Short lines of code that automate motion and give you precise control — search, then paste straight into an After Effects property.
125/125
125 of 125 expressions
EssentialsScale
Aspect ratio lock
Keep width and height proportional when scaling
EssentialsOpacity
Auto Fade In & Out
Make a layer appear and disappear by using an expression to define the duration.
EssentialsOpacity
Auto-fade out before layer ends
Layer fades to 0 opacity in the final N seconds
EssentialsRotation
Bounce on rotation
Create two key points and use this rotational bounce expression. I'd like to thank School of Motion for this script. For more details on this specific bounce expression, please visit their website.
EssentialsScale
Bounce on scale
Here's a cool way to give your layer the bouncy effect of jelly or gelatin.
Essentialsany numeric property
Clamp
Prevent a value going out of bounds
Essentialsa single Position axis or Rotation (time * 90 = 90 deg/sec)
Constant motion
Continuous movement without keyframes
EssentialsAny keyframed property
Control the number of repetitions of your loop
Very useful when you have an end to your "loopOut".
EssentialsAny property of a stacked layer
Create a delay
The "Delay" function can be used to create a delay of a certain number of frames.
EssentialsAny keyframed property
Create a loop
This expression is the best way to loop an animation, as it loops both the animation input and the output.
Essentials
Ease remap
Smooth mapped range with ease-in and ease-out
EssentialsOpacity
Fade in on comp start
Layer fades from 0 to 100 opacity over a set duration
Essentialsany keyframed property
Inertia bounce
Physical overshoot and settle after each keyframe
Essentials
Linear remap
Map one value range onto another
EssentialsAny property
Loop a Wiggle
Expression to be copied into the property you wish to "wiggle".
Essentials
Loop in
Loop keyframes before the in-point
Essentials
Loop in + out combined
Seamless infinite loop in both directions
Essentials
Loop out
Loop animation keyframes from the out-point
Essentials
Loop out (continue)
Extrapolate velocity beyond the last keyframe
Essentials
Loop out (pingpong)
Loop that reverses direction each cycle
Essentials
Loop path
Loop keyframes seamlessly - works where loopOut can't
EssentialsPosition on a duplicate layer
Mirrored position
Flip a layer symmetrically across the comp centre
Essentials
Posterize time
Force a lower frame rate on any property
Essentials
Posterize time + loop
Looping animation with forced low frame rate
EssentialsPosition for jittery hand-held feel, or Rotation for shaky camera
Posterize time + wiggle
Choppy frame-stepped wiggle
EssentialsOpacity
Random blinking
Very useful and quick to create a "neon" effect. An expression to copy into your opacity property. Simply set the opacity of the affected layer to 50% and paste the following expression:
EssentialsScale, Opacity, or any property
Random value (seeded)
A stable random number that doesn't flicker each frame
EssentialsOpacity
Safe opacity wiggle
Wiggle opacity without going negative
EssentialsPosition
Sin Curve
Expression to be copied into the property to which you wish to apply a deformation with a sine curve.
Essentialsany keyframed or expression-driven property
Smooth (reduce jitter)
Smooth out jittery tracking or noisy data
Essentials
Wiggle
Random shake on any property
EssentialsPosition or Rotation
Wiggle + Loop combined
Wiggle that reseeds per segment
EssentialsAny numeric property
Wiggle between two values
Expression that works on number value properties.
EssentialsPosition
Wiggle on X or Y
Limits the wiggle to a single dimension. This expression concerns only X to affect Y change the last line to [ value[ 0 ],w[ 1 ] ].
Text & CountersAnchor Point
Center anchor point vertically on text
Ensure that the anchor point is always vertically centered on a text layer.
Text & CountersSource Text
Comp name
Display the composition name as text
Text & CountersSource Text
Currency
Prefix a counter with a currency symbol
Text & Counters
ETA countdown (MM:SS)
Count down from a set number of seconds
Text & CountersSource Text
Frame number
Display the current frame as an integer
Text & CountersSource Text
Get the date
The expression for the current date gives you immediate access to today's value.
