After Effects MCP

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name: after-effects-mcp description: Automates Adobe After Effects using ExtendScript (.jsx) files and aerender CLI. Supports composition creation, effect application, batch rendering, project templates, and Adobe Media Encoder workflows.

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After Effects MCP Bridge

This skill enables programmatic control of Adobe After Effects via ExtendScript (.jsx) automation and command-line tools.

🛠️ Core Capabilities

1. ExtendScript Automation

Use scripts/ae_script.jsx to execute After Effects operations:

Create/modify compositions

Add layers, effects, keyframes

Batch render projects

Manipulate project structure

2. Command-Line Rendering

Use aerender (After Effects command-line renderer) for:

Headless rendering

Batch processing

Queue management

3. Project Template System

Use assets/templates/ for reusable AE project templates.

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📋 Usage Patterns

Pattern 1: Create Composition Programmatically

// scripts/create_comp.jsx
var comp = app.project.items.addComp("MyComp", 1920, 1080, 1, 30, 300);
var solid = comp.layers.addSolid([1,0,0], "Red Solid", 1920, 1080, 1);

Pattern 2: Batch Render Project

aerender -project ./my_project.aep -output ./output.mov -mp

Pattern 3: Apply Effect via Script

// scripts/apply_effect.jsx
var layer = app.project.activeItem.selectedLayer(1);
layer.property("ADBE Effect Parade").addProperty("ADBE Gaussian Blur");

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🔧 Available Scripts

| Script | Purpose | |--------|---------| | create_comp.jsx | Create new composition with specified params | | batch_render.jsx | Queue multiple compositions for render | | apply_effect.jsx | Apply effects to selected layers | | export_template.jsx | Save project as template (.aet) |

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🚀 Quick Start Workflow

1. Check AE Installation: Verify After Effects is installed

   which aerender
   

2. Load Project: Open existing .aep or create new

   app.open(new File("./my_project.aep"));
   

3. Execute Script: Run ExtendScript via: - AE: File → Scripts → Run Script File - Command-line: aerender -script ./myscript.jsx

4. Render Output: Use aerender for headless rendering

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⚠️ Requirements

Adobe After Effects installed (CC 2019+)

ExtendScript Toolkit (optional, for debugging)

aerender in PATH for command-line rendering

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📚 References

ExtendScript Guide: See references/extendscript_api.md

Effect Names: See references/effect_names.md

Render Settings: See references/render_settings.md

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🎯 Monitoring

Be verbose about:

Composition settings (resolution, duration, framerate)

Effect choices and parameters

Render queue status

Output format decisions