decorative banner

Displaying After Effects viewing controls in the Footage window


    By default, the Footage window displays movie controls for movie footage rather than the After Effects viewing controls found in the Layer and Composition windows. QuickTime and Video for Windows controls are fast and familiar tools for playing movie footage, and they play audio if it's included in the footage. However, for the preview options discussed in this section, you must open the footage in a standard After Effects Footage window.

    Note: A standard After Effects Footage window is always used for non-QuickTime and non-Video for Windows footage.

To display a footage item in the Footage window:

    Double-click a footage item in the Project window.

To display .mov or .avi movies in the standard After Effects Footage window:

    Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you double-click a footage item in the Project window. After Effects Footage windows provide editing commands not available in Video for Windows or QuickTime Footage windows.