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everfae
Inspiring
February 22, 2018
Question

loopOut expression, getting black frame no matter what.

  • February 22, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 8475 views

I have a pre-comp nested in my main comp that i'd like to loop.
I enabled Time Remapping, went to the last keyframe, moved back one frame and made a new keyframe, then deleted the original last keyframe.
I also tried doing the same but replacing the original last keyframe with the a copy of the first one. However both methods have still resulted in the dreaded last black frame of the loop. The last frame is always black. I've gone through plenty of forum posts on this website and others and still haven't found a solution unfortunately. This is really doing my head in!

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks

    3 replies

    Multipasser
    Multipasser
    Inspiring
    May 21, 2025

    I have the same issue!  When I have a comp of 10seconds and it loops perfectly, I had that comp in another comp, add Time remapping and use 'loopout()' expression the LAST frame is almost always black. I need to make a time remapping keyframe just before the last frame and delete the  last timeremapping keyframe. Than it loops perfectly! why ? 

    Omar.Fathy
    Community Expert
    Omar.FathyCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 22, 2018

    can you give us a printscreen for your timeline ?!

    E
    everfaeAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 22, 2018

    Roland Kahlenberg
    Roland Kahlenberg
    Legend
    February 22, 2018

    JPG is a highly compressed format deliberately created as a delivery format over the Internet. Keep away from it as a production/post-production format. Use TIFF.

    Very Advanced After Effects Training | Adaptive & Responsive Toolkits | Intelligent Design Assets (IDAs) | MoGraph Design System DEV
    Roland Kahlenberg
    Roland Kahlenberg
    Legend
    February 22, 2018

    Is your last keyframe also at the end of the Timeline?

    Additionally, if you are nesting and wanting to loop and do not require Expressions to trigger specific properties in a layer within the precomp, then it is best to render out and re-import. Import and then use the Interpret Footage Dialog to set the number of loops - this option is at the bottom of the said dialog window. This workflow eventually allows for quicker previews and renders as you progress with your project.

    This workflow is also more productive even if you are looping a single layer if it is to be looped numerous times and is sufficiently heavy to render on its own.

    When rendering out, you are essentially committing to a pre-render - to create an intermediate file which will be used in your Timeline. Hence, ensure you pick a high quality format and setting. DNxhd and ProRes are good options.

    Very Advanced After Effects Training | Adaptive & Responsive Toolkits | Intelligent Design Assets (IDAs) | MoGraph Design System DEV
    E
    everfaeAuthor
    Inspiring
    February 22, 2018

    Hi!

    No it isn't, the duration of a single cycle is about 1 or 2 seconds and the main comp length is 10 seconds. I think it will be easier to follow what you said in this case. The loopOut "trick" sometimes works but it doesn't here, and its a very very simple loop so yep i'll just render it and put it back could I use a .png sequence? That's what I'd normally choose.

    Thank you very much

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