Precomp source text based on main comp time

[Kristine Jones]

I’ve created a one hour countdown timer. At the start of each minute I’d like to transition to a different background for 5 seconds then transition out. This new background requires a change in the timer’s text color.

To achieve this I’ve created a precomp with the new background and a duplicate of the timer text layers with text recolored. Ideally I’d like to reuse this single comp multiple times on top of the main timer, instead of creating a new precomp for each minute’s change.

Within the precomp I’ve changed the source text expression to: comp(“countdown”).layer(“00”).text.sourceText;

This gives me the text I want to see, but from the beginning of the main countdown comp. If my precomp is located at X min on the main comp’s timeline, what code would I add to display the text at that point in time?

[Dan Ebberts]

Try this:

c = comp("countdown");
c.layer("00").text.sourceText.valueAtTime(time + c.layer(thisComp.name).startTime)

[Kristine Jones]

Perfect. Thank you, Dan!