Adobe After Effects is a highly capable program that enables you to generate impressive visual effects and motion graphics. A popular method used in After Effects is referred to as looping, which permits you to continuously repeat a specific portion of your animation. In this blog post, we will guide you through the process of looping in Adobe After Effects.
Step 1: Create your composition
First, open up After Effects and create a new composition by going to Composition > New Composition. You can name your composition, set the dimensions, frame rate, and duration according to your preference.
Step 2: Import your footage
Next, import the footage you want to loop. You can do this by going to File > Import > File, then select the video file from your computer and click Open.
Step 3: Add the footage to your composition
Drag and drop the imported footage onto the timeline in your composition. This will create a new layer.
Step 4: Precompose the layer
Select the layer with your footage, then go to Layer > Precompose. This allows you to group your layers and effects into one composition, making it easier to loop.
Step 5: Loop the precomposed layer
To loop the precomposed layer, you’ll need to use an expression. This is where we will need to write some code. After Effects expressions are based on JavaScript, but don’t worry, you don’t need to be a coding expert to use them.
Hold down the Alt (Option on Mac) key and click the stopwatch icon next to the property you wish to loop – in this case, it’s the Position property. This will open up the expressions editor.
Now, type in the following code:
loopOut(type="cycle", numKeyframes = 0)
This code tells After Effects to loop the property’s animation. The loopOut function loops the property’s animation after its last keyframe, the type=”cycle” part means the loop will start from the beginning when it reaches the end, and the numKeyframes = 0 part means it will loop all keyframes.
Step 6: Preview your loop
Finally, press the Spacebar to preview your loop. If everything has been done correctly, you should see your footage looping seamlessly.
Conclusion
And there you have it! That’s how you loop in Adobe After Effects. This is a basic technique, but it’s very useful and can save you a lot of time. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find yourself using it in all sorts of creative ways. Happy editing!