Replacing "solid" layer with video without distortion; Recreating Parks and Rec Opening

[demetric62048899]

I am trying to recreate the Parks and Recreation opening for my organization, and replace the moving squares or frames with our own footage. After getting all squares animated to how I like it, I want to replace them with videos moving around. I thought selecting the square I want replaced, holding down "alt" and dragging the content to the place holder would do the trick but the video is just showing up distorted and not even in the shape of the solid layer it was meant to replace! I have thought about pre-cropping all of the videos before importing them to AE but the additional software cost more money and there has to be easier way, right? PLS HELP

[Kyle Hamrick · Accepted solution]

If your solid doesn't have exactly the same dimensions as the footage you're trying to replace it with, you're going to get undesirable results.
If you've already got solids in place, I'd bring in your video clips, parent each one to the solid it's supposed to be replacing (and position it correctly), and then use the solid as a track matte for that clip. Does that appear to make sense for the setup you've built?

[demetric62048899]

Yes, I did not know about track matte. Thank you!