How To Move Objects In Adobe After Effects

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Adobe After Effects is a versatile tool for video post-production. It offers a wide range of features that enable you to create post-production wonders, including the capability to move and animate objects in your composition. This tutorial will walk you through the steps of moving objects in Adobe After Effects.

Step 1: Import and Add Your Asset to the Composition

Before we can move anything, we need an object to work with. This could be text, a shape, or an image – essentially anything you want to animate. Once you have your object, import it into After Effects and add it to your composition.

Step 2: Select Your Object

To select the object you want to move, simply click on it in the Composition panel. Once selected, you will see a box around your object. This is called the bounding box, and you can use it to move and transform your object.

Step 3: Use the Selection Tool

The Selection Tool is your primary tool for moving objects. To access it, you can either click on the arrow icon in the toolbar or press the V key on your keyboard. With the Selection Tool active, click and drag your object to move it around the composition.

Step 4: Animate the Movement

Moving an object manually only changes its position in the current frame. To animate the object’s movement over time, we use keyframes. Here’s how:

Step 4.1:

Select your object, then go to the Transform properties in the Timeline. Click on the stopwatch icon next to Position to create your first keyframe.

Step 4.2:

Move the time indicator to the point in the timeline where you want the movement to end, then move your object to its end position. A new keyframe will be created automatically.

Step 4.3:

When you play back the composition, you’ll see your object move smoothly from one keyframe to the next.

In code form, animating movement looks something like this:

  // Select object
  var myObject = comp.layer("My Object");
  
  // Start keyframe at current time
  myObject.property("Position").setValueAtTime(time, [startX, startY]);
  
  // End keyframe 2 seconds later
  myObject.property("Position").setValueAtTime(time + 2, [endX, endY]);

Conclusion

Learning to move and animate objects in Adobe After Effects is a fundamental skill for creating dynamic and engaging videos. With practice, you’ll be able to create intricate animations and stunning visual effects. Remember, the only limit is your creativity!