
Kyle Hamrick
Community Expert
Kyle Hamrick
Community Expert
Activity
‎Jun 02, 2025
09:22 AM
If you must use 20fps, you'll need to do some trial and error to confirm which formats will allow export... and then also achieve the other goals you have for these files. This is honestly less an After Effects issue than one of video codecs and file formats in general. That said: In the Render Queue, under Output Module, you can choose other presets by clicking on the small arrow next to here it says "H.264 - Match Render Settings - 15 Mbps" in blue. Or, you can fully customize the export format settings by clicking directly on it. The "High Quality" preset will allow a 20fps export, for example, but this will be creating a .mov (Quicktime) file using the Apple ProRes 422 codec. This is a good *production* codec, but likely won't be playable by your phone, in browsers, by most people you might want to share this file with, or maybe even directly on your own machine without using specialized post-production apps like After Effects or Premiere Pro. In short, these limits have reasons for existing. There are different codecs and file formats for different purposes, and most *delivery* formats - made for ease of playback on a wide range of devices - have fewer allowances for specs that are outside the norm.
If you want to continue down this road, I'd encourage you to do some research/learning about video codecs to understand what you're actually dealing with. Here's a good place to start.
If you're not interested in getting into those technical details or doing trial and error testing, I'd recommend sticking to the more-common frame rates, as suggested above.
... View more
‎May 26, 2025
03:22 PM
For the purposes of this conversation, when I say "format," I'm talking about the file format you're actually exporting to, like an H264 .mp4 file, which will be the default if you're not changing any export settings.
You can change the frame size (like 1920x1080) as we ll as the frame rate in each composition, by choosing Composition > Composition Settings (CTRL/CMD + K). However, you can also specify different settings on export. Is there a specific reason you're working at this non-standard frame rate? While you can technically set almost any frame rate in a composition, you won't always be able to actually export a video file with those settings, as you're seeing. I would recommend using one of the more standard frame rates, like 24 (23.976), 25, or 30 (29.97), depending on your desired destination.
... View more
‎May 26, 2025
03:17 PM
You might explore the effects CC Force Motion Blur or Pixel Motion Blur, and see if either of those is able to fill in those gaps?
... View more
‎May 26, 2025
03:15 PM
I do agree that graphics will fare better, because AE has the info to create all the frames for us. If you have the ability to get a higher frame rate at capture, I think you'll have better luck filling in the gaps. You're essentially looking for more of a frame-blending situation here, because the frames we're calling to don't actually exist.
... View more
‎May 25, 2025
08:37 AM
This is absolutely possible, but I will point out that both text layers and shape layers have some additional internal stuff going on that you have to account for when building. Based on your description, the easiest solution is probably to simply use the "2D Text Box (Shape) preset that comes installed with After Effects. All you have to do is then set the desired text layer under this new shape layer's Effect Controls. It's already built to adapt to the alignment of your text, as well as set itself to the text layer's position, so it should do exactly what you're after.
... View more
‎May 25, 2025
08:26 AM
You should be able to get Echo down to a smooth/continuous line by setting the Echo Time low enough and Number of Echoes high enough. I'd recommend starting by setting Echo Time to 1/ your comp's frame rate. (So if you're working at 24fps, type in 1/24 - and don't forget to set this to a negative value, or else it will be in front of your footage). Start dividing this number by 2 and increasing the Number of Echos. You should get there eventually! In this example, the Echo Time is actually set at -0.0016. (The red square is a second layer, created for visibility of this object in the current frame.)
You may also want to experiment with having a higher frame rate on your source footage (if possible), as that will require fewer echoes to be created for a smooth trail.
... View more
‎May 25, 2025
08:07 AM
Officially, you cannot download versions prior to the current and one previous.
If you are having that degree of usability problems, there is likely something about your hardware or software configuration(s) that's ultimately the cause. Do you have a bunch of third-party plug-ins/effects installed? Do you have other AV apps and hardware installed? Have you tried starting AE in Safe Mode to see if you get the same results?
