AE Composition Preset: File Size/Dimension

[deemwhy]

I am very new to AE. When making a new composition, i don't understand/know what "Preset" (i.e. NTSC DV, HDTV 1080 29.97 & all the other presets etc) I should use when starting.

I am from the print world of design and have regular paper dimensions that we use the most – A5, A4, A3 etc; Is there a standard rule you go by or regular settings most people use in After Effects that's similar to print?

Thanks for any help and advice that can be given.

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

Video has standards. Unless you have a great deal of knowledge you should never see Custom in your Composition Settings or your Render Settings.... IMPORTANT

The size you choose for your composition should match the footage you are going to use. You can find out what the size of the footage is by just importing it and checking the info in the Project Panel, but, before you do anything else, start here: Basic AE because just diving into AE and pushing buttons is a waste of time for someone without a fairly extensive video, compositing and animation background. Start with the basics and get familiar with the UI, formats, and rendering, then start branching out. Be extremely wary of YouTube tutorials. Make sure you vet your trainers. I would guess that more than half of the After Effects tutorials out there right now are done by folks that do not know what they are doing and they present bad advice, improper workflows and in some cases, point you down a dead end path. You have to learn the basics and the Link I posted is a great place to start.

[deemwhy]

Thanks for your reply, I'll take your advice.