Time Remapping is one of the most powerful animation tools in Adobe After Effects — allowing you to control the timing and speed of your video or animation like a pro.
Whether you want to create slow motion, freeze frames, reverse animations, or sync actions to music — this guide will show you exactly how to master time remapping step-by-step.
🎬 What is Time Remapping?
Time Remapping lets you manipulate the playback timing of a layer, giving you frame-level control over how fast or slow your video or animation plays.
Once enabled, you can keyframe specific times in your layer and After Effects will interpolate the rest.
🛠️ How to Enable Time Remapping
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Select your layer (usually a video or pre-comp).
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Go to the top menu:
Layer > Time > Enable Time Remapping -
A “Time Remap” property will now appear under your layer in the timeline.
🟡 You’ll see two default keyframes — one at the start, and one at the end of the clip.
⏳ Basic Use of Time Remapping
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Drag or move keyframes to stretch or compress time.
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Add new keyframes (by clicking the stopwatch) to freeze or change speed at certain points.
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Copy & paste keyframes to create looping or bounce effects.
🔁 Popular Time Remapping Techniques
1️⃣ Freeze Frame Effect
Pause your video at any frame.
Steps:
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Enable Time Remapping.
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Add a keyframe at the frame you want to freeze.
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Duplicate that keyframe next to it.
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Delete all other keyframes.
Result: That single frame will hold indefinitely.
2️⃣ Slow Motion / Speed Ramp
Smoothly change playback speed.
Steps:
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Spread two keyframes apart to slow motion.
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Compress keyframes together to speed up.
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Use Graph Editor to ease in/out for smooth transitions.
3️⃣ Reverse Video Playback
Play your video in reverse.
Steps:
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Enable Time Remapping.
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Select both default keyframes.
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Right-click > Keyframe Assistant > Time-Reverse Keyframes.
Now your video plays backwards!
📊 Using the Graph Editor with Time Remap
The Graph Editor allows you to fine-tune the speed changes visually:
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Use Speed Graph to smooth the velocity between time remap keyframes.
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Apply Easy Ease (F9) or manual curve adjustments for cinematic time changes.
💡 Pro Tips
🔸 Use Hold Keyframes to create step-by-step jump cuts.
🔸 Time Remap works great with:
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Music sync animations
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Logo reveals
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Typography pop-ins
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Frame-by-frame control in kinetic typography
🔸 Combine with Posterize Time effect for stop-motion looks.
🎥 Example Use Cases
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🕐 Slowing down a key moment in a gaming clip
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❄️ Freezing a scene for dramatic effect
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⏪ Rewinding a video to emphasize action
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⌛ Syncing a motion graphic to beats in music
🧠 Final Thoughts
Time Remapping gives you ultimate control over your footage’s speed and flow. From slow motion to frame freezing to dynamic speed changes — it’s a must-know tool for any motion designer, editor, or VFX artist.
