The scripts-folder in After Effects is often something which is overlooked, by myself included. I’m almost embarrassed to say I just recently realized there’s a Scale Composition-function under scripts-menu which is incredibly handy. Apart from the default scripts, there’s also a very nice script package available for free from Adobe Exchange which I’m sure will improve anyone’s workflow.

First off, there’s the Active Shutter-script: quite simply, this script lets you adjust the motion blur settings of your composition without having to go into comp-settings every time. Instead you get a panel that gives you sliders for shutter angle, shutter phase and a small scrubber. Very handy!

Then there’s the Folder Setup-script: this is great for making a template folder structure to keep your project organized. I usually always like to start off a project with organizing folders, such as ‘assets’, ‘comps’, ‘audio’ etc, and this nifty script let’s you setup a project with just one click.

Next is the KeyEd-script which is one of my favorites. For a long time I was looking for an easy way to set up my own keyboard shortcuts in After Effects, and finally I found the simple solution. This script lets you easily configure your own keyboard shortcuts, which to me is a blessing in terms of increasing workflow speed.

There’s also the Kuler Shapes-script: this enables you to import color palettes from kuler.adobe.com and you get the colors neatly placed within their own composition, and lastly there’s the Launch Pad-script, that can launch certain scripts on start-up.

The package is available for both CS4 and CS3, here are the links:

• CS4 Version
• CS3 Version

While I’m at it, I’d also like to recommend the nice AE Background Renderer, which quite simply let’s you render stuff in the background so you can keep working in After Effects. Now that’s something — makes me wonder why all these scripts don’t ship with After Effects to begin with.

To install these; simply unpack the files into your Scripts-folder located within your After Effects folder and after you restart AE you’ll find them under the File > Scripts-tab (or under the Window-tab if you’ve placed the scripts in the ScriptUI Panels-folder). Hope you find them useful! What scripts couldn’t you live without? Feel free to share your favorite scripts in the comments field.

— Tip by Gustav