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Where you work with footage items


    In a project, you work with footage items using primarily three windows: the Project window, which lists all the source footage items you import; the Composition window, which displays images as they relate in space; and the Timeline window, which displays compositions and animation events in terms of time. Add footage items to a composition by dragging them from the Project window into either the Composition window or the Timeline window.

    Each Composition window has a corresponding Timeline window. When you edit a composition in a Composition window, After Effects automatically displays the corresponding Timeline window, and vice versa.

    Illustration with these callouts: A. Source footage B. Project window C. Composition window D. Timeline window
    A. Source footage B. Project window C. Composition window D. Timeline window

    As you work with compositions, you also use three other types of windows: Footage windows, Layer windows, and Effect Controls windows.

    When you render your compositions into a movie, you work in the Render Queue window to select rendering options and queue compositions for rendering (see Using the Render Queue window).