... View more
‎May 25, 2025
08:04 AM
20fps is a non-standard frame rate, and many export codecs (formats) have limitations about the frame rate or size that can be used when creating files of that type. You'll need to either choose a different format, or update your frame rate as recommended. I can't give you more specific info about the format you were attempting to use, since you didn't list it, but you can enter that format into your search engine of choice, and should be able to find the specs it allows.
... View more
‎May 25, 2025
08:00 AM
Double-click the program icon, then immediately hold the three keys until you see a pop-up with startup options.
... View more
‎May 16, 2025
02:33 PM
As soon as I read your original question, I figured this would be the answer! If you look in the Effect Controls panel in Premiere when applying Scale to Frame Size, the Scale value doesn't actually change, so it's kind of happening "under the hood." If you were to use Set to Frame Size (or Fit/Fill to Frame as of 2025), it actually changes the Scale settings of the clip, which transfers into AE without pre-composing.
... View more
‎May 01, 2025
08:22 AM
Reread my comment. This is a Slider Control (Effects > Expression Controls). I simply renamed it in my screenshot.
... View more
‎May 01, 2025
07:28 AM
@Ifihadahifi you can add "Line Spacing" as a property under the text animator. Interestingly, this property is one that can't be passed directly into the Essential Graphics Panel, but you can create and link to a Slider Control (Under "Expression Controls"). Line Spacing gives control over both X and Y values (so you could use this for horizontal offset as well), so if you want to limit it to only Y, a quick expression - as seen below - will enable that.
The slider control can be added directly to the EGP, meaning the end user of the Mogrt will be able to edit it.
Note that this value will *add to* the leading value already established in the Text panel, so you'll either want to set that panel value to something intential, or set it to zero, making your slider value the ENTIRE line spacing amount.
... View more
‎Apr 17, 2025
07:12 AM
@GetmeGraham You ranted about a feature not existing, but it does exist, and it's quite easy to execute. If you've been using this app for 15 years, I'm pretty sure you know how to do plenty of things that take more than one click... and why it wouldn't make sense for many things in an animation-centric app to function that way.
If your actual request is for a single-click button to put text on a path, I feel like there's a much more constructive way to ask for that than repeatedly insulting the people to whom you're making the request.
... View more
‎Apr 15, 2025
10:57 AM
Excellent! Thanks, John!
... View more
‎Apr 15, 2025
08:20 AM
In Teresa's original post about the AE Benchmark Project, the link to download the project itself is broken. (I assume this is an unintended casualty of the recent-ish cloud storage change). I commented on the post itself a few weeks ago, but I haven't yet seen a response, and have gotten a handful of folks messaging me directly about obtaining the project. Ideal: A more official page hosting this and other relevant AE projects / info. I know the "scores" posted by other users will get outdated as time passes, but that still seems like useful information for users to have access to, and could probably be made far more discoverable.
... View more
‎Apr 03, 2025
01:55 PM
Hey @TeresaDemel , just a heads-up that the link in your original post appears to be offline. Perhaps an unintended casualty of the Adobe cloud storage shift? I'm not sure how often people are still grabbing this project, but might be worth updating to a new download link when you have the chance. Thanks!
... View more
‎Jan 22, 2025
10:23 AM
I was coming to make a request regarding expressions being able to count how many entries exist within the dropdown list (so you could tie a property to always reference the LAST option, for example), but I think the above request probably fulfills any use case I can think of... That said, I wouldn't be sad about both! 😅
... View more
‎Jan 14, 2025
08:04 AM
I'd be happy for this, and it feels like groundwork has already been laid, since we have Taper and Wave operators with seemingly-similar behaviors.
... View more
‎Jan 14, 2025
07:36 AM
After Effects projects are forward-compatible. You should be able to open a 2017 project in 2025, for example, without issue.
... View more
‎Jan 14, 2025
07:33 AM
2 Upvotes
You're getting this abrupt change because of your Stroke Width. You might try animating that up from a lower value over the first few frames of your Trim Path animation to smooth this out.
