Creating re-useable assets

[mttplbkp]

I've recently been looking into MOGRT files in order to create editable templates.

Is there a way to do something similar but within the same AE file? So let's say I created a comp with a line of text with some kind of background graphic... and I wanted to re-use that same comp thoughout my animation, but for the text to be editable.

Is this possible?

[Warren Heaton]

You can use a Comp in any other Comp as often as you like as well as make duplicates of Comps.

It sounds like what you want to do is make duplicates and then use those.  So, if you have a Comp with a particular aniamtion that includes a Text Layer, you can select it in the Project panel, make a duplicate, and then edit the Text Layer and use it as source in another Comp as needed. 

[mttplbkp]

Thanks for getting back to me... wouldn't this mean however, that I'd need to update each comp individually if I wanted to make any design changes? e.g. the colour of the text?

[Warren Heaton]

For text color, you could apply the Fill Effect to each TextLayer and link the Color parameter.

Then only have to the parent Fill Color.  Usually you give the Layer or Comp that has the parent Fill Color a descriptive name like “Text Color Control” as well as add it to the Essential Graphics panel.

[Mylenium · Accepted solution]

How far this goes is entirely up to you. Of course you'll hit limitations eventually as there is only so much even the smartest setup can do, but rigging up stuff with expressions and a "Controller" from a parent comp is easy enough even just with simple pickwhip expressions linked to a color expression control as in your case. Similarly, more reusability simply means being smart about using features like never changing the text color directly using the character panel in the first place but instead setting things up with text animators or even effects. Perfectly doable, you just need to work on learning and understanding these things. Once you do, a lot of stuff will fall into place organically without even thinking about it.

Mylenium

[Daniel Vice]

Would this approach work for reusing an animation multiple times but switching out a photo asset for each instance? I need to create a circle that has a wiggle animation applied to it and then have multiple version of this circle on screen but I want to have a different photo animate along with the circle. Is there a way to create a "blank" version with a place holder for the photo that can be specified for each specific instance of that animation?

[Warren Heaton]

There two approaches that I can think of right away:

Create a MOGRT and leverage the media replacement option:

Media Replacement in Motion Graphics templates | Adobe

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/replace-images-videos-motion-graphics.html

Create an After Effect project with the animation, save it, and then change the ".aep" to ".aet" to turn it into an After Effects template project.  A template AE project is always open as a new, untitled project or can be imported into an existing After Effects project.  To change the photo, you could replace the source at the project level, use the Option/Alt drag and drop to a selected Comp Layer to replace the Layer Source, or use a nested Comp for the picture where the replacement picture is placed in that nested Comp.

[Daniel Vice]

Thanks. I'll try these out. Can you create a MORGT in After Effects and then use multiple copies of it in an After Effects composition?

[Warren Heaton]

If staying in After Effects, you would just create a 1st Comp with the animation and then make duplicates of that as needed and update the Layer Source it the duplicates as you go.  As long as you're not nesting Comps, that should work fine.  If you are nesting Comps, nested Comps need to be duplicated and replaced as well unless you use the importing an AET option or True Comp Duplicator.