Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 5.5 Help Manual page 8

Adobe After Effects Help
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The newproject folder can then be copied in its entirety across platforms, and After Effects
will properly locate all of the footage.
File-naming conventions When possible, name your footage and project files with
Windows-compatible filename extensions, such as .mov for QuickTime movies and .aep
for After Effects projects. If files will be used on the World Wide Web, be sure that filenames
adhere to the appropriate conventions for extensions and paths.
Mac OS file types On Mac OS systems, footage files should have proper Mac OS file
types. Using services for Macintosh in Windows NT Server or Windows 2000 Server, you
can set up explicit extension-to-file-type mappings; see the system's server documen-
tation. If footage files are not properly recognized on Mac OS systems, select All Files for
Show in the Import File dialog box to override the Mac OS file types. To open a Windows
project on a Mac OS system, the project must have the correct .aep extension.
For a list of common extensions and their associated file types, see the Adobe Web
site.
Resources Ensure that all resources are available on both systems. Resources can include
fonts, effects, and compressors.
Time basics
Time is central to many operations in After Effects. You can view, specify, and manage time
in various ways. Whichever way you handle time, there are several specific time concepts
you should understand as you create a project.
Time display
The way you view and specify time in After Effects depends on the display style, or unit of
measure, that you use to describe time. By default, After Effects displays time in Society of
Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) timecode : hours, minutes, seconds, and
frames. You can change to another system of time display, such as film frames, or feet and
frames of 16mm or 35mm film. See "Setting time-display options" on page 9.
Video-editing workstations use SMPTE timecode that is often striped (encoded) onto
videotape for reference. If you are creating video that will be synchronized with video that
uses SMPTE timecode, use the default timecode display style.
Frame rate
Each composition you create can have its own frame rate. The frame rate is the number of
frames the rendered composition produces in every second when played back. The frame
rate you use is generally determined by the type of output you will produce. For example,
video for NTSC television plays at 29.97 frames per second (fps), and PAL plays at 25 fps.
When you set up changes over time, After Effects treats the changes as continuous
throughout a composition timeline. Each frame is rendered as a slice out of the timeline at
the frame rate you specify. Because After Effects treats time continuously, it is possible to
change a composition's frame rate at any time or override the frame rate of a composition
when you render the final movie. See "Setting frame rate" on page 58.
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