After effects adjustment layer has no effect on any layer I want to apply effect to.

[PauK07]

hello everyone,

So im new to after effects and im trying to make an edit, but to make one of the transitions I have to use an adjustment layer and put it above the two clips i want the transition to be in. The problem is that whenever i apply the transform effect and change the position to the adjustment layer it doesn't seem to add any effect to my clips, meaning that when i play the video its like nothing happened, like no edit or change was made. My guess is that my adjustment layer isn't working.

If someone knows how to fix this it would really mean a lot!

Thanks! XOXO

[Kyle Hamrick]

It's a bit tough to figure out exactly what you're doing from your description, but an adjustment layer will indeed affect whatever is beneath it. There are several factors that could be contributing to your problem.
- Is your adjustment layer the size of your comp?
- You said you're adjusting position - within the Transform effect, or on the layer itself?

It also sounds like you might benefit from learning some of the basics - a lot of great info can be found right here on this site.
There's also some info & links about adjustment layers specifically.

[PauK07]

Thank you for the answer,

yes my adjustment layer is the size of my composition and yes im using the transform effect and applying it to the adjustment layer, and then i change the position of the adjustment layer, but i has no effect on any layer beneath.

[Rick Gerard]

If you apply a transition to an adjustment layer every layer below the adjustment layer will have the effect applied. Take Linear Wipe for example. All layers are now treated as one layer so a wipe from left to right would wipe all layers from left to right and the only effect is that all layers would disappear.

Transitions need to be applied to the layer you want to reveal. It is that simple. You are way overthinking the process. The only time you should be using an adjustment layer is to make a change on everything below that layer. Adjustment layers give exactly the same effect as Pre-composing all the layers and applying the effect to the pre-comp.

[Kyle Hamrick]

If you're wanting to move all the layers beneath your adjustment layer, you'd need to make that change within the Transform effect, notr to the layer itself. That said, it's difficult to diagnose your problem without seeing what you're actually trying to accomplish exactly.  Posting your project file could probably help us help you, but it does sound like you might be misunderstanding the way to approach your problem. If you're just wanting a few layers to move off simultaneously, something like parenting your layers together, or to a null, might be a much better way to approach this.

[Dinesh220885625xo5]

dude make sure you are woking on the composition tab and not a seperate window .

[Mylenium]

The whole workflow is rubbish, quite frankly. Effects are first and foremost applied to the layers themselves, especially effects that change the geometry/ shape. You seriously need to read up on this stuff and get away from the notion that adjustment layers are even necessary. It just has become a bad habit purported by inexperienced users watching "bad" tutorials from other inexperienced users.

Mylenium

[Kevin-Monahan]

Ever solve this, PauK? Let us know.

Thanks,
Kevin

[davidu91722252]

Restart after effects and turn this on and off. The adjustment layer icon.

[Dushant5EAB]

It is not working, is there any other method?

[Mr5E73]

make a new shape, a rectangle that covers the whole screen. copy all of the effects from your adjustment layer to the rectangle, and turn on the little "adjustment layer" toggle on it. i guess whatever genius came up with adjustment layers decided they are empty by default, and being empty means no effect is applied.

[Rowan!]

You may also want to confirm Fast Previews  is off. I noticed this with AE 2021 v 18 and turning it off made the Adjustment Layer effects show up (not sure if it's related but thought I'd mention in case it helps).

[ROBERTO HORNS]

THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!!

[Sam5F84]

I was having the same issue and this just fixed it! Thank you.

I hadn't turned Fast Previews on to be begin with and when I checked the dropdown it actually said it was off, but toggling it once fixed it. Nice one.

Thank you for your helpful comment. Much more helpful than just insulting someone's workflow for absolutely no reason (Mylenium).

[Rarapuff]

This perfectly solved my problem. Thank you very much!

[Gamestonic26179436gvqy]

you might have your draft 3d enabled. I don't know if it existed in 2017. but I just had the similar problem. to turn off draft 3d you have to atleast turn on 3d on one layer.. then you can see the draft 3d option bottom of the compositon panel.

[we135b]

You indicate that "yes im using the transform effect". I think the question Kyle Hamrick is asking is did you import the transform effect to the layer or are you using the layer's effecs. It's explained in this video ... https://youtu.be/mAukNiIUYlg

[Babs2020!]

Check this window, and make sure you are on the tab of the complete video, not the individual layers. That was my issue.