After Effects 2025 crashing when importing video

[lucasvasconcelos]

I'm having a problem with the After 2025 version and also with the latest beta version of After 2025. When adding a video to the project, after a certain amount of time, After crashes. I can't find the space and see the preview of the video. When saving, it crashes with the file saving pop-up. I need to force close it and open it again. After a certain amount of time, it gives the same problem again.

Note: whether or not you import a PSD, it gives the error. When you open After and import only the video file, it gives the problem.

I didn't have this problem in After 2024.

I currently use a Mac with macOS Sequoia 15.3.1.

[Kevin-Monahan]

What kind of footage are you working with, @lucasvasconcelos? What kind of hardware are you using?

Thanks,

Kevin

[lucasvasconcelos]

using .mp4 files (edited in Premiere) and raw files straight from Android phones and .mov files recorded from iPhone (with and without HDR). I'm using a Macbook Pro M1 Max

[lucasvasconcelos]

@Kevin-Monahan using .mp4 files (edited in Premiere) and raw files straight from Android phones and .mov files recorded from iPhone (with and without HDR). I'm using a Macbook Pro M1 Max

[Kevin-Monahan]

Tell me more about these Android "raw" files.

Thanks,
Kevin

[lucasvasconcelos]

@Kevin-Monahan 

Sorry, I'm using Google Translate and it may not have been so clear.

Videos recorded directly from Android and iPhone and also videos that were edited in Premiere,

[Kevin-Monahan]

I have a few more questions:

Which codec are the files? You can run them through MediaInfo and show us s screenshot in tree view.

Were the files exported from Premiere Pro and then imported to After Effects or via dynamic link?A little more info about your workflow would be helpful.

What kind of Mac is it?

Thanks,
Kevin

[lucasvasconcelos]

@Kevin-Monahan The files were exported in Premiere Pro and imported into After Effects.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Was the iPhone footage shot with "spatial audio" enabled in Camera Settings? I know that can crash Rush. Let me know.

Thanks,
Kevin

[AM-S]

I am also having this issue and have experienced across a few projects now - each using video assets (all from different sources). I have tried re-encoding the source video, but no luck. As the OP mentioned working on similar projects in AE 2024 didn't result in these issues. This freezing at 98% on saving is also happening. Sometimes the save window sticks in place but you can carry on working on the project, which isn't normal AE behaviour.

[lucasvasconcelos]

@Kevin-Monahan 

Unfortunately, I can't say for sure, but I can try to do a test.

I'll come back here after I do the test. But I just uploaded another video and it froze again. The flow is exactly the same as what @AM-S said above, it freezes when saving at 99% and that's why it stays.

[StudioMNKY]

I'm also having the exact same issue with videos in AE 2025 (25.1.0 and prior version). I've so far used H264 .mp4s and ProRes 422 .movs. For me, it'll randomly crash either on playback or moving the playhead and will not update the viewport (either hangs on the current visuals in the timeline or turns black) with any interaction, since I am still able to use the UI, i.e click on other layers, move layers around and see that they're moving by having masks and shape paths visible (cmd+shift+h), but nothing updates. I then try and save my work, and just as the others have described, the save pop up appears and either completes or nearly completes, but then stays on screen and I'm unable to interact with it at all. The same goes for opening preferences or emptying the cache when it crashes, the UI stays on screen and is unresponsive.

I've only just got my 128GB M3 Max and have only worked in AE 2025 on Sequoia (15.3.1 currently) so far. Have just swtiched to AE 2024 for the time being and at very first glance the issues aren't apparent.

Glad I'm not alone and it's not a problem with my new machine! 🥵

[lucasvasconcelos]

@Kevin-MonahanAny news about this error? I just opened another project and unfortunately it is impossible to use After 25

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @lucasvasconcelos, @AM-S, and @StudioMNKY,

I spoke with the product team and there is not enough information here in order to reproduce the bug.

