Thumbnails from Markers

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Hey Mackie, with expressions – not possible.

Despite of that, there is a fast way to do it with the help of scripting. Are you familiar with it?

The code below should do it:

var comp = app.project.activeItem; //Active composition in AE
var markerProp = comp.markerProperty;
var markerKeys = markerProp.numKeys;
for (var i = 1; i<= markerKeys; i++){
var saveFile = new File(RENDER_PATH + "/" + FILE_NAME + "_" + i+".png");
var curMarkerTime = markerProp.keyTime(i);
comp.saveFrameToPng(curMarkerTime, saveFile);

var loopLength = 10;
while (saveFile.exists == false && loopLength) {
$.sleep(250);
loopLength--;
}


Where, RENDER PATH is your path to export, and FILE_NAME is your preferred name, both in strings.

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview

[Mackie John]

THanks this is what I’m looking for. I can now run this trough as an ExtendedScript using aerender.exe, correct.

[Tomas Bumbulevičius]

Mackie, yes, you can run this through Extendscript, but aerender won’t be required. Just make sure AE project is opened and active composition is selected.

This approach of exporting thumbnails as .pngs is the fastest way of doing it. A bit less control over profile than RQ items, but still faster than aerender.exe triggering.

Find out more:
After Effects Tutorials: motion design, expressions, scripting.
Boxer – Dynamic Text Boxes Template with a Live Preview