Text & Counters
Granular increment (0.01)
Scale down a slider to hundredths precision
Text & Counters
Hundredths counter (1.00)
Display a slider value to 2 decimal places
Text & CountersSource Text
Leading zeros (001)
Pad a number to a fixed digit width
Text & CountersSource Text on a numeric value layer
Odometer (commas)
Format large numbers with comma separators
Text & CountersSource Text
Percentage
Append a % sign to a counter
Text & CountersSource Text
Random character scramble
Randomly cycle through characters - glitch effect
Text & CountersSource Text
Slider (whole number)
Drive a text counter from a Slider Control
Text & Counters
SMPTE timecode
Full HH:MM:SS:FF timecode display
Text & CountersSource Text
Source name
Display the layer's own name as text
Text & CountersSource Text
Timer / animated timecode
Expression to copy into your text source.
Text & CountersSource Text
Typewriter effect
Expression to paste into your text source.
Text & Counters
Typewriter substring
Reveal text character by character
Text & Countersits Opacity
Typing cursor blink
Blinking | cursor to pair with a typewriter reveal
Text & CountersSource Text
Uppercase all
Force text to display in uppercase
Shape & LayoutSize and Anchor Point of a shape
"Bounding box" for a text
Here's the expression to automatically resize a text box in After Effects, which should save you a lot of time.
The first expression must be applied to the size of your rectangle shape, while the second must be added to the anchor point of your rectangle shape.
Shape & LayoutScale on a text layer
Auto-fit scale (long translations)
Shrinks text to fit a max width
Shape & LayoutSize on a Rectangle path
Auto-size text box
Rectangle that automatically matches text width and height
Shape & LayoutOffset of a Repeater
Center your form repeat
Copy this expression into the offset attribute of your repeat on your shape layer. It automatically centers the repeat on the middle shape. Bonus: duplicate your repeat and reverse the axis to create a grid.
Shape & LayoutPosition
Circular orbit
Layer orbits continuously around a centre point
Shape & LayoutPosition on every layer
Index spacing (auto-stack)
Automatically distribute layers in a vertical column
Shape & LayoutStroke Width
Maintain stroke width (non-uniform scale)
Correct stroke width even with non-uniform scale
Shape & LayoutStroke Width
Maintain stroke width (uniform scale)
Keep stroke width consistent when scaling
Shape & LayoutPosition on all layers
Multi-column auto-stack
Distribute layers into a grid of rows and columns
Shape & LayoutPosition
Obtain the composition's center and scale
Use the "Composition width and height" expression to center and scale a layer.
Shape & LayoutEnd
Percentage ring (trim paths)
Circular fill driven by a slider
Shape & LayoutRectangle Size
Progress bar fill
Rectangle width driven by a 0-100 slider
Shape & LayoutScale
Pulse (rhythmic scale beat)
Rhythmic scale pulse synced to a frequency
Shape & LayoutOpacity
Safe zone warning
Pulses the layer if it gets too close to the comp edge
Shape & LayoutSize on a Rectangle path
Smart background with padding
Shape that wraps tightly around text with adjustable padding
Shape & LayoutPosition
Snap to grid
Constrain a layer's position to a pixel grid
Shape & LayoutPosition
Spiral outward
Layer traces an expanding spiral path
Master ControllersOpacity
Checkbox visibility
Toggle layer visibility on/off from a master null
Master ControllersAny property
Checking a property with a checkbox
Use this expression for a property you want to be able to "check".
Master Controllersany Fill/Stroke Color
Global colour link
One colour swatch controls every layer that references it
Master Controllers
Global position link
Drive a layer's position from a null in another comp
Master Controllersany numeric property
Global slider link
Single slider drives a value across every linked layer
Master Controllers
Multi-switch (index router)
Keyframe a single slider to switch between multiple states
Master ControllersPosition on child
Parented position compensation
Track a parent layer's position in a child's local space
Master ControllersOpacity
Show/Hide layer with drop-down list
Apply to a layer's opacity property. Change the layer name to begin with [1,2,3] to match the drop-down parameter.
Master ControllersPosition or use result as driver in other expressions
World position (null parent offset)
Get a layer's true world position regardless of parenting
Advanced RigsPosition
Attach a 2D position to a 3D Null
A small, powerful and versatile expression for wide-ranging possibilities.
Advanced RigsOpacity
Blink
Hard on/off blink using a sine wave threshold
Advanced RigsOpacity
Fade a layer according to distance from the camera
Simply apply this script to the opacity of your layer, and the layer will fade as it approaches the camera. This code is useful when you want to simulate depth of field and control when your layers should fade.
