project window to the timeline, you can drag the video from the project panel to the timeline and hold Alt as you place it on top of another video in the timeline. can also use the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+/ if both are highlighted.

    having said all that, if you want to control you edits, or if you are doing mainly editing, you will feel much more comfortable doing this in premiere. Ae is your tool for things you can't do in Premiere.

    Chisnamic
    ChisnamicAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 17, 2017

    Thanks very much , but those two edit buttons are not showing in my timeline .

    Chisnamic
    ChisnamicAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 19, 2017

    Please  , please , please  ! ! !     Is there anyone on this forum who can kindly tell me how to get the overwrite / ripple edit buttons to appear on my timeline ?

    Thanks very much.

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