Import a single still image or a still-image sequence



You can import still image files as individual footage items, or you can import a series of still image files as a still-image sequence, which is a single footage item in which each still image is used as a single frame.

To import multiple image files as a single still-image sequence, the files must be in the same folder and use the same numeric or alphabetic filename pattern (such as Seq1, Seq2, Seq3).

When you import a file that appears to After Effects to be one file in a still-image sequence, After Effects by default imports all other files in the same folder that appear to be in the same sequence. Similarly, when you select multiple files that appear to be in a sequence, After Effects by default imports them as a sequence. You can see what After Effects is about to import by looking at the bottom of the Import dialog box. (You can also import images and sequences by dragging files and folders into the Project panel.
To prevent After Effects from importing unwanted files when you want to import only a single file, or to prevent After Effects from interpreting multiple files as a sequence, deselect the Sequence option in the Import dialog box. After Effects remembers this setting and thereafter uses it as the default.

You can import multiple sequences from the same folder simultaneously by selecting files from different sequences and selecting Multiple Sequences at the bottom of the Import dialog box.

When importing a sequence of still images, you can use the Force Alphabetical Order option in the Import dialog box to import a sequence with gaps in its numbering (for example, Seq1, Seq2, Seq3, Seq5). If you import a sequence with gaps in its numbering without selecting this option, After Effects warns you of missing frames and replaces them with placeholders.

After Effects uses settings of the first image in the sequence to determine how to interpret the images in the sequence.

If the image files in a sequence are of a layered file type—such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator documents—then you can choose to import the sequence as a standard footage item, or as a composition in which each layer in each file is imported as a separate sequence and appears as a separate layer in the Timeline panel.

Note: When you render a composition that contains a numbered sequence, the output module uses the start frame number as the first frame number. For example, if you start to render on frame 25, the name of the file is 00025.
View full size graphic
A sequence of still-image files (left) becomes one image sequence when imported into After Effects (right).

Import a still-image sequence as a single footage item

  1. Choose File > Import > File.
  2. Select any file in the sequence. To import a subset of files in a sequence, select the first file, hold down Shift, and then select the last file to import.
  3. Choose Footage from the Import As menu.
  4. Click Open (Windows) or Import (Mac OS).
  5. In the [filename] dialog box, choose one of the following from the Choose Layer menu:
    Merged Layers
    Imports the sequence as a sequence footage item in which the layers in the file, if any, are merged into one layer.

    Choose Layer
    Imports the sequence as a sequence footage item in which the same layer from each source file—for example, layer 3—is imported and used in the sequence. If you choose this option for a PSD sequence, then you can also choose whether to ignore layer styles or merge them into the layer. You must also choose a Footage Dimensions option: Layer Size matches the dimensions of the layer to the content of the layer; Document Size matches the dimensions of the layer to the size of the original document.

  6. Click OK.

If at any time you decide that you want access to the individual components of the footage item, you can convert it to a composition. See Convert a merged footage item into a composition.

Import a still-image sequence as a composition

When you import a Photoshop or Illustrator file as a composition, you have access to the individual layers, blending modes, adjustment layers, layer styles, masks, guides, and other features created in Photoshop or Illustrator. The imported composition and a folder containing each of its layers as footage items appears in the Project panel.

  1. Choose File > Import > File.
  2. Select any file in the sequence. To import a subset of files in a sequence, select the first file, hold down Shift, and then select the last file to import.
  3. Choose one of the following from the Import As menu:
    Composition - Cropped Layers
    Import the layers with their original dimensions.
    Note: The name of this option can be confusing, since the original layer size may in fact be greater than the size of the composition frame.

    One reason to import as a composition with cropped layers (rather than importing each layer at the composition frame size) is so that each layer has its anchor point set at the center of the cropped graphics object, rather than at the center of the composition frame. This more often makes transformations work more as you’d expect and prefer when animating individual layers of an imported graphic item. For example, if you have a car with a separate layer for each wheel, importing as a composition with cropped layers puts the anchor point of each wheel in the center of the wheel, which makes rotating the wheels work as you’d expect.

    Composition
    Import layers and have them match the dimensions of the composition.

  4. Click Open (Windows) or Import (Mac OS).

Convert a merged footage item into a composition

When you import a layered file, such as a Photoshop or Illustrator file, as footage, all of its layers are merged together. If at any time you decide that you want access to the individual components of the footage item, you can convert it to a composition.

  • To convert all instances of a footage item, select it in the Project panel and choose File > Replace Footage > With Layered Comp.
  • To convert only one instance of the footage item, select the layer in the Timeline panel, and choose Layer > Convert To Layered Comp.
    Note: It may take a few moments to convert a merged footage item to a layered composition.

Change the frame rate of a sequence

When you import a sequence of still images, it assumes the frame rate specified by the Sequence Footage preference in the Import category. The default rate is 30 frames per second (fps). You can change the frame rate after importing by reinterpreting the footage item:

 Select the sequence in the Project panel, choose File > Interpret Footage > Main, and then enter a new value for Assume This Frame Rate.

For more information, see Frame rate.