I try to import .mp4 files to After Effects, but only images will import. It doesn’t give me an error message or anything, just simply ignores the video files.
Some people including you may be confused: After Effects says it supports MP4, but why I can’t import MP4 to After Effects? Well, this is due to MP4 file codec: After Effects prefers MPEG-4 codec instead of others while MP4 is a containder format (like AVI, MKV) can contain various video codecs. To get MP4 files to play in AE, the codec that a particular file uses must be installed on the computer. If you receive an error message or the video does not display correctly, you may need to install the codec used by the file. However, MP4 can contain various video codecs. It’s difficult for you to find and install the codec.
In fact, there is an easy way to fix the issue along with some help from the third-party program like DumboFab Video Converter. With it, you can easily adjust MP4 to MPEG-2 codec which seamlessly fit After Effects CC without quality loss. What’s more, it also supplies powerful profiles to other NLEs, like FCP, iMovie, Avid Media Composer, Premiere Pro .etc. It has an equivalent Mac version. Just get the right version according to your computer’s OS and follow the step-by-step guide below to convert MP4 videos to for editing After Effects.
The Steps: Converting MP4 files for After Effects
Step 1. Launch the Video Converter, and you can either click “Add” button to import .MP4 files, or directly drag and drop the files into this program. WMV, MOV formats are the good choice as well.
Step 2. Click the format bar, and move mouse cursor to Adobe Premiere/ Sony Vegas column and select MPEG-2 (*.mpg) as output format.
Tip: If the default settings do not fit you requirement, you can click “Settings” icon to and enter “Profile Settings” panel to adjust video size, bit rate, frame rate, sample rate and audio channels.
Step 3. Finally, click “Convert” (like an arrow) button to start encoding MP4 to MPEG-2(.mpg) for After Effects.
After a while, you will get the converted MPEG-2 files which are ready to be imported to AE for further editing without problems.
