Studio Backdrop

Build professional studio environments from shape layers — no footage required.

Wall & Stage

WALL creates a flat infinity backdrop shape spanning the full comp. STAGE creates a full cyc environment — curved backdrop wall, seamless floor merge, and a depth plane — all as editable shape layers.

Stage Presets

One-click environment configs that set the Stage Controller to calibrated values:

Wall Utilities

CENTER recentres the backdrop relative to your active camera. SCALE fits it to comp dimensions. FLAT removes the cyc curve and makes a pure vertical wall. RESET returns all Stage Controller values to defaults.

Stage Controller Sliders

Quick Create

One-click layer creation at comp centre, at the current time indicator.

Every button creates a layer instantly — no dialogs, no naming. Layers are created at the current time indicator, centred in the comp, and ready to animate.

XYZ Position Sliders

Before creating a layer, drag the X, Y, and Z sliders to offset the creation point from comp centre. X and Y are in pixels. Z is in comp units — positive Z pushes the layer further from camera.

Styling

Apply effects and cinematic colour treatments to any layer — no third-party plugins needed.

Standard Effects

Each button applies a single AE effect with sensible defaults. Select a layer first, then click. Effects are added non-destructively and appear in the layer's Effects panel.

CURVE · LEVEL · VIGNET · 4 GRAD · RAMP · TINT · BLUR · GLOW · INVERT · SHADOW · SWEEP · G-BLUR

PRO Effect Stacks

Multi-effect presets that apply a curated stack in one click. Each stack is designed for a specific aesthetic direction:

Save / Load FFX Presets

Build a custom effect stack on any layer, then click SAVE FFX to export it as a named .ffx preset. Use the dropdown and LOAD PRESET to apply saved presets to any layer. Delete presets with DEL.

Quick Utils

Everyday operations made single-click. Workflow accelerators, not workarounds.

Ease Slider

Sets the influence value for Easy Ease. At 33% it matches AE's default Easy Ease. At 75–85% you get a more stylised, springy motion. Set before clicking EASE.

Keyframe Controller

Direct property control with per-frame precision — stamp keyframes on any property without touching the timeline.

Workflow

1. Select Layer. Choose the target layer from the layer dropdown. Click REFRESH if newly added layers aren't showing.
2. Select Property. Choose the property to control from the property dropdown. Common properties (Position, Scale, Rotation, Opacity) are listed first.
3. Set Value. Drag the VALUE slider to the desired value. The panel previews the change live in the viewport.
4. STAMP. Click STAMP to commit a keyframe at the current time indicator. Move the CTI and repeat to build an animation.
5. PAIR. PAIR creates a second keyframe on a linked layer at CTI + Duration, creating a smooth transition between two states.

Duration Slider

Sets the time gap (in seconds) between a STAMP keyframe and its PAIR counterpart. Useful for creating timed transitions — e.g., stamp at 0s, PAIR at 2s.

Scale Property

When Scale is selected, the VALUE slider sets uniform scale — both X and Y dimensions change together. No stretch, no distortion.

3D Master

Build production-ready 3D rigs, spatial formations, and camera animations in seconds.

BUILD 3D RIG

Select your content layers and click BUILD 3D RIG. Aphexar creates a complete null hierarchy: a rig parent, individual control nulls per layer, a camera (Aphexar Cam), and a camera target (ZOOM_TARGET). All layers are wired with correct parenting, 3D enabled, and ready to animate.

Infrastructure layers (Stage Controller, Stage_Shape, Stage_Vignette) are skipped automatically — only your content layers are parented into the rig.

Spatial Presets

Instantly arranges selected layers into a 3D formation:

Camera Target

JUMP TO TARGET animates the camera to face the selected layer over the Duration slider time. ZOOM adjusts the field of view on arrival. Navigation buttons (FWD/BCK/UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT) move the camera incrementally, creating keyframes — useful for manual dolly and crane moves. UNDO removes the last movement keyframe.

Orbit

Creates a smooth orbit animation around the camera target. Click 90°, 180°, or 360° — the Duration slider controls the arc length in seconds.

Auto Journey

AUTO JOURNEY analyses your layer positions and plots an organic camera path through the scene, resting at each layer with eased transitions. HOLD TIME sets how long the camera rests at each stop. PULLBACK REVEAL adds a cinematic pull-back before the journey begins — the camera starts wide and punches in as the scene reveals.

Camera FX

Cinematic camera effects — all keyframe-based, all removable, all non-destructive.

Depth of Field

The APERTURE slider controls your camera's F-stop when DOF is enabled. Toggle DOF: OFF / ON to enable camera depth of field — disabled by default to protect preview performance.

RACK FOCUS creates a smooth animated focus pull from the current focus distance to the selected layer over the PULL SPEED duration. Requires an active camera with DOF enabled.

Camera Shake

Choose a shake style from the dropdown, then click APPLY to add wiggle expressions to camera position and rotation. REMOVE strips all shake expressions cleanly.

Speed Ramp

Select a footage or pre-comp layer, choose a ramp style, then click APPLY RAMP. This enables time remapping and applies the speed curve automatically.

Tools

Studio Lighting

Professional three-point lighting rigs and cinematic mood presets — auto-scaled to your scene.

Auto Light

Click AUTO LIGHT and Aphexar analyses your composition — camera distance, comp size, layer positions — then places a three-point light setup (key, fill, rim) at appropriate positions and intensities. Use this as the starting point for any lighting setup.

Environment Lights

Cinematic Moods

One-click full-scene lighting presets. Each mood repositions all lights, adjusts intensities, and sets colour temperatures:

Light Mods

Real-time sliders for direct light control — no timeline scrubbing needed: