Pick the time tool by asking which part of the timeline is allowed to move. Time cropping changes how long the composition is. Time shifting moves a layer without changing its length. Time stretching changes a layer’s length by changing its playback speed. Time trimming moves a layer’s In-Point or Out-Point to a target layer’s points. Each of the four answers a different question, and picking the wrong one is how a batch ends up with a clip that plays too fast, a gap before the outro, or a cut-off ending.
Dataclay groups these four under one name, Time Sculpting. The idea is to give layers time-based rules so that Templater can account for differences in source durations when it processes your data. As layers get updated, Templater can adjust the duration of a composition if needed, and it preserves layer timing along the way. This page is about choosing between the four, one decision at a time. If you want the full walkthrough of just one of them, our page on time trimming in Templater goes deeper on that tool.
What each tool does, in the terms the docs use
Start with the one rule that applies to all four. Dataclay’s documentation says you must set a target composition before you can use any of the Time Sculpting features. A target composition is the composition Templater processes for output. If you have not told Templater which composition that is, none of the time tools will do anything useful, and Templater will show an error when it cannot find a target. We cover the three ways to set one on our separate page about choosing a target composition, so here we will take it as given.
Time cropping marks the temporal boundaries of a composition so that its duration adjusts to the footage. You use the In-Point of one layer to mark where the composition begins and the Out-Point of a layer to mark where it ends. The two points can sit on the same layer or on different layers. The documentation asks you to use only one In-Point and one Out-Point for cropping a composition’s timeline. The documentation also says you can nest compositions that have dynamic durations, and Templater will adjust the duration of any composition with time cropping applied no matter how deeply nested it is in the project.
The docs show four settings for cropping. The composition can crop so that it starts at the In-Point of the footage layer. It can crop so that it ends at the Out-Point of the footage layer. It can crop to both the In-Point and Out-Point of the footage layer. Or it can crop to the In-Point of the footage layer and the Out-Point of a different layer, which the docs illustrate with a layer called comp-1. In the Templater Settings effect, the controls live in the Time section, where you check Comp Starts at In-Point on one layer and Comp Ends at Out-Point on another. You can also do both with one dynamic layer, because as that layer’s footage duration updates during processing, the In-Point and Out-Point adjust with it. Dataclay does not recommend more than two layers for this job, and warns that more than two can give unexpected results.
Time shifting moves a whole layer along the timeline. The docs say that when you shift a layer, all its properties move in time by the same amount and in the same direction. For every layer that shifts, you name a sibling layer as its shift target. Then you choose whether the layer’s In-Point or its Out-Point moves until it reaches the same time as the target’s In-Point or Out-Point. That gives four combinations: In to In, In to Out, Out to In and Out to Out. You can also overlap layers by a number of frames as they shift in relation to each other.
Time stretching changes a layer’s duration by changing how fast it plays. The docs say Templater can stretch or compress a layer by automatically adjusting its playback speed. You would reach for it if you set aside a time period for a layer and want footage of varying length to fit exactly into that period. Because the speed is what changes, the footage will speed up or slow down in the rendered video. For each stretching layer you pick a sibling layer as the stretch target. The layer then stretches to the target’s In-Point, to the target’s Out-Point, or to the end of its containing composition. You can overlap the layer with its target by a number of frames. One more detail from the docs: a layer always stretches from its In-Point.
Time trimming controls where a layer’s In-Point and Out-Point land. For each layer you want to trim, you specify a sibling layer as its In-Point target, its Out-Point target, or both. The In-Point target says where the layer’s In-Point trims to. The Out-Point target says where its Out-Point trims to. You can trim both ends, only the In-Point, or only the Out-Point. As with shifting and stretching, you can overlap layers by a number of frames. Trimming also has two preservation options, Preserve Beginning and Preserve Ending, which we get to below because they matter a great deal when you are choosing between trimming and stretching.
All four tools
What each Time Sculpting tool changes
| Tool | What changes | What stays constant |
|---|---|---|
| Time Cropping | Composition duration | Layer lengths and speeds |
| Time Shifting | Layer position on timeline | Layer length and internal timing |
| Time Stretching | Layer playback speed | The window the layer fills |
| Time Trimming | Layer In-Point and Out-Point | Footage playback speed |
Choosing by the question you are asking
The four tools differ in what they hold constant and what they let move. If you can say which of those two lists a given thing belongs on, the choice nearly makes itself. The rest of this section walks through the questions in the order we would ask them. This is general practice for thinking about the tools, built on top of the documented behavior above.
First question: does the whole composition need to be a different length for each job? If the answer is yes, the tool is time cropping. Cropping is the tool the docs describe for adjusting the duration of a composition from the layers inside it. A template with one customer clip of variable length is the plainest case. You mark the clip’s In-Point as where the composition begins and its Out-Point as where it ends, and the composition follows the clip. If your jobs all render to a fixed running time because a platform or a broadcast slot demands it, you do not want cropping, because cropping makes the length vary. You want to hold the composition still and use one of the other three to fit the footage into it.
