Why do I have to use Adobe After Effects for Remix briefs?
When you work on a Remix brief with Vidsy, you must work in Adobe After Effects.
This is because, after submission, the Vidsy team may need to edit your work.
As we work with hundreds of creators and thousands of videos a month, it's hugely helpful when we all follow the same workflow.
We won't be able to accept your submission for a Remix brief if you haven't worked in Adobe After Effects.
How do I prepare my files?
How do I prepare my files?
Before you send your files over, here's how you prep them.
Okay, so you've finished making your sleek content and you need to prepare your AE project files to finally send them over! There are a few steps necessary to deliver them to us in the best possible way and perfect your work with Vidsy 👌
STEP 1 : REDUCE YOUR PROJECT
Let’s make sure there are no unnecessary files in your project . To do this, select your the 'compositions' file which should contain the videos you've been working on (you can do this by holding down the cmd button and selecting them). Then head to File > Dependencies > Reduce Project. This will reduce your project down to only the assets used in all the comps within this file directory e.g your videos and precomps.
*** Pro tip *** When working on your videos you may end up with duplicates of assets you may have imported. You can consolidate and remove unused footage to to keep your project menu neat and tidy to maximise your efficiency! These options are found in the dropdown menu above the reduce project option.
STEP 2 : NAME YOUR AE FILE
To make sure we can tell which file is yours and we don't mix them up, this is an important step 💪 When naming your AE file you should aim to keep it within the formats of, your name, the project code and finally the brand you've worked on. For example, JohnSmith_[VJ998-4]_Vidsy.
STEP 3 : COMPRESS
If you have been working in our preset file structure, the next step should be really simple.
Save your project and close it.
Make sure all of your working files have been placed in the 'working files folder' (Obviously 🙈)
Add your name to the folder '2. YourName_[VJ242-4]' and zip it up 👇
How should I manage my precomps?
How should I manage my precomps?
Precomps: Why Less is More 💪
Precomps can be a blessing or a curse. It's important to know when it's useful to precompose stuff, and when it becomes unnecessary (makes your project a disorganised mess!) 😱
What is a Precomp?
(You probably already know this but I'll repeat it for emphasis) 😉
Precomposing means taking one or more layers that are already in a composition and turning them into a composition of their own, a.k.a. a precomp.
When should you precompose things?
Making changes to an entire composition
If you want to animate and apply effects to the entire comp. (P.s. You can also add effects using an adjustment layer = much tidier 😋)Reusing anything you build
If you're creating an animation that you know you'll use multiple times throughout your piece.Make changes in one go
If you make changes in your precomp, those changes affect every composition in which it is used.Add another set of transform properties to a layer
But TBH this can also be done by attaching your layers to a Null object 🙈
When should you absolutely not need to precompose?
If none of the above apply 👆
It's as simple as that. No reason = no precomp.
But why?
Creating precomps for no reason makes it harder to get to the core file and change something + it clutters up your project for no reason 🤭
Keeping it nice and simple also makes it a whole lot easier for us if we need to make any changes to your files!
Always remember, less is more! 💪
