Format
Last updated on
May 17, 2024
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Here you'll find a comprehensive list of media file formats supported in After Effects.
This document lists the file formats which Adobe After Effects can import and export. You can add support for additional file formats to After Effects by installing a third-party plug-in. For a list of software developers that make plug-ins for After Effects, see Plug-ins.
If you receive an error message or the video does not display correctly, you may need to install the codec used by the file. For more information about the codec in use, contact the manufacturer of the software or hardware used to create the file.
Most file formats are rendered from After Effects by adding the composition to the render queue; see Render and export a movie using the render queue. Some formats are only available through the File > Export menu; see Render and export a movie using QuickTime components.
Audio file formats
|
|
Import/Export support |
Format Details |
|
MPEG-1 Audio Layer II |
Import only |
Audio format in a WAV container file |
|
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC, M4A) |
Import and Export |
|
|
Audio Interchange File Format (AIF, AIFF) |
Import and Export |
|
|
MP3 (MP3, MPEG, MPG, MPA, MPE) |
Import and Export |
|
|
Waveform (WAV) |
Import and Export |
|
Still image file formats
Note: You can import files of any still image format as a sequence. See Preparing and importing still images in After Effects help.
| Format | Import/Export support | Format Details |
| Adobe Illustrator (AI, EPS, PS) | Import only | Continuously rasterized |
| Adobe PDF (PDF) | Import only | First page only, continuously rasterized. |
| Adobe Photoshop (PSD) | Import and Export | 8-, 16-, and 32-bpc |
| Bitmap (BMP, RLE, DIB) | Import only | |
| Camera raw (TIF, CRW, NEF, RAF, ORF, MRW, DCR, MOS, RAW, PEF, SRF, DNG, X3F, CR2, ERF) | Import only | |
| Cineon (CIN, DPX) | Import and Export | Converts to project's color bit depth: 8-, 16-, or 32-bpc |
| CompuServe GIF (GIF) | Import only | |
| Discreet RLA/RPF (RLA, RPF) | Import only | 16-bpc, imports camera data |
| ElectricImage IMAGE (IMG, EI) | Import only | |
| Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) | Import only | |
| IFF (IFF, TDI) | Import and Export | |
| JPEG (JPG, JPE) | Import and Export | |
| HEIF | Import only | On supported operating systems, After Effects can import HEIF files (High Efficiency Image Format; .HEIF and .HEIC), such as those created by the camera apps on Apple iOS 11 or later. Minimum supported operating systems for HEIF file import:
Note: HEIF Image and HEVC Image Extensions are not included with Windows 10 and must be installed separately. |
| Maya camera data (MA) | Import only | |
| OpenEXR (EXR) | Import and Export | 32-bpc 3D Channel effect plug-ins from fnord software are included with After Effects to provide access to multiple layers and channels of OpenEXR files. (See Using channels in OpenEXR files in After Effects help. |
| PCX (PCX) | Import only | Windows only |
| Portable Network Graphics (PNG) | Import and Export | 16-bpc |
| Radiance (HDR, RGBE, XYZE) | Import and Export | 32-bpc |
| SGI (SGI, BW, RGB) | Import and Export | 16-bpc |
| Softimage (PIC) | Import only | |
| Targa (TGA, VDA, ICB, VST) | Import and Export | |
| TIFF (TIF) | Import and Export | 8- and 16-bpc |
Video and animation file formats
| Format | Import/Export support | Format Details |
| Panasonic | Import only | Camera acquisition metadata displays in the Dynamic Media panel of the Metadata panel. |
| RED | Import only | |
| Sony X-OCN | Import only | |
Canon EOS C200 Cinema RAW Light (.crm) |
Import only | |
RED Image Processing |
Import only | |
Sony VENICE X-OCN 4K 4:3 Anamorphic and 6K 3:2 (.mxf) |
Import only | |
| MXF/ARRIRAW | Import only | ARRIRAW codec in an MXF container file |
| H.265 (HEVC) | Import only | HEVC (also known as H.265) codec footage in a QuickTime (.MOV) container |
| 3GPP (3GP, 3G2, AMC) | Import only | |
| Adobe Flash Player (SWF) | Import only | Note: SWF files are imported with an alpha channel. Interactive content is not retained. Export functionality of SWF files is supported by versions earlier than After Effects CC 2014. |
