221: After Effects Trick: Timecode Simplified

3 min readApr 18, 2018

How to Enter Duration of Composition in After Effects

Topic:
How to enter the duration or length of a composition the easy way in Adobe After Effects

Note: Video tutorial below this article.

Reason for Tutorial (The Conflict):
It can be confusing and difficult to navigate timecode.The numbers are small and separated by semi-colons. Sometimes you delete the numbers or semi-colons and lose track of whether you are in minutes or seconds. There is an easy way and this has been one of my favorite little tips that I never forgot.

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https://mkemurphy.co/aftereffects

Timecode Tutorial (Duration of Composition):

Open After Effects
Create New Composition
Go to Duration (length of composition…numbers are called timecode)
The whole trick is to simply enter a number followed by comma (see below)

How to Read Timecode:

00;00;00;00
Hours; Minutes; Seconds; Frames

The Timecode Trick:

To enter the duration simply type in a number followed by Comma (,)
Do not use semi-colons or try to put cursor in exact position
Simply select all the numbers and type how long you want the composition in seconds, followed by the comma.

Timecode Cheatsheet

One Comma = Seconds
Two Commas, Minutes, Seconds
Three Commas = Hours, Minutes, Seconds
Four Commas (don’t really need it) = Hours, Minutes, Seconds Frames,

One Comma (Seconds)
30, = 30 seconds
45, = 45 seconds
180, = 3 minutes
Two Commas:
2,30, = 2 minutes & 30 seconds
5,35, = 5 minutes & 35 seconds
Three Commas:
1,30,45 = 1 Hour, 30 minutes & 45 seconds
Four Commas (4th comma not really needed):
2,45,25,12, = 2 Hours, 45 minutes, 25 seconds, 12 frames

Side Note on Drop Frames

If you type 60, that is 60 seconds or 1-minute
The duration will read 0;0;59;28
This is because the frame rate is 29.97 and drop rate is active. This is normal.
Don’t worry about the frames. Just enter the duration you want followed by comma. (60, will give you a 1-minute composition)

Frame Rate: 29.97 Frames Per Second
Time Entered: 60, (60 seconds or 1 minute)
After Effects Calculation:
60 seconds minus 2 frames = 59 seconds and 28 Frames(0;00;59;28)