layer duration

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geegrafix
Posts: 8
Joined: December 13th, 2006, 8:27 am

Is there a way to make the layers duration longer than the comps duration? I know time remap but the layer is a still image so that won't work. Thanks!
byronnash
Posts: 321
Joined: July 7th, 2004, 2:30 pm
Location: Charlotte, NC
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If it's a still image, I think it's always going to be the length of the comp. Why do you need it to be longer?
geegrafix
Posts: 8
Joined: December 13th, 2006, 8:27 am

Our company is doing animations using after effects and exporting as vector. If the composition contains nested comps, the output will be rasterized. The folks animating have had to un-nest the comps by hand which took a long time. Since then, they have just been avoiding nested-comps. I am writing a script to un-nest the comps for them so they can continue to use them. Here is the problem...If I use copyToComp to copy the layer from the nested layer to the current comp, it works correctly by pasting the layer from the nested comp to the current comp with all the keyframes etc...However, the layers new length is the current comp's length. It needs to be the length from the original comp. The reason being the original comp could be longer then the current comp in which case, the animation could be cut short. Not sure if that makes sense to you or not...
byronnash
Posts: 321
Joined: July 7th, 2004, 2:30 pm
Location: Charlotte, NC
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Is the layer just not coming in trimmed? You can adjust that in scripting just by setting the outPoint property of the layer.
geegrafix
Posts: 8
Joined: December 13th, 2006, 8:27 am

Actually it is coming in trimmed which is the problem. The source comp which contains the layers I want in the new comp is longer than the new comp. Because of this, it trims the layers to the length of the new comp. This is bad because some of the animations don't finish because the new layers need to start in the negative. Also, it is not possible to set the outpoint to something that would make the layer longer than the duration of the comp it is in. In other words, if you take a comp which is 2 seconds long, and try to lengthen one of it's layers longer than 2 seconds, it is not possible...(Unless you stretch it but then its keys are stretched also...)
geegrafix
Posts: 8
Joined: December 13th, 2006, 8:27 am

By the way, I think I have come up with a work around. I am temporarily adjusting the comps duration to the same as the comp I am copying from so the layer will come in with the correct length. After it comes in, I reset the duration. I just can't believe I can't make a layer longer than the comp's duration...
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lloydalvarez
Enhancement master
Posts: 460
Joined: June 17th, 2004, 9:27 am
Location: New York City, NY
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geegrafix wrote: I just can't believe I can't make a layer longer than the comp's duration...
This is an AE issue, not necessarily just a scripting thing. But your workaround is a good one. That's what i do when i need to do the same thing.

-Lloyd
geegrafix
Posts: 8
Joined: December 13th, 2006, 8:27 am

Thanks Lloyd. I just realized when I script the comp duration back to the original, it makes the layer shorter also. I have decided to set the comp duration to the longest duration of the layers being imported and just move the work area duration to the original comp length. Thanks!
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