Advanced RigsOpacity on follower layers
Ghost trail - opacity
Followers fade progressively down the chain
Advanced RigsPosition on all follower layers
Ghost trail - position
Layers follow a leader with a cascading delay
Advanced RigsScale on follower layers
Ghost trail - scale
Scale follows a leader with a cascading delay
Advanced RigsRotation
Ignore "parent" layer rotation
A small expression to add to the rotation of the "child" layer to ignore the rotation of the "parent".
Advanced RigsRotation
Look at (face target)
Layer rotates to always face a target null
Advanced RigsPosition
Magnet (LERP)
Layer is attracted toward a null with adjustable strength
Advanced RigsScale
Matrix wave (scale)
Wave ripples across a grid of layers from a master null
Advanced RigsOpacity
Proximity trigger (opacity)
Layer appears when a trigger null gets close enough
Advanced RigsScale
Proximity-based scale
Layer grows as an attractor null moves closer
Advanced RigsPosition Y or Rotation
Rubik row shift
Rows shift in staggered waves
Advanced RigsFill Color
Sample image (colour picker)
Sample a pixel colour from a video layer dynamically
Advanced RigsPosition or Rotation on multiple layers
Seeded random wiggle (per layer)
Each layer gets a different but stable wiggle
Advanced RigsPosition alongside keyframes
Spring follow (physics)
Layer chases keyframes with real mass, stiffness and damping
Advanced Rigs
Stagger delay by index
Same animation plays offset across multiple layers automatically
Advanced RigsPosition or Opacity
Strobe / glitch on beat
Choppy strobe or glitch displacement
Advanced RigsAny property
Trigger expression on marker
Automate actions based on the position of markers in the composition.
Advanced RigsRotation on a layer with animated Position keyframes
Velocity-based rotation
Layer banks automatically to face its direction of travel
Data & FinanceSource Text
Animated number delta (+12% / -8%)
Show positive/negative change with automatic +/- sign
Data & FinanceFill Color
Color heatmap (value-based)
Bar fill colour changes automatically based on its value
Data & FinanceSource Text
Currency formatter ($1,000,000)
Format large numbers with symbol and comma separators
Data & Financebar Size property
Dynamic bar height (slider linked)
Bar shape height driven by a slider on a master null
Data & Financenumeric property
Rolling average (smooth slider)
Average slider value over recent frames to remove spikes
Data & FinanceSource Text
Shorthand number (1.2M / 50K)
Auto-switch between B, M, K and full number
Data & FinancePosition on a dot layer
Sparkline dot position
Move a dot along a data axis driven by a slider
Data & FinanceRectangle Size
Stacked area fill (normalised)
Drive fill height as a fraction of a total for stacked charts
IsometricFill Color on extruded shape layers
ISO depth shading
Progressively darken extruded layers for realistic ISO shading
IsometricPosition on all duplicates
ISO extrude offset
Stack duplicate layers to create isometric depth
IsometricScale
ISO full SSR expression (top)
Top face scale as a pure expression
IsometricScale
ISO left face (SSR)
Scale and rotate a layer into the left isometric plane
IsometricScale
ISO right face (SSR)
Scale and rotate a layer into the right isometric plane
IsometricScale
ISO top face (SSR)
Scale and rotate a layer into the top isometric plane
IsometricPosition
ISO Z-height movement
Move a layer up and down the isometric vertical axis
Audio & MusicScale
Audio reactor (scale)
Layer scale reacts to the amplitude of an audio layer
Audio & MusicScale
Beat sync pulse (BPM, no audio)
Sharp scale pulse on every beat - no audio layer needed
Audio & MusicScale
Left/right channel isolator
Separate left and right audio channels drive different axes
Audio & MusicFill Color
Note-to-colour mapper
MIDI-style 0-127 slider maps to a full colour spectrum
Audio & MusicPosition on a row of identical layers
Waveform offset per layer
Row of layers ripples like a sound waveform
B2B & TransportRotation on arrow layer
Compass heading (north arrow)
Arrow rotates dynamically to point from A to B
B2B & Transportthe Offset property
Dashed line animator
Animated flowing dashes along a stroke path
B2B & Transport
Network node connection line
Line dynamically stretches and rotates between two nodes
B2B & Transportdot Position
Route progress dot
Dot moves between two points based on a progress slider
B2B & TransportSource Text on a text layer on the same animated object