Beginners often ask how to loop layers in After Effects. While looping a footage layer can be done using the Interpret Footage option, looping an unrendered comp takes a little more work but is still easy. In this video tip (no sound) learn how to use expressions to loop a precomp. Watch tip
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22 Responses to this post
September 17, 2007 at 8:23 pm |
s’a great bit of knowledge too … I have used this so much since becoming “wiser”
thanks again Johnneh!
October 9, 2007 at 12:13 am |
Thanks for the tip – its amazing this isn’t simpler in CS3 but this way’s very handy.
Cheers,
James
December 1, 2007 at 5:01 pm |
Hi JD! I d/l the quicktime movie and follow the steps as shown in movie..but could not get it to looping..i am on AE7 & on WinXp. The size of your clip is 01:11s i am not getting the steps after 00:44s ?? Where i am getting wrong? I made the comp size and Pre-Comp setting exactly as shown in your clip
Warm Regards,
Ashish
December 2, 2007 at 7:17 am |
Hi Ashish, Email me your project and I’ll take a look. JD
June 16, 2009 at 12:28 pm |
Nice tip! Thanks for sharing. This was really helpful
August 21, 2009 at 3:37 pm |
I love the looping expressions. Thanks for making a simple tutorial I can send people to as opposed to explaining it. Question: are there instances you can think of using this method where you might still get a blank frame at the end of the loop? It happens to me every so often, and I can never figure out why.
August 21, 2009 at 8:47 pm |
Hi CAB, the blank frame happens because After Effects starts comps at 0 frames. For example if you were to next a 25 frame comp into longer comp, frame 24 would be the last visible frame of the nested comp. This is a gotcha when time remapping comps. The trick is to set a keyframe for time remapping at frame 24 (1 frame earlier than the existing keyframe) and delete the next keyframe.
October 12, 2009 at 4:27 pm |
Hi john Dickinson,
I´ve been searching around to find a tutorial that could explains me how to loop a flv in after effects. I´ve already tried, via time remaping, to use the expression “loop out()” but it doesn´t work. The intention is to put taht looped flv inside flash for a website project. Could you please help me with any tip?
Many thanks from Portugal
October 12, 2009 at 11:13 pm |
Hi Andrew, try selecting the movie in the Project Panel and choosing Interpret Footage > Main. Here you can set a Loop value. Best, John.
October 13, 2009 at 1:25 am |
Hi John Dickinson
Thanks for your answer. I´ve already tried that way, choosing interpret footage and seting a loop value to my flv. But that way the flv will only loop the times i´ve inserted. right? Because my intention, if that´s possible, is to have a constant loop.
October 13, 2009 at 1:28 am |
Try dropping your flv into a comp, apply time remapping and use the above technique…
October 22, 2009 at 3:27 am |
Hey John,
Thanks again for your help. I´ve followed your instructions. I´ve droped my flv into a comp, applied time remapping and used the technics showned in your tutorial video, and then I render my project. But when I import that flv into flash and press enter, it doesn´t loop at all. Am i missing something? Can you help me solve this problem?
Many thanks
October 22, 2009 at 3:42 am |
Hi Andrew, perhaps it has something to do with Flash… an area I’m not familiar with.
October 22, 2009 at 3:53 am |
Yes, maybe i has something to do with flash. But Would it be to much to ask you just to see the project? I could send you to your email. Once you´re experiencied with the program, maybe I can have some wrong detail in the project that I´m not seeing though. Cause I´m desperated, I cannot find solution on the web or forums. It is a very smaall project, just the flv of 10 aprox seconds to loop.
Many Thanks
April 15, 2010 at 10:34 am |
Thank you JD! Love how you reply to almost every post on your site. You are humble even giving the small man some attention. BEST.
April 20, 2010 at 12:50 am |
Thanks a lot for this tip John, so useful!!
April 20, 2010 at 9:12 am |
Glad you found it useful Manuel. Best wishes, John.
June 6, 2010 at 6:16 am |
Thx so much for your precious help but i lose it when you move keyframes, what did you do exactly?
July 27, 2010 at 12:22 am |
Hi John,
Firstly,thanks a ton for the tip.I have a small problem looping an animation of a jellyfish.I would like it to continuously move upward in a certain manner.I have animated one cycle of it moving upward and added the loop expression.However,after the first cycle,when the loop starts, it moves back down to the first(Y)position(which makes sense).Is there any way to keep it moving upward?
July 28, 2010 at 8:43 am |
Hey Ajay, Animate the Y position using a Null Object and parent the Jellyfish to the Null. Best wishes, John.
August 2, 2010 at 4:31 am |
Thanks again John,
I had done what you had suggested earlier.I,however, couldn’t manage to loop the upward movement cycle(had to do it manually through the null object).Is it possible to just loop one cycle(3 keyframes) to make it continuously go upward?Usually, when I put the loop expression,it goes back to the first keyframe position(Which is back down)
I have rendered the animation and it looks okay.I will send it to you and hope you can have a look at it if you get the time!Did the animation manually and copied it many times manually after precomping many copies.
I actually wanted to use the jellyfish loop as a custom particle in trapcode form to increase the number of jellyfish.But when i used random time sampling for the jellyfish particles,few particles disappear since its sampling at different time.Even if i use a long comp in terms of height, it didn’t seem to work.
Thanks
Ajay
October 22, 2009 at 1:31 pm |
send the file to support at motionworks dot com dot au and I’ll take a look. Is it a small file?
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