Copy and Paste Animations

Copy and Paste Animations

Yes, copy and paste; everyone knows how to do it. Here are
some things that aren’t necessarily obvious about copying
and pasting keyframe data:
. Got Excel or another spreadsheet application? Copy a
set of keyframes from After Effects and paste them into
a spreadsheet, and the After Effects keyframe format is
laid bare.
. You can paste from one property to another, so long as
the format matches (the units and number of parameters).
Copy the source, highlight the target, and paste.
. Keyframes respect the position of the current time indicator;
the fi rst frame is always pasted at the current time
(useful for relocating timing, occasionally a surprise).
. There’s a lock on the Effect Controls tab to keep a panel
forward even when you select another layer to paste to it.
. Copy and paste keyframes from an effect that isn’t
applied to the target, and it is added along with the animation,
natch; you don’t get any properties you didn’t
select and copy, however.
Therefore, pay attention to the current time and what is
selected when copying, but in particular, when pasting
animation data.

Layer vs. Graph

To summarize the distinction between Layer and Graph
Editor views, in Layer view you can
. Block in keyframes with respect to the overall
composition
. Establish broad timing (where Linear, Easy Ease, and
Auto-Bezier keyframes are suffi cient)
The Graph Editor is essential to
. Refi ne an individual animation curve
. Compare spatial and temporal data
. Scale animation data, especially around a specifi c pivot
point