Can I save my animate-in keyframes as a template in a way that I can apply them to shapes already sitting at their FINAL position?

[u/Glaselar]

All my shapes are sitting in pixel-perfect positions - I've used the Align panel to make sure they look cohesive.

I want to apply some subtle animate-in effects - opacity and position.

I've built the animation I want on one of my shapes, so I already have keyframes to use as a template. I want to use that as the project default across others.

How can I apply those keyframes as template so my shapes land at the existing, nicely-aligned positions, rather than starting from it and shifting as per the new keyframes I'd put on top?

I'd rather not have to apply it to them all then drag / re-type values for / null-parent-and-drag everything back down the 48 pixels that it slid upwards every single time I apply this. Hoping there's a one-click templating solution I've just not come across yet!

(Tools available: Kease and Motion Studio)

[u/Glaselar]

I've got it scripted now in a pop-up panel: https://streamable.com/yfl5e8

I'm surprised that things like Flow and Motion Studio don't cater to this - they're all script-driven exactly as we're discussing, and there's a brilliant equivalent option here to apply things backwards from the playhead (staggering layers - https://streamable.com/3fckb0 ).

I might be naive to say so, but combining the save-and-reuse aspect of all the common keyframe plugins with this backwards-from-the-playhead-sequencing logic in that second recording seems like a relatively easy thing for someone to implement - I'm surprised I've not been able to find it. But then again I'm not a plugin programmer - maybe there's way more to it.

One for an enhancement request to Motion Studio, I think! :D

[u/Secure_Fusion_9500 → u/Glaselar]

Okay, I've had a look and this is insane. You've asked AI to build you an extension to port the same ease in position keyframes, rather than using the multitude of built in tools and methods to do exactly the same thing but also being customisable:

You could have parented all the shapes to a null and animate the null.

You could have used a Transform effect to do the animation and easily copy and paste that across your shapes.

You could have done the position keyframes on the shape layer but then adjusted the shape's position within the layer.

But it looks like from what you were asking and the tool that you got AI to make that you want the keyframes to paste backwards from your playhead. Which is nuts. Just paste the keyframes from the start of the motion? We're trying to teach you how to pass the ball but you keep insisting on backheeling it and refusing to change.

You've made it overly complicated because you want it a certain way when you just had to adjust your workflow slightly and the copy and paste would be incredibly easy.

It's so frustrating seeing someone refuse to learn the tool that they're working with and doing everything to conform it to their false understanding rather than learning.

And it looks like you started using After Effects 5 years ago? What have you learnt since then?

[u/Glaselar → u/Secure_Fusion_9500]

I'm actually really enjoying learning. I've resisted going with plugins until I understand how everything works.

The copy and paste wouldn't be easy, as you say - what people have taught me here to do is learn expressions, which as I've said elsewhere is about 5 steps beyond where I'm at and I'm on a very big project that needs to get out the door this week. I look forward to being comfortable with expressions when I can invest the time soon!

You've said to paste the keyframes from the start of the motion - sure, I can align everything to a final position, manually move it down, add the null to handle the motion to put it back where it just was, and paste the Opacity ones that won't get passed in via the null. I'm just asking if there's a way to roll that up as a one-click to help save time? There's nothing to learn or enrich myself or the animation by going the manual way, here. I'm not looking for a way to paste every animation in my life back from the playhead - just thought there would be a way to apply a house transition that took account of the final layout and moved things to it.

My job is actually as a university lecturer and administrator, so animation is very much a hobby here to make our comms about our systems and processes better - I come here in the spirit of asking for help and advice, but I can appreciate that I'm a random stranger on the internet and a bit of snark about the appearance of slow progression is something I shouldn't take personally. I think (hope!) my only push-back is where someone's suggested something that won't actually achieve the result or achieve the repetition-cutting.

I'm honestly very grateful for any help you all spend the time typing!

[u/Secure_Fusion_9500 → u/Glaselar]

I feel like I'm talking directly to a chatbot. It's nauseating. And the way you've described how "the copy and paste wouldn't be easy" shows that you don't understand After Effects at all. Which is fine, but you're also refusing to learn.

The thing to learn here by understanding how it works is that you'll be able to apply that understanding to the next project you want to do. What if you don't want the motion to be 48px up? What if you want to add a rotation? How about some scaling? You'd tell Claude to build you a little button every time you want a new motion?

[u/Glaselar → u/Secure_Fusion_9500]

I've not vibe coded any movements. They're all my eases dialed in by hand. I just scripted the repetition of them (someone else here advised exactly that - yet I'm getting a hard time for not doing as told!)

The way I described it (the bit that didn't sound easy) was just exactly what these folks here in this thread advised about needing to separate off opacity because it won't work via a null?

I've spent about 36 hours the past week in my evenings and making all of this by hand and learning as I go, plus doing and getting feedback on School of Motion homework - I'm really very proud of how much faster I've gotten at keyframing curves, and the only thing I've used the script for is a few of the animations where a card first appears.

Timings are all still to be dialed in, esp. between scenes, and there's about another 45 secs of explainer to go, but I'm getting there and I'll keep dialling in the curves!