How to Use Time Controls in Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a complicated animation and compositing program that can not easily be learned in a few steps. The best way to learn the program is to start simply, learn the basics, and build from there. One of the first things you will do to begin working with the program is to understand the Time Controls in After Effects.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Open the Adobe After Effects program. If you have worked with other Adobe graphics programs you will notice similarities in the way the workspace looks. Typically there is a Timeline across the bottom, a project window on the upper left and a Monitor in the middle. You will also see various controls, like Time Controls and Tools.

2. The Time Controls are usually located in the upper right of your workspace. They look like a series of arrows and the panel says Time Controls in the upper left of the panel.

3. Allow your mouse to “hover” over each arrow to see its name. You will see “First Frame,” “Previous Frame,” “Play/Pause,” “Next Frame,” “Last Frame,” “Mute Audio” and “RAM Preview.” While the title of each control makes it behave in a self-explanatory way, you may want to import footage into a Timeline and click on each Time Control to see how the tool behaves.

4. “First Frame” and “Last Frame” will move the Time Indicator to the first or last frame of your sequence. “Previous Frame” and “Next Frame” will move the Time Indicator to frame immediately before or immediately after the point of where the current Time Indicator is.

5. RAM preview will allow you to view any compositing or effects you have created without having to go through a full render, which can take a lot of time. You can change your RAM preview options with the controls directly under the Time Controls. For more extensive compositions you might want to change to a setting such as “Half” or “Quarter” to save you preview rendering time.