How to Create New Compositions in Adobe After Effects

In Adobe After Effects, compositions hold layers of imported footage. They allow you to manipulate that footage into layers and apply effects and animations to it. Creating a new composition requires a basic understanding of video sizes and frame rates, especially if you are planning on working with existing video footage.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Creating a New Composition

1. There are several ways to get started. In the top menu bar, choose Composition > New Composition. Or, press Ctrl+N (Command+N on a Mac). Or, click the Create Composition button that is located in the project panel.

2. Enter a title for your Composition in the Composition Name box.

3. Set up the basic aspect parameters of your composition. This can be done one of two ways. The first is to use the 'Presets' drop down in the dialogue box. This has many standard video presets that you can select. If you know what kind of footage you're going to be using (HDV video, for example), this is the easiest way to define your composition size and frame rate. The second way is to define the parameters manually using the Width, Height, Frame Rate, and Pixel Aspect Ratio options.

4. Choose the resolution that best suits your project. The default is full.

5. Set your Start timecode and your duration. If you are not sure how long your project is going to be, you can extend the length later by right clicking on your composition in the project panel and bringing the settings dialogue box back onscreen.

6. Click okay. Your brand new composition will pop into the Project panel.

Tips & Warnings

• In After Effects, the name of the game is organization, and descriptive names help. Don't just use the default name.
• Don't take on the Advanced panel until you are comfortable with After Effects. Don't accidentally lock your pixel aspect ratio when you're entering custom settings.

References

• Getting to Know the Workflow of After Effects CS4