Right now if you want to render a comp from after effects you have to set its output render setting, its output module and its output path.

Speaking for myself I've saved the render settings and output modules I use the most as presets and I even saved some "file name and location templates" which are using the project folder token to have relative path to my current so I don't even have to go through an os window to choose my output path (by the way those 'tokens' would need some love from the marketing and developping team because few users seems to know and use those and even less seems to know how powerful those are, maybe the lack ui made those look too nerdy ).

But even though I've saved all those presets it still take me too much click to output a comp it would be way more conveniant to be able to save a 'super template' which will apply a predefined render setting, output module and file naming at the same time with only one click. Of course the same logic apply for AME I would like to be able in one click or shortcut to output my comp with the right settings,the right name on the right place.

Hi,

Please can you bring back the Filmstrip export function which I think was dropped from After Effects after CS4 and I think from Premiere after CS3.

(Or alternatively, please can you make the CS3 and CS4 versions of Adobe CS software available through Creative Cloud subscription so the Filmstrip feature is readily available to use again.)

I realise that it's possible to draw on top of video frame by frame in the Photoshop CC2018 Timeline - and that's great, it's a very useful feature.

However I was trying to create a distressed effect across a video where precision as part of the process was not the priority - a little like in this music video

Stupid Girl by Garbage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GhPUAVgHZc

Working frame by frame in the Photoshop CC2018 Timeline would have been too time consuming to achieve something like this.

But dealing with all the frames as a single large image was more practical, and really quite quick once I got trial versions of the software installed - hence my preferred use of the Filmstrip export format.

This link below (which I think belongs to Adobe) has the older versions of After Effects / Premiere / Photoshop that still have the Filmstrip export / import option.
http://prodesigntools.com/download-adobe-cs4-and-cs3-free-trials-here.html

After Effects CS3, Premiere CS3, and Photoshop CS3 all install ok on Mac OS 10.13.4 High Sierra.

After Effects CS4 will also install, but not Premiere CS4 or Photoshop CS4.
(Or perhaps they would have done if I had investigated the Mac OS Gatekeeper function.)

I also had to install the legacy Java SE 6 runtime installer for Photoshop CS3 to run in order to open the .FLM file and then edit and save it.
https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572?locale=en_GB

I used After Effects CS3 and Photoshop CS3 in order to work with the Filmstrip format they can generate.

I tested with a 1920x1080 piece of video on a 2014 MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and Nvidia GPU

I think there may be a limitation though on how many frames can be exported as .FLM at one time from After Effects CS3 - I tried 5 second batches at 25fps but I think it may be possible to export a longer duration.

I then imported the very large .FLM image that was generated from all those frames into Photoshop CS3 to edit. I thought when working at 1920 x 1080 per frame there would be a huge slowdown but it really wasn't too bad - everything was quite speedy really.

Then I reimported the .FLM file back into After Effects CS3

And then I rendered out video from CS3 for After Effects CC2018 to reimport.

Once again, I realise we now have the Photoshop CC2018 Timeline and it's very useful indeed, but for reasons of time and efficiency I don't think it's as quite as applicable to what I've described above as the Filmstrip format is.

I also like the look of all the frames presented together in Filmstrip's grid format and would quite like to reduce the size, save as a regular image and animate the whole thing as a footage element - so I have to say I like the possibilities of the Filmstrip format.

I'm still relatively new to After Effects so if there's any better way of doing what I've described above, please let me know as I'd be interested to hear about it.

Thanks for your time.

Kind regards,

John

When doing character animation, I typically use Toonboom Harmony, and then render out PNG4 sequences for compositing in AE. However, since version 15.0.1, I've been having an issue where my PNG sequences were not having their alpha interpreted. While this is hard to convey without pictures, here's how I solved the issue and it may help you guys to squash the bug:

1) In Toonboom, I create an animation that starts on a full background, no alpha channel, then transitions in-animation to a wipe that then needs to be comped in AE.

2) Render it out as a PNG4 sequence with no color card, alpha enabled.

3) Before this update, AE would see the PNG4 and interpret the alpha channel at the end of the sequence, allowing for easy comping. However, in 15.0.1, no dice.

4) I bring one of the PNGs in Photoshop to double check if the PNG has alpha and, sure enough, it does.

5) I look at the sequence in AE for a minute and then have the idea that because the FIRST frame of this sequence does NOT have alpha, AE believes the WHOLE sequence does not have alpha, and thus does not interpret the PNGs that DO have an alpha channel.

6) I go back to Toonboom and render out the same PNG4 sequence but this time with one additional frame in the beginning: an empty frame, nothing in it. Pure alpha.

7) I bring the new sequence into AE and voila! The alpha channel for the whole sequence is now able to be interpreted, allowing for easy comping.

Of note, I tested this with an Animation codec render .mov, as well. When rendered at Millions of Colors+, if the starting frame has no alpha, the whole video is interpreted as having no alpha. Add one empty frame of pure alpha, and AE interprets the alpha and you can comp it.

This isn't just AE- the problem also exists in Premiere, where I do most of my editing.

It's an issue that I can work around, as adding one empty frame of alpha requires little on my end, but I can imagine that this will prove to be a headache for a lot of people that can't seem to get it to work, especially when it did until very recently.

Thanks for reading and listening! I look forward to a change.