AE 2021 wont import 1000 layer Psd file

[minasja]

Im trying to import a 69,000 KB psd into After Effects

The psd weights 69 MG, it isnt that big, its just a lot of layers and groups. There are about 1000 layers, each in one folder/group (cause i need each image/layer in a composition in AE - thats why i put them in a separate folder in PS). Ive tried to import it with editable option retain layer size in AE and it just never ends importing, Ive waited 3 hours tops.

Ive tried to divide the psd in two, so 500 layers and 500 folders (groups) in each .psd, and it still wont import it. 

AE just says "Does not respond" and it ends up crashing. 

Please help? Suggestions?

The psd is 8bit, rgb, about 7000 x 9461 px, res 100 pix-inch.

[Mylenium]

Start by simplifying your document and removing all that unnecessary grouping stuff. It's easy enough to create all those comps using AE's internal functions and scripts. You may also want to read up on how to prepare documents for AE. Document DPI doesn't matter at all and all docs should be created for (assumed) 72 DPI. Even so, in your case a devcompressed layer/ frame would stiull make up 265 MB and could easily exhaust all your system's memory. You simply have navigated yourself into a corner here with wrong assumptions.

Mylenium

[minasja]

Thank you so much for replying to my question.

I could remove the grouping yes, I could do it in after effects.

But I still have the 1000 layers which make up a mosaic that I need to animate in AE, in other words, I cant simplify the document. Those 1000 layers are unique and necessary.

What I am trying now is creating 4 psd, each one containing 250, this is being possible at the moment and its the way Im able to move forward. Will I encounter problems making them 3d layers in AE and animating them? Hopefully not.

Could you explain what do you mean with "devcompressed"? Not familiar with that term. Do you mean that even when its a 69 MB file it could make up 265 MB once in AE?

Thanks for your time

[minasja]

This is the mosaic, each "dot" is a layer in psd.
Even with 250 layers per psd is taking way too long to make any change, any move, in after effects. What do you suggest? should i recreate the image in AE with solids and mask??? Im still going to make 10000 solids/comps.. but will that be more effective???

[Martin_Ritter]

Only simple monocolored dots?

We don't know what you are heading for, but check out CC Balls effect and I'm pretty sure there is a simple mosaic effect or free script available for such a task.

Doing this with individual layers is a killer for AE, even on high end machines.

*Martin

[minasja]

Yeah, each dot has to have one image of a person (this is why I need the
layer per dot) plus needs to be animated in 3d (just position in x,y,z).
It’s 3 am in my country so I can’t check the cc dot effect right now but
I’ll do first thing in the morning. Thanks.
So, the recreation of the image in ae using solids or shapes is also a no?
--
*Asia Rivera *
Digital matte painter / VFX compositor

[Martin_Ritter]

Okay, I understand. Then CC Balls won't help you.

I think its less pain to find a script or plugin for this. Even if it cost a bit of money.

Otherwise I can only think of creating a cicle as mask for one image, precomp this, duplicate the precomp and change the image - which is already insane if you have 1000 images.

Next step is to animate the precomp and finally arrange all precomps with the animation in your maincomp to create the mosaic. You can use Expressions for this, but still this is an composition with 1000 layers and AE won't like this at all. Splitting it up will help. 

*Martin

[minasja]

Thanks for this.

Ok, what if I recycle the images. Say I have 300 images and I re use them
for the times needed to make up for the 1000 dots I need? Would this help?

When you say splitting up will help - You mean have comps with 100 layers
...and have all these in the main comp? Or... do you mean ... have a
project with tops 100 layers? Then prerender then put together?

Scripts/plugins/ templates dont work for me. I’ve looked. It’s a very
specific idea I need to achieve.
--
*Asia Rivera *
Digital matte painter / VFX compositor

[Martin_Ritter]

Hello again! Isn't it still in the middle of the night?

OK, let's see. If plugins are not an option, you have to go the hard way.

I don't think that there is a problem with 1000 pictures itself, it's just an enormous task to prepare everything. If you don't mind this, you are good to go.

As descriped above, I would break down everything to a single comp which contains the image and a mask only. Creating the mask from a shape layer is a bit more handy, but you can have the mask directly applied on the image as well.

Then you would have to duplicate this comp and switch the image by selecting the layer in the comp, hold ALT key and dragging the new image over the selected. This replaces only the footage, everything else will stay. So you can have already an animation applied and it will still be there.

You'll have to repeat this for all your images and it's a matter of your perseverance if you can do it a 1000 times.

Alternativly you can write a script, or maybe find one, which does exactly this. If you have no experience in AE scripting and programming, you are faster doing it by hand.

Next step would be to add the animation, but this kind of depends on the animation itself. Say you want to rotate every circle-image in 3D space, so they make a flip, best practice is to apply this animation to the precomp. You would put the precomp including image and mask into a new comp of the same dimensions, switch on 3D and make the animtion.

The next step is to put every precomp including the animation into your "main" comp, forming the final mosaic. This is where AE won't be happy in dealing with 1000 layers. It will work, but you might run into a effect that you cannot see the layers in the UI anymore (some years ago I created a massive triangle-soup with 800 layers or so and ran into this).

To prevent this you can split the final mosaic into 4 250 layer comp and finally place the 4 comps into your main comp. 

When creating the mosaic, you can use expression to place every individual precomp. For horizontal placement, the next layers x-position is the width of the previous layer (or a constant value, since every precomps have the same dimensions). When you have one horizontal line, you can precomp this. You do this for all lines and then you just need to vertical place all horizontal lines. You can use the same expression logic, but now the layers y-position is the height of the previous layer, or constant value.

There are more sophisticated methods using modulo but if you can create horizontal procomps, there is no need to go crazy here.

If not already in use, you should get the script MoveAnchorPoint (there should be a free version still available) for this project. Also TrueLayerDuplicator will come in handy: https://www.vdodna.com/blog/true-layer-duplicator-script-for-after-effects/

And check you TrueCompDuplicator, might be useful as well.

*Martin