Second question: is the length of the layer fine, and only its position wrong? Then the tool is time shifting. Shifting moves every property of the layer by the same amount, so keyframes, effects and the layer’s footage all travel together and keep their relationship to each other. The shift settings change position, and none of them mention speed. One reason to want this, in general practice terms, is a lower-third or a title card that has to start when something else ends. You set that something else as the shift target, choose Out-Point to In-Point, and the card lands right where the earlier layer finishes, whatever that turned out to be for this row of data.
Third question: must the layer fill a fixed window exactly, and is a change in speed acceptable? Then the tool is time stretching. The docs describe exactly this use: you set aside a period, and you want footage of varying durations to fit exactly into it. The trade-off is in the docs too. Because stretching changes playback speed, the footage speeds up or slows down in the final render. That is fine for abstract motion, a background loop, or a graphic that is not tied to a human voice or a natural movement. It is a poor fit for a person talking to camera, because a voice that has been sped up or slowed down is something an audience will hear. We would not stretch a testimonial. For that clip the better move is to trim or crop. In this case we are giving you a judgment call, not a documented rule, so weigh it against your own footage.
Fourth question: is the footage speed off-limits, and does the layer need to start or end in a particular place? Then the tool is time trimming. Trimming moves the layer’s In-Point, its Out-Point or both to the points defined by their targets, and the trim settings are about where the layer starts and ends, not how fast it plays. Trimming also brings up the question of which part of the footage source to keep. That is where Preserve Beginning and Preserve Ending come in. Preserve Beginning keeps the start of a footage source. Preserve Ending keeps the end. Select both, and Templater preserves the full duration of the footage source.
Pick the right tool
Four questions choose your time tool
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Does the whole composition need a different length?The tool is time cropping.
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Is the layer’s length fine, and only its position wrong?The tool is time shifting.
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Must the layer fill a fixed window exactly, and is a speed change acceptable?The tool is time stretching.
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Is footage speed off-limits, and does the layer need to start or end in a particular place?The tool is time trimming.
That last option matters more than it looks. If you select both, Templater preserves the whole footage source, and the docs have a direct note about the case where durations vary a lot. If source footage durations vary widely for each iteration, you may need a combination of time trimming, time stretching or time shifting to be sure that the beginning or end of a footage source is visible. In other words, the tools are meant to be combined, and the docs say so.
Combining the tools without surprises
The cleanest way to see how the tools fit together is to walk through an example. The following is a hypothetical template that we made up to illustrate the choices. It is not a real customer project and the numbers in it are not from any source.
Imagine a producer who makes short sponsor spots. Each spot has three parts in the timeline: a title card with the sponsor’s name, a clip supplied by the sponsor that can be shorter or longer from row to row, and a closing card with a logo. The sponsor clip is a footage layer set up as a dynamic layer, so Templater replaces it with a different file for each row of the data source. The producer wants three things. The title card always comes first. The closing card always follows the sponsor clip immediately, with no black gap. And the whole spot should end when the closing card ends, so the composition has the right length for each job.
Take each requirement against the questions in the previous section. The closing card needs to start when the sponsor clip ends, whatever its length. That is a position problem, so time shifting does it: the closing card shifts with its In-Point going to the sponsor clip’s Out-Point. If the producer wants the two to overlap a few frames for a smoother cut, the overlap setting handles that. The composition’s length should follow the content. That is a composition-duration problem, so time cropping does it: one layer marks where the composition ends, and Templater adjusts the length for each job. Nothing in this setup uses stretching, so the sponsor’s clip is not given a speed change. The producer has used two of the four tools, shifting and cropping, and left stretching and trimming alone, which is a reasonable outcome. You do not have to use all four. A template may need only one or two.
Now change the brief. Suppose the sponsor spot has to run to a fixed length for every sponsor, and the sponsor clip has to fill the middle section exactly. The composition length no longer varies, so cropping is out. The clip must fill an exact period, so stretching is the documented fit, with the layer stretching to the In-Point of the closing card as its stretch target. The cost is speed. A short clip will play slowly and a long clip will play fast. If the sponsor’s footage is a person speaking, the producer should know that going in. The alternative is trimming the clip to the window, which raises the question of which end of a long clip to keep, and that is where the preservation options and the combination advice from the docs apply. Either trade is acceptable. It is the producer’s decision, and the point of the tools is that the decision is made once, in the template, instead of by eye on every render.
A few cautions follow from the docs themselves, and each has a reason attached.
Set the target composition first, because every one of the four tools depends on it. If a time rule does nothing, check that before you check anything else.
Keep cropping to one In-Point and one Out-Point, because the docs warn that using more than two layers to specify them can produce unexpected results. If you find yourself wanting a third marker, the job probably belongs to one of the other tools.
Remember that stretching starts from the layer’s In-Point, because that determines which end of the layer stays put when the speed changes. Put the layer’s In-Point where you want it before you decide where it stretches to.
Use shift and trim targets that are sibling layers, meaning layers in the same composition, because the docs define the targets that way. A target in another composition is not what the settings describe.
