Adobe After Effects is one of the most powerful animation tools on the market. It is strengthened by its ability to work with a variety of file types. The program treats these different file types as footage, which it stores permanently in the project panel. The basic import structure is the same whether you are bringing in a dozen MP3s or a single JPEG.
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Step 1
In the top menu bar, choose the File option, then Import, then File. A dialogue box will appear.
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Step 2
If you are looking for a specific file type, click the drop-down menu next to the word Enable. “All Files” will show you all file types in the directory you’re looking in, while “All Acceptable Files” only lists files that are supported by After Effects. “All Footage Files” will only show files that are actual footage–for example, a QuickTime movie would show up here, but a previous After Effects project would not. Underneath these options are specific file types–if you’re dealing with a large directory and you know the specific kind of file you want, this feature can be helpful.
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Step 3
Change the “Import As” drop-down menu to read “Footage.”
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Step 4
Find the file you want to open using the Import File directory. To select multiple files, control+click on each file you want to import. To select contiguous files, click the file at the top of the directory, then hold down shift before clicking the file at the bottom of the directory. This should highlight all files. Once you have the file(s) you want to import selected, click the Open button at the bottom of the dialogue box.
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Step 5
Change the options in any prompt you may receive, if those changes are necessary to your project. Some file types have prompt boxes associated with them, while others don’t.