[Ifeanyi anyi]

If you want true 5 fps across all layers but staggered updates, expressions are really the cleanest route.

Use posterizeTime(5) on the property, then offset each layer’s sampling with valueAtTime(time – framesToTime(offset)). That keeps the same cadence but shifts when each layer updates.

Precomping and time shifting also works, but it gets messy fast once you have many layers.

[Ifeanyi anyi]

I’ve seen this too and it’s rarely desktop vs laptop.

When XMP writes fail on laptops, it’s usually permissions or user context. iCloud, OneDrive, or stricter macOS sandboxing can block or delay metadata writes even when paths match. Also double check AE versions, small build differences can break XMP calls.

I’d focus on permissions and where XMP is actually being written, not the hardware.

[Ifeanyi anyi]

For 3D pre-viz in After Effects, the pixel-to-mm (or inch) ratio is arbitrary as long as you stay consistent. I usually pick a scale that’s easy to work with, like 1 ft = 100 px. Then I match my AE camera distance proportionally to the real-world measurements. This keeps everything to scale without worrying about exact mm-to-pixel conversion.

[Ifeanyi anyi]

I got it working with multiple fonts by creating separate comps for each line. Each line can have its own font, bold or style. Then I drag the line comps into the main timeline and adjust their Y-position and timing. It’s fully customizable per line and keeps the blinking cursor animation intact.