Render with a setting that does not clip the result. Dataclay’s documentation on its render settings templates says that dclay-best-comp renders the duration of the target composition at best quality, and that if you use any of the Time Sculpting features, it ensures the entire duration of the composition is rendered regardless of how Templater adjusts the target composition’s length. The work-area variant, dclay-best-workarea, renders only the work area, so a composition that grew longer than the work area would be cut off. That is a straight reading of the two templates’ descriptions. If your cropped composition seems to end early, check the render settings before you blame the crop.
Test with the extremes of your data, not an average row. In general practice, a time rule that works on a middle-length clip can fail on the shortest and the longest. Pick the shortest clip and the longest clip you expect, run both through, and look at the beginning and end of each result. Our pages on preview modes and spot checks and making a composition match its content length walk through how to look at those results before a big batch.
Before you render
Set up time tools without surprises
- Set the target composition first, every one of the four tools depends on it.
- Keep cropping to one In-Point and one Out-Point; more than two layers can produce unexpected results.
- Place the layer’s In-Point where you want it before deciding where it stretches to, stretching always starts from the In-Point.
- Use shift and trim targets that are sibling layers in the same composition.
- Use dclay-best-comp so the entire duration of the composition is rendered regardless of how Templater adjusts the target composition’s length.
- Test with the shortest clip and the longest clip you expect before a big batch.
Who should look elsewhere, and the bottom line
The time tools solve one specific problem, which is footage of different lengths landing in a template with rules. They do not decide what the footage is, where it comes from or how many versions you need. That work happens in the data source, and our overview of what Templater is shows where the time rules sit in the larger setup. If every video you make is the same length with the same media, you do not need time sculpting at all, and a plain After Effects composition will do. If you want to review the other kinds of rules a template can carry, such as alignment and chaining, start with our page on layout rules, which deals with space the way these tools deal with time.
Be careful about one more point. The docs describe what each setting does. They do not promise that a given combination will look right on your footage, and neither do we. The results depend on your clips, so verify with real files. If a template is going to be handed to other people, test the shortest and longest cases before you hand it over, because that is the moment a wrong choice gets expensive.
The bottom line is short. Crop when the composition’s length should follow the footage. Shift when the layer’s length is right and only its position is wrong. Stretch when a layer has to fill an exact window and a speed change is acceptable. Trim when the speed must stay natural and you can afford to lose or preserve one end. Set the target composition first, and test with your shortest and longest clips. If you want to see these rules in a real rigged project, the Dataclay learning pages are the place to start.
Still deciding between two of the tools? These are the specific questions that come up when you are choosing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a target composition before I can use time stretching, shifting, trimming or cropping?
Yes. Dataclay’s documentation states that you must set a target composition in order to use any of the Time Sculpting features. The target composition is the composition Templater processes for output. If Templater cannot find one, it shows an error. Set it first, using the data source, the Templater Preferences or the project, and then configure the time rules on the layers inside that composition.
Does time stretching change how fast my footage plays?
Yes. Stretching works by adjusting a layer’s playback speed, so footage sources of varying lengths fit into the period you set aside. The footage speeds up or slows down in the final rendered video. That is the trade-off for filling an exact window. If you do not want a speed change, the other tools do not work by adjusting playback speed, so look at time trimming or time cropping instead, and expect the layer’s length or the composition’s length to be handled differently.
What is the difference between time shifting and time trimming?
Shifting moves the whole layer in time. All of its properties move by the same amount in the same direction, so the layer moves as one block. Trimming moves the layer’s In-Point, Out-Point or both to the points defined by their targets, so the layer’s start and end change rather than the layer moving as one block. Use shifting to change where a layer sits. Use trimming to change where it begins and ends.
How many layers should I use to set the In-Point and Out-Point for time cropping?
Use one In-Point and one Out-Point. They can be on the same layer or on two different layers. The documentation says that using more than two layers can provide unexpected results, and it does not recommend it. A single dynamic layer can set both points, and they adjust as the footage duration of that layer updates during processing.
Can I use more than one time tool in the same template?
Yes. The documentation says that if source footage durations vary widely for each iteration, you may need a combination of time trimming, time stretching or time shifting to make sure the beginning or end of a footage source is visible. Each tool is set per layer, so one layer can stretch to a target while another shifts, and the composition can be cropped to the result.
What does Preserve Beginning and Preserve Ending do?
They are options on time trimming. Preserve Beginning keeps the start of a footage source. Preserve Ending keeps the end. Select both and Templater preserves the full duration of the footage source. Choose the end that matters in your video, such as a logo reveal at the end of a clip, so the part your viewer needs to see is the part that is kept.
Which render setting makes sure a cropped composition renders in full?
Dataclay’s render settings templates include dclay-best-comp, which renders the duration of the target composition at best quality. The documentation says that with any of the Time Sculpting features, it ensures the entire duration of the composition is rendered regardless of how Templater adjusts the target composition’s length. The dclay-best-workarea template renders only the work area, so it may cut off a composition whose length changed.
