Speed up your post-production After Effects workflow with these five time-saving plug-ins.
This year, we’ve already produced several tutorials on After Effects, and the numbers tell us that you very much enjoy them. If you’ve watched at least one tutorial, I’m sure you’ve heard me mention something like, “This plug-in really helps me with layers,” or “This script is a paid one, but it’s so useful. I highly recommend it.” While numerous plug-ins and presets are available to download to add effects and additional generation tools to After Effects, several can also assist you in maximizing your efficiency. I love After Effects, but let’s be honest, sometimes a project can get a little crazy. There are so many menus and panels that it’s easy to get lost, even as a veteran user. That’s why I love to install scripts and plug-ins that make my motion graphics life easier. Today, I’ll list five of my favorites in the tutorial below.
Anchor SNIPER
Anchor SNIPER ($14.99) is designed to simplify and enhance how users handle the anchor point’s location in their projects. Its standout features include a sleek UI with over 20 options for relocating the anchor point. I don’t know about you, but I’ve lost more than enough time opening the anchor position and trying to center it. Anchor SNIPER eliminates this with just one click — seriously. It’s compatible with multiple layers, allowing for individual or grouped adjustments without affecting existing animations. If you have a layer that has been masked or perhaps is semi-transparent (such as text), the script will identify a layer’s actual non-transparent edges, accounting for masks and effects. Furthermore, it’s versatile, supporting layers of various types, including Bitmap, Vector, Text, Shape, Video, and even AE 3D layers.
Kbar
This was all over my Twitter (RIP) feed when it was first released. Kbar ($39.99) revolutionizes workspace customization in After Effects. Users can create and toggle between multiple toolbars, ensuring their most frequently used tools are readily accessible. I know that seems like some sort of elementary aspect of After Effects, but it’s not. Kbar really changes the workflow, especially if you often use certain elements of the toolbar systems. Kbar’s custom toolbars are functional and customizable in terms of aesthetics with features like various icons, custom images, and even emojis. Its drag-and-drop reordering capability and the option to snap the toolbar for a vertical view enhance user experience. Its sharing feature lets users share their custom toolbars with colleagues or across their devices.
Declutter
Okay, hands-up, how many times have you had to reset your timeline because things have got messy? Well Declutter is a tool that will help you avoid having to do that in the first place. Declutter (19.99), as the name suggests, is dedicated to helping users maintain an organized project panel by sorting assets into predefined folder structures. It offers the freedom to create, edit, and save multiple folder structures tailored to specific project needs.
Sorting assets by type is swift and efficient, capable of handling thousands of assets within seconds. The UI is user-friendly, and the program can categorize various asset types, from compositions, audio, and video, to specific extensions like .png or .c4d files. Any unspecified asset type is thoughtfully placed in the root folder, ensuring no asset is overlooked.
AM Select And Set
Okay, so I mentioned that even as a veteran, sometimes I can find myself scrolling through the menus looking for something. Is it in the extension tab, or is it in the scripts menu?
For video editors navigating the complex timelines of After Effects, managing layers effectively can sometimes feel like a daunting task. Enter “AM Select And Set (name your own price),” a game-changing plug-in designed to streamline your workflow. Have you ever found yourself painstakingly searching for specific layers amongst dozens in your timeline? Or perhaps you need to work on the tediousness of selecting them individually based on differing attribute values. With this tool, such inconveniences are a thing of the past. AM Select And Set empowers you to swiftly select layers based on a plethora of attributes, from type and name to blending modes. Boasting features like the ability to select layers by type (with ten different types available), 19 different attribute values, options for inverting your selection, and even the capacity to modify the attributes of your selected layers simultaneously, it’s an indispensable asset for any serious editor.
Labels
Ok, I won’t pretend that adding a colored label to a layer or composition is a tedious task. You simply hit the label icon in the timeline window and choose a color. However, Labels still finds a way to make this process even more fluid.
Labels ($18.00) provide a seamless way for users to manage label colors for keyframes, layers, and project panel items. Whether applying a color label to multiple selections at once or filtering through used labels in a composition, Labels offers a streamlined process. It has a selection mechanism that works in tandem with keyboard and mouse combinations, enabling users to manage label groups easily. A unique feature of Labels is its themes, allowing users to switch label colors without restarting After Effects. Furthermore, it doubles as a script launcher, providing an additional layer of functionality.
Now, these are all paid plug-ins and scripts, and the availability of such tools is endless, but these are five I tend to use whenever I open up After Effects. I believe that even picking up only one will really streamline your workflow. If I had just one to recommend, it would be Anchor SNIPER, and that’s the cheapest, too! However, it is worth noting that aescripts.com usually holds a number of sales throughout the year!
Looking for filmmaking tips and tricks? Check out our YouTube channel for tutorials like this . . .
