Effectively animate and manage layers in After Effects using keyframes, anchor points, and the search function within the timeline. Understand how layer selection impacts search results and how to adjust anchor points for precise animation control.
Key Insights
- Searching in the timeline panel behaves differently depending on whether a layer is selected—if no layer is selected, it filters by layer name; if a layer is selected, it filters by that layer's properties.
- Layer animations such as scale changes originate from the anchor point, which can be repositioned using the Pan Behind tool; however, this must be done on a per-layer basis as anchor points are not linked across layers.
- Noble Desktop notes that in the beta version of After Effects, a new controller near the anchor point property allows for automatic anchor point resets, a feature not yet available in the full release.
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The bars, the bars get animated for scale. So that would be bar US, bar Italy, bar France, OK? And because I wanted to have an example of search, if you have nothing selected and you type the word bar in the search field in the timeline, it'll only show you the bars, OK, until you clear it. Now, by the way, if you have a layer selected and you type the word bar in the search field, you see nothing helpful.
So the search field basically is dependent on whether you have a layer selected or not. If you have a layer selected, what the search field is doing is isolating the search to that layer. So for example, I have this text layer selected.
I type in scale and search. It showed me the scale property. But when you do not have a layer selected, it's searching based on layer name, like that, OK? The instructions basically just have you animate the bar scale.
And it tells you it animated it over like, what was this? Yeah, a one second animation for each. So it just has you go to the properties panel, have all three layers highlighted, scales 100%. It has you uncheck the link.
When I go back to the beginning, I can adjust just the horizontal because it's unlinked by typing zero. Because I had all three layers selected, it adds a keyframe for all three. And that happens.
Why does that happen? Because all layers scale from their anchor point, OK? One note about moving the anchor point, which you can do with the pan behind tool. It can only be done layer by layer. So I'll turn on snapping because it's easier.
One, Italy. Two, bar US. Sorry, bar France, actually, sorry.
Three, three, three, three, like that. OK, so by the way, one note. In the Nix version, if you get the beta right now, the Nix version, when you look in properties, next to the word anchor point, it's going to be a controller that lets you auto reset the anchor point for layers.
So they've added that to the beta, but it's not released the full version yet. So to move the anchor point right now, you have to physically select a layer, use the pan behind tool to drag the anchor point around, OK? Now when my things scale up, they do that. So layers scale and rotate from wherever the anchor point of the layer is.
If you wanted something to rotate like a pendulum swinging, the anchor point's going to be at the top, OK? You want like, move me, I change it. Usually, the anchor point is in the middle of a layer for the imported layers. For shape layers and text layers that you create here, the anchor point varies depending on a couple of things.
But you can always manually move an anchor point around by highlighting a layer, activating the pan behind tool. That's the tool right next to the rotate tool on top. And it lets you drag the layer around.
Your selection tool cannot move the layer. Sorry, cannot move the anchor point, moves the layer. The pan behind tool moves the anchor point.
Yeah, so by the way, keep in mind, applying presets does not remove previous presets. Applying a preset simply adds it to the other preset, and they could actually interfere with each other. There's no way to know.
So usually, you apply a preset, don't like it, you undo. You apply a preset, don't like it, undo. That's the only issue.
Very often, finding what's actually made the preset, effects, animators, is a lot of work.