So, you've just found the perfect template with all the right effects. But when you go to add it to your video, you realize it's too short. That it doesn't hold long enough for the time that you need. That somehow, you need to extend it so that it synchs-up perfectly with your shot.
Adjusting the duration of a template can be tricky. After Effects and Premiere Pro templates are mostly built using pre-comps or nested timelines which are great for making amazing animations and effects...but not-so-great when it comes to trying to extend or change their duration. Sometimes a single animation is using several timelines and simply adjusting one duration on one timeline isn't enough.
Fortunately however, there is one way you can slow down some elements of your animation which is particularly handy when it comes to titles.
Premiere Pro Templates
First, move the blue playhead to the point at which the animation stops.
Next, add a cut at this point (press “B” to use the blade tool to cut, or use Ctrl/Cmd + K to cut)
Right click on the second clip, and select “Insert Frame Hold Segment”
You now have 2 seconds more of the element to work with. You can then adjust the length of this hold segment as you like to shorten or lengthen the total duration of the template element.
You now have an element that can last as long as you like! This same principle applies for other templates where you have multiple layers of nested animation, but in those cases, you will need to frame hold for multiple layers deeper inside of the sequence. Of course, this method does not work where you have animated elements.
After Effects Templates
Because of the way pre-composing works in After Effects, the best way to extend After Effects templates is to export the entire template or specific scenes, bring it into an editing program and extend them using time stretch. If you are using footage which requires synced audio, you might consider speeding up the footage in the template so that when you time stretch it later, the video will be closer to real time and not slow motion.
We would recommend you export your video, then bring it into a video editor like Premiere Pro, then you can make cuts on the same video track and time-stretch the specific portion of the clips you cut out. You can get a Free trial of Adobe Premiere Pro CC here:https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/free-trial-download.html
Please note that if you do not want to install video editing software to do this, you can use After Effects to import exported renders, and then select the clip and time stretch it, however I would not recommend this as cutting and adding multiple clips in After Effects cannot be done on the same track and you will need to create multiple instances of the same video in the composition in order to have unique cuts.
If you would like to extend clips in After Effects, follow these steps:
Step 1: Enable the "Stretch Column"
Right Click on the grey bar above your layer in the composition area > Select Columns > Stretch
Step 2: Select Your Layer
Select the layer which you want to time remap in the timeline. It can be anything: cameras, solids, shapes, footage, etc.
Step 3: Adjust the Stretch Parameter
To adjust the duration of your layer, simply select the blue text under the stretch category in the timeline. You can also stretch your footage negatively in the timeline if you want it to play backwards.
Step 4: Adjust to Desired Location in the Timeline
By default, your footage will scale around its first frame. So you will likely have to move your layer around in the timeline to match your needs.
Final Cut Pro Templates
It’s really easy to extend elements in Final Cut Pro.
All you need to do is drag out the element from the end of the clip
Drag out the element to the desired length as far as you need
If you would like to extend specific scenes in a Generator template, however, you will need to take some extra steps.
To enable cutting of a Generator without it automatically resizing duration, please follow these instructions. Please note that you should have all of your media placed into the placeholders and all customizations done before proceeding with the following.
1. Right click on the Generator in the timeline and create New Compound Clip
2. A pop-up window will appear at the top of your screen
3. Create a name, set the Event location and hit OK.
4. You can now make modifications to the generator such as cuts or speed changes.
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