comp From Images Not sequential

[jimlolo]

I'm trying to make a video from 500 images that aren't named continuously (e.g. image 1, then 4, then 9, etc). And just 1 layer, not each image having it own layer. How can I do this?

Thanks

[Rick Gerard]

Each image will have to be on a separate layer. You can pre-compose all of the layers to end up with one layer in the timeline.

If you are just creating a slide show, After Effects may not be the best tool for the job. Lightroom has a great slideshow tool, and Premiere Pro is better at editing movies that are longer than just one or two shots. After Effects is an animation and compositing app designed to create shots you can't create in an NLE like Premiere Pro.

If you gave us more details about your project we could suggest a more specific workflow.

[jimlolo]

I have images from Google Earth, with images taken from varous angles in order to create a 3D image. Many of the images are copies (redundant), and I am trying to remove those copies. But the sequnce then gets lost. I thought if I uploaded to AE, I could then compile out a new, sequentially list of images or video.numbered images. An oidd way to do this, but not sure how else I can re-shuflle the numbers to a continous sequence.

Thanks

[Rick Gerard]

If the numbers, image names, time of capture, or any property you can see in a Finder or Windows Explorer window are in order and you have removed any duplicates from the list, you can use the built-in image renaming tools for Mac and Windows. I use Finder/Rename/Replace Text or Add Text or the Automator app to do that kind of organizing all the time. It's much faster than organizing file names and layers inside After Effects or any other app.

[Airweb_AE]

@Rick Gerard I also thought about renaming the files, but the problem is that then the sequence won't be synchronized with the camera anymore.

[Airweb_AE]

You can try recreating the sequence using a script:
In your project, select the last image of the sequence,

then hold down the Shift key and select the first image of the sequence.
Place the selected images into a new composition,

and then run the script.

var proj = app.project;
var thisComp = proj.activeItem;
var regex = /(.*?)_(\d+)\.jpeg/;
for (var i = 1; i <= thisComp.numLayers; i++) {
    var layer = thisComp.layer(i);
    var match = layer.name.match(regex);
    var frameNumber = Number(match[2]);
    layer.startTime = frameNumber * thisComp.frameDuration;
}

[Warren Heaton]

In the Finder or Explorer, place the images that you want to include in a folder named in alphabetical order.  Then import the folder as an Image Sequence with Force Alphabetical Order enabled.