... View more
‎Jan 13, 2025
02:30 PM
10 Upvotes
[For the sake of clarity, I'm on a Windows system, wherein I have two keys marked Enter; the one in the middle of the keyboard (aka Return on Mac), and a second, smaller Enter on the bottom-right, as part of the NumPad. To avoid confusion, I will refer to this central Enter key as "Return," and to NumPad Enter as such.]
TL;DR - would it be possible for Ctrl + Return to universally commit text edits? And/or could/should Numpad Enter be updated to also commit text edits, as it does when writing in the expression editor?
---
When entering type into a text layer, you're able to press Ctrl + Return to commit the text edit, returning the selection to the layer itself. (Return, Alt + Return and Shift + Return all create line breaks.) Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a way to commit when editing that same Source Text input in the Essential Graphics panel, or when editing this text (as an Essential Property) in the Properties Panel. In either panel, pressing Return, Ctrl + Return or Shift + Return all create line breaks, while Alt + Return does nothing. In either panel, pressing Ctrl or Shift + Numpad Enter create line breaks, while both Numpad Enter or Alt + Numpad Enter do nothing.
While obviously not the same, you're able to simply press Return to commit edits to property names in the Essential Graphics panel.
... View more
‎Dec 05, 2024
12:20 PM
Are you actually wanting an answer to this question, or just venting? Dropping this into the replies on another question seems unhelpful at best, and if you feel like you have a better solution already, you're free to use that.
... View more
‎Oct 24, 2024
12:51 PM
1 Upvote
If your Creative Cloud app is set correctly... ...Any chance this started happening immediately after you installed those BorisFX plugins? ...Any chance you didn't pay for those plugins?
... View more
‎Oct 20, 2024
02:12 PM
There's too many variables to guess at what you might be running into, but I have to assume there's some misunderstanding on your end about how After Effects functions and/or layers in the timeline actually work. There's a free introductory After Effects course available from Adobe here: https://adobevideotraining.com/after-effects/introductory-courses/
Hopefully that'll get you some basic understanding of what might be happening.
And/or - post some screenshots or screen recordings of what you're encountering, and we'll be able to better assist you. Please show the entire interface, ideally with your layer(s) twirled open in the timeline.
... View more
‎Oct 17, 2024
04:14 AM
They do pay attention to this feedback, but that doesn't make it magically happen. Yelling definitely doesn't help.
... View more
‎Aug 30, 2024
07:14 AM
1 Upvote
It's clearly not interpreting the layer boundaries in line with the way it actually looks, but it's possible that's something to do with the way this was built. - Are there are clipping masks, etc. in play? - You could try importing that layer alone at Document size instead of Layer size. - This is editable text in Illustrator, yes? Possible the combo of type properties & path text is causing some weirdness. As Mylenium suggested, you could try using Expand Appearance in Illustrator (I'd duplicate & keep that editable version of the layer).
... View more
‎Aug 16, 2024
10:12 AM
3 Upvotes
+1. Creating expression controls isn't the end of the world, but it creates an extra step and likely isn't a very intuitive solve for many users.
... View more
‎Aug 16, 2024
08:18 AM
I was able to reproduce this behavior, and agree it should be working as you assume. Doing pretty much anything to the "child" layer seems to kick it into gear (like nudging it with arrow keys, for example) Updating the layer name of the "parent" updated the expressions on the "child," and also got everything functioning properly.
... View more
‎Aug 16, 2024
08:10 AM
Very doable - you could create this on a single layer. Add the effect CC Repetile, which allows you to tile an image like this - just modify the Expand Down and Expand Up properties. Then add the Offset effect and animate the Y value. It looks like the actual motion on the cloud is likely just looping a few frames from a piece of video footage.
... View more
‎Aug 11, 2024
08:34 AM
I'll happily welcome the opinion of anyone who's more of an expert on computer hardware, but here's my two cents: I have a dedicated NVMe drive just for my cache. With the speed of modern drives, I doubt you'll feel a difference in speeds vs putting your cache on a drive shared with other content - but since the cache drive is constantly being written and overwritten, having it on a separate drive keeps that wear and tear from affecting one of your more "important" drives. If you've got the physical space / ports, that also means you can get a super fast cache drive without having to pay for one that's also large enough to hold multiple things.
... View more