| Adobe Flash Video (FLV, F4V) | Import only | |
| Animated GIF (GIF) | Import | |
| Apple ProRes codec | Import and Export |
On Windows. After Effects can render HDR color in imported QuickTime files using Apple ProRes codecs that are tagged for Rec. 2020 color, including PQ or HLG profiles, such as those produced by Atomos monitor-recorders. |
| AVCHD (M2TS) | Import only | |
| DV | Import and Export | In MOV or AVI container, or as container-less DV stream; requires QuickTime on Windows |
| H.264 (M4V) | Import only | |
| Media eXchange Format (MXF) | Import only | |
| MPEG-1 (MPG, MPE, MPA, MPV, MOD) | Import only | |
| MPEG-2 (MPG, M2P, M2V, M2P, M2A, M2T) | Import only | Some MPEG data formats are stored in container formats with filename extensions that are not recognized by After Effects; examples include .vob and .mod. In some cases, you can import these files into After Effects after changing the filename extension to one of the recognized filename extensions. Because of variations in implementation in these container formats, compatibility is not guaranteed. |
| MPEG-4 (MP4, M4V) | Import only | |
| Open Media Framework (OMF) | Import and Export | Raw media [or essence] only; Windows only |
| QuickTime (MOV) | Import and Export | |
| Video for Windows (AVI) | Import and Export | Export is on Windows only. |
| Windows Media (WMV, WMA) | Import only | Windows only |
| XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX (MXF, MP4) | Import only |
Project file formats
|
Format |
Import/Export support |
Format Details |
|
Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) |
Import only |
Windows only |
|
Adobe After Effects XML Project (AEPX) |
Import and Export |
|
|
Adobe Premiere Pro (PRPROJ) |
Import and Export |
|
Data file formats
|
Format |
Import/Export support |
Format Details |
|
JSON |
Import only |
|
|
mgJSON |
Import only |
|
|
JSX |
Import only |
After Effects 15.1 and later use a different JSON parser that is strict and will not allow a JSON file with illegal syntax to be imported. You can import a JavaScript syntax extension file (.jsx) into After Effects 15.1. The content of the JSX file can be the same as a JSON file imported into After Effects 15.0, you are required to change the file extension to .jsx. If you open an existing project containing a JSON file that no longer works, use File > Replace Footage to replace the JSON file with the JSX file. |
|
CSV |
Import only |
|
|
TSV (.tsv or .txt) |
Import only |
|
Other file formats
|
Format |
Import/Export support |
Format Details |
|
Cinema 4D Importer |
Import and Export |
Import uses Cineware effect |
|
Maya Scene camera data (MA) |
Import only |
|
CMYK file formats
After Effects can import Adobe Photoshop (.PSD), Adobe Illustrator (.AI), and Encapsulated PostScript (.EPS) files that use the CMYK color space. After Effects will convert the CMYK color values to RGB.
Note: After Effects cannot assign an input color profile to files that use non-RGB color spaces, such as CMYK. Color management on CMYK files is therefore limited. To effectively, color manage CMYK files you should convert them to RGB before you import them into After Effects. For more information, see Interpret a footage item by assigning an input color profile.
16-bpc and 32-bpc file formats
While After Effects can operate in 16 and 32 bits per channel, most video and animation file formats and codecs support only 8-bpc. Typical cross-application workflows for higher bit-depth color involve rendering to a still image sequence rather than a video or animation file. Still image formats that support 16-bpc that After Effects can render to include PSD, PNG, TIFF, IFF, and SGI. Formats that support 32-bpc include PSD, EXR, HDR, and TIFF.
Video codecs that support 10-bpc are provided with hardware such as a capture card or software such as Adobe Premiere Pro. You can import 10-bpc uncompressed YUV AVI files created in Adobe Premiere Pro into 16-bpc RGB After Effects projects. You can also render from After Effects with 10-bpc YUV compression.
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