Pre Comp workflow

Jeff

Thanks for getting in touch with us. I think you’re on the right track, but there are a few extra steps that you’ll need to do to get this working 100%. First, make sure that you rename the target comp you want to swap. When a comp is first dragged into the timeline, the name will be surrounded by braces (i.e.: [Shapes PC]). If Templater is applied to a layer with this naming convention, it’ll only be swapped out once. This goes for images, movie files, and other assets to be switched out as well. So I’d definitely start by renaming the comp. You may also need to put double curly braces on the comps you want to cycle through in the data set. So rather than precomp1, precomp2, etc maybe try {{precomp1}}, {{precomp2}}, and so on. Give those suggestions a shot and if you run into additional issues, please just let us know. Thanks!

johnsyounger

RENAMING!
Thanks, knew it was something simple.
J

Jon

@johnsyounger to add to what Jeff said, here’s an easy way to think about it, step by step:

add “shapes pc” column to Sheet
create a comp called “shapes precomp” (you want it to be different so that it’s easy to rename in a following step)
add “shapes precomp” to your timeline (within another comp)
select the “shapes precomp” layer in your Timeline panel, hit “enter” to rename, and change its name to “shapes pc”

Now, in your data field you can set {{precomp 1}} and {{precomp 2}}, and Templater will look for comps with those names in your “Project” panel, and swap them in in place of the shapes precomp layer that you added at the beginning.

johnsyounger

@Jon Yup just skipped the rename smh
Thanks
J

cristian

Hi! I would like to reopen the topic because I am trying this method of replacing comps but it is not working. When I do this, It replicate the comps from precomp1. I would like to be able to replace precompositions with material that exists within after effects but is not possible to have in the materials folder.
I’ve tried everything you do above but it doesn’t work for me. Is it possible that I am skipping a step? Is there documentation somewhere on how to replace comps?
Thanks!

Jeff

@cristian

Can you give us a few more details on the steps you’re going through and what you’re getting in terms of output? I’m not sure if we entirely understand what the problem is. Are you trying to replace a precomp with raw AE footage? Let us know what you’re trying to do and what you’re seeing in as much detail as possible, and we’ll be more than happy to try and get things sorted.

If you’d like, you can see an example of how to use comp swapping in this video from our Youtube page. You can also email us directly at support@dataclay.com if you require more personal assistance. Let us know how we can help!

Thanks!

cristian

@jeff
Hi!
I am trying to replace a precomposition in my timeline with different precompositions within my project. The problem is that I don’t really understand how to do it.
For example, I have a precomposition in my project with the word “Hi”. In a previous step, I already replicated that composition and I already have it translated into 10 languages. Now I would like for another composition in which I have my precomposition with the word “hi”, to be able to replace it by making 10 replicas and in each one use the precomposition that I already did before.
I have tried to name the precompositions between {{}} but doing so does not swap the compositions. So what is the method to replace one composition with another?

Jeff

@cristian

Thank you for clarifying that. I think the easiest way to explain this might be with a hypothetical. So let’s say you have a project with a precomp named “comp1” (with no quotes) and another named “comp2” (also with no quotes).

To swap between the two, you’d first want to drag one of the comps into your timeline. From there, you’ll want to rename the precomp. For now, let’s say that we dragged comp1 into the timeline and renamed it to “compswap” (with no quotes). Once the layer is renamed, you’ll want to add the Templater Effect to the compswap layer.

At this point, you’ll want to add an entry to your data set to control which precomp is used. If you’re using Google Sheets, you’d add a new column named “compswap” (with no quotes). Once that column is added, you’ll want to populate it with either {{comp1}} or {{comp2}} to swap out the precomp. You shouldn’t need to add the double curly braces to the precomp names in the project itself, only in the data set.

Hopefully, that clears things up, but if you have any other issues or if this problem remains unresolved, please just let us know. Thanks!

cristian

@jeff
Thanks for the process. It seems that I almost have it, only one thing fails me.
When I do this process, templater create my changed precomp in the master composition and duplicates the precomp that I have changed to put it in my new video. Is it possible that I just replace my composition without creating a new one?
That is, if I replace with a precomp called “comp”, templater duplicates “comp” and in my new video it inserts the duplicated precomp called “comp 2”. I’d like you to use the original composition without creating duplicates if that’s possible.
Thank you again

Jeff

@cristian

Thanks for the update. Are the new comps being created when you preview the next row in your data set? Or is this happening when you hit the “replicate” button in Templater? Templater won’t typically create new precomps when swapping between assets, so we need to narrow down how exactly this project is laid out.

Could you outline the steps one by one that led to the behavior that you’re seeing? Hopefully, that’ll give us a better picture of what exactly is happening. You can also get in touch with us directly at support@dataclay.com if you’d like to share these details in a more direct message.

Let us know what you can, and we’ll take it from there. Thanks!