Working with precomp in After Effects is a great way to nest layers and apply effects efficiently, and much more.
Precomps (pre-compositions) in Adobe After Effects are essentially nested compositions. In that way, we can organize comple projects, apply efficiently effects, and improve performance. For in-depth information about this topic read here.
We can create a pre-compose from the main bar, Layer – Pre-compose, through shortcut (ctrl+shift+C), or right-click on selected layers and choose Pre-compose.
When creating a precomp with has to choose between two options:
- Move all attributes
- Leave all attributes
After we created a precomp we can edit it, adjust the duration of our precomp, stime stretching-freezing. We can also apply all kind of effects by just draging the effects into our precomp, the same way we would do if it was just a layer.
Working with precomps in After Effects is a great way, it’s give us a great flexibility.
In the above video, I created a precomp to apply a VR Plane to Sphere (effect) otherwise would be impossible to do so, without the precomp.
Additionaly, I could also reposition the precomp at once (included all layers) without the need to select all individual layers (as I did) and drag them to the center of my composition.
In the following video I created a precomp and apply a ramp effect in order to create the illusion of DOF on the shot.
Some other After Effects tutorial you may be interested:
- Integrate footage inside footage (Motion Tracking in After Effects)
- How to move an After Effects Project to Another Computer
- How to Relink Missing Files in After Effects
Precomps in After Effects is really a useful workflow you should definitely need to grasp. The more you use them the better and most efficient your will get working on your projects.
One Response
Austin Visuals is an animation and video production studio based in Austin, Texas, serving clients worldwide. We create 2D and 3D animation, explainer videos, motion graphics, product and technical visualization, medical animation and visual effects. Our work helps organizations explain complex ideas, demonstrate products and tell their stories through custom visual content.