Copy from After Effects to Premiere

Last updated on Apr 2, 2026

Learn how to import layers from After Effects into Premiere, how supported layers convert, and which types cannot be imported.

You can copy a footage-based layer from an Adobe After Effects composition and paste it into an Adobe Premiere sequence. Premiere converts the layer to a clip in the sequence and adds the source footage item to the Project panel. If the layer includes an effect that Premiere supports, the effect, along with all its settings and keyframes, is converted. You can also copy nested compositions, Adobe Photoshop layers, solid-color layers, and audio layers. Premiere converts nested compositions to nested sequences and solid-color layers to color mattes. You cannot copy shape, text, camera, light, or adjustment layers into Premiere.

Start Premiere before you copy the layer in After Effects.

Select a layer or multiple layers in the After Effects Timeline panel.

If you select multiple layers that don’t overlap in After Effects, they’re placed on the same track in Premiere. If the layers overlap, the order in which you select them determines their track order in Premiere. Each layer goes to a separate track, and the last selected layer appears on Track 1. For example, if you select layers from top to bottom, they appear in reverse order in Premiere, with the bottom layer on Track 1.

Select Edit > Copy in the After Effects menu.

Open a sequence in the Timeline panel in Premiere.

Move the current-time indicator to the desired location and select Edit > Paste.

How Premiere converts pasted layers

When you paste a layer into an Adobe Premiere sequence, its keyframes, effects, and other properties are converted as follows:

After Effects item	Converted to Premiere	Notes
Audio volume property	Channel Volume filter
Blending modes	Blending modes supported by Premiere are converted
Effect properties and keyframes	Effect properties and keyframes, if the effect also exists in Premiere	Premiere lists unsupported effects as offline in the Effect Controls panel. Some After Effects effects share names with Premiere effects, but because they are different, they aren’t converted.
Expressions	Not converted
Layer markers	Clip markers
Masks and mattes	Not converted
Stereo Mixer effect	Channel Volume filter
Time Remap property	Time Remapping effect
Time Stretch property	Speed property	Speed and time stretch have an inverse relationship. For example, a 200% stretch in After Effects converts to a 50% speed in Premiere.
Transform property values and keyframes	Motion or Opacity values and keyframes	The keyframe type Bezier, Auto Bezier, Continuous Bezier, or Hold is retained.
Source settings for R3D source files	Source settings for R3D source files

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