I want to make a preset to split a comp into sections then export each section as a separate comp

  1. The image displays a comp I have now.
  2. The red lines indicate places where I want to split this comp into different sections, and create new comps from each section.
  3. Trimming the current comp to the work area first doesn’t help, since if I create a comp from the new work area it will still be the length of the original comp, not the length of the work area.
  4. Ideally I would first place markers in the original comp in the places where I want each comp to start and finish, then run a preset to cut the comp at those sections, and create a new comp for each section, where each comp is the same length as the section.

Hi @Fortigurn,

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for providing a detailed explanation of your requirement. It greatly helps in addressing your question.

Creating a preset to split a composition into sections and export each section as a separate composition involves several steps and functions. It would be challenging to explain it step by step, so I’ll provide a broad explanation of how I created this automation. If you have any specific questions about a particular part, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Here’s a basic explanation of the process:

  1. Check if the active composition has one or more markers (if not, show an error message).
  2. Create variables to store values throughout the process, such as the last marker time, the end time of the composition, the index of the marker, and a collection of the new compositions for each section.
  3. Create a new project folder and save it as an item variable to organize the new precomps.
  4. Iterate over all the markers in the composition. For each marker:
  • Duplicate the original composition and move it to the new project folder.
  • Rename the duplicated composition to include the part name and index.
  • Set the work area start time to the last marker time.
  • Set the work area end time to the current marker time.
  • Open this precomp in the active viewer.
  • Run the menu command “Trim Comp to Work Area.”
  • Add this composition to the collection of sections.
  1. Increment the index and update the start time variable to the current marker time.
  2. Perform the same actions once more for the last part of the composition, which is between the last marker and the end of the composition.
  3. Delete all layers in the original composition and set the “start time” variable to the “start timecode” of the composition.
  4. Iterate over the collection of all sections:
  • Add each section to the original composition.
  • Set the start time of each section to the start time variable.
  • Update the start time variable to the out point of the current section.
  1. Open the original composition in the active viewer again.

I hope this explanation provides the information you were seeking and helps you understand how the automation functions. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Download this Automation -
split comp by markers.zip (4.1 KB)

Thank you,
Alon

That’s amazing, thank you so much. I certainly didn’t expect you to go to the trouble of creating the preset for me. I will try it out and see how it goes.