• Are you all on macOS? We can't tell.
• Can you isolate it down to one project with one piece of footage and send me the link after uploading to Drobox or similar?
• There are no internal crash reports associated with their emails. Did you crash or were you hanging?
• If it's a hang, check your logs. Can we get an After Effects Log.txt from any of you for a session where you were hanging?"

I hope we can assist you.

Thanks,
Kevin

[AM-S_DC]

Many Thanks @Kevin-Monahan I have just sent you an example project and logs. I noticed hangs and the video stuck on a single frame despite scrubbing taking place after I ram previewed. Before that everything seemed to be working fine.  I'm on a 2022 Apple M1 Max. In the example I sent I ended the session by Force Quitting as the hangs etc.. make the UI pretty much unusable. Thanks and let me know if there's anything else you need.

[RJaimes]

Just adding to this and that I'm having the same experience. I'm on Mac as well. Macbook Pro M3. Happens when any kind of footage is imported. Stock in ProRes 422, MP4s and everything alike.

[lucasvasconcelos]

@Kevin-Monahan 

I just sent you the project, video and a picture with the error.

After freezes on the save screen and the UI becomes unusable.

[AM-S_DC]

@Kevin-Monahan Have you had a chance to look through the sample projects we sent and are you able to replicate this issue? Would be great to get a fix pushed out asap, thanks

[ckuehne]

I'm also having this issue. After Effects 2025 had actually been solid for me using EXRs, and non ProRes files, but now I'm getting crashes without using ANY 3rd-party plugins, and running in Safe Mode. This has been a huge problem for trying to get through my current project.

[Fabio22557433ezjg]

Having the same exact issue, fresh install of AE 25.1.0, no plugins, on latest macOS Sequoia 15.3.2. Created a new project and imported a clip, software freezes within 10 seconds of scrubbing on the timeline. Thought I was sent a corrupted clip, so tried re-encoding that to h.264 or ProRes, same thing happens. Tried any other clip, same thing happens.

Imagine not being able to import a video clip in a (paid) video editing software. You can't make this up.

[Gareth30027588u34v]

I've been experiencing the same issue especially with MP4 files, did a fresh install, installed no plugins and the same issue - the timeline just freezes after about 30 seconds when the project has any video and you try to scrub it. I have to force quit. I have now found something that is working for me and that's to turn on Mercury GPU accerlation in the project settings, when this is set to Mercury Software Only the crashing returns when you try to scrub a timeline that contains video

[Alex23219286wzp1]

Same issue on my Mac. It started with mp4 h.264 files (AE freezes while files were imported via dynamic link from the Premier Pro). I then pre-render h.264 to ProRes LT. It solved the problem for a while. Now ProRes LT/ProRes HQ freezes out AE. At first AE allows to import files but after a few seconds it freezes with the wheel of death. Sometimes it happens when you start RAM previewing it. So odd and anoying. I'm thinking to switch back to 2024 because it is impossible to work this way.

[sebastiank18159226]

I work on a MacBookPro M2 Max. It´s impossible to work with video footage in AE 25 since December 24.
As I already started working on a complex project with this version and the usage of video footage came up later,  I had to find a solution:
All video footage has to be rendered in png- or jpg sequences. This is quite bothersome, but you can finish your work. 
Best, Sebastian.

[Alex23219286wzp1]

Second that! @Kevin-Monahan Can you please specify what you'd need to issue the bug fix? Thanks

[Fabio22557433ezjg]

This is basically latest macOS, on the latest release of AE, on every kind of Apple Silicon Mac.

I'm baffled this is still not acknowledged, and I'm sure everyone following and being affected by the issue is too.

[matthews56799913]

Not sure what happened to my previous message on this board but I am also having this issue. Importing any video file into ae25 causes it to freeze/crash shortly after. Currently having to use ae24 as a workaround and have tried multiple reinstalls of ae25 but still having the issue. @Kevin-Monahan @JohnColombo @Jessica McMillan  please acknowledge, hopefully something is happening behind the scenes???

Macbook Pro M3 Max

OS Sonoma 14.3