Displaying After Effects viewing and editing controls in the Footage window

The standard Footage window displays viewing and editing controls (the View menu, trimming tools, and so forth) that are also found in the Layer and Composition windows. The default Footage window for movie files, however, displays movie controls instead. Use these movie controls (either QuickTime or Video for Windows controls, depending on the footage type) to play the movie and any included audio. To use the viewing and editing controls for movie files, you must open movie files in the standard Footage window.

Note: AVI files created with the Microsoft DirectX DV Codec and AVI files larger than 2 GB will appear in the standard Footage window, not the default movie file Footage window.

To display a footage item in the Footage window:

Double-click a footage item in the Project window.

To display .mov or .avi movies in the standard After Effects Footage window:

Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you double-click a footage item in the Project window.