How to Speed Up a Clip in After Effects (3 Easy Steps)

Trying to speed up part of your video or make an object move faster in After Effects? Whether you're creating a time-lapse, fast-forwarding a scene, or just shortening the duration, there are a couple of simple ways to do it.

Here’s how I usually do it when working on fast-paced edits or motion-heavy sequences.

1. Use Time Stretch for Quick Speed Changes

Time Stretch is the fastest way to change the overall speed of a layer.

Here’s how:

1. Select the layer you want to speed up.
2. Right-click on it and choose Time > Time Stretch.
3. In the popup window, reduce the Stretch Factor below 100% (for example, 50% makes it twice as fast).
4. Click OK.

The clip will now play faster and its duration will shrink accordingly. This method is great when you want consistent speed throughout the clip.

2. Use Time Remapping for