I’ve been using After Effects since CS3 (thanks, Video Copilot!) and am still discovering new ways to make my process smoother and more efficient. I wanted to share some new things I’ve recently learned that have helped me. I’m sure you know many of these already, but if not, hopefully, you found these tips helpful, too!
Open One Effect in the Timeline
If you double-click an effect in the Effects Window, it will open that Effect in the Timeline and reveal all its controls. It’s much faster than twirling down a bunch of menus in the Timeline. This is especially handy when one layer has a lot of Effects stacked.
Double Tap the S-Key
Following the previous tip, if you select an individual control of an Effect in the Timeline and then double-tap S on the keyboard, it will hide everything and show only the specific control you selected. It’s a fast way to access only a particular part of an Effect and clear unneeded clutter while adjusting the values in the Timeline.
Cycle Through Blending Modes
When you have a Layer selected in the Timeline, pressing Shift and the + or - keys will cycle through the Blending Modes for the selected Layer. It’s a super fast way to see all the different types of Blending Modes without too much extra clicking.
Since I learned these tips, these areas of my process have gotten much quicker, even though they’re little shortcuts. Those extra clicks and the time I’m saving add up and let me spend more time on my favorite part of the process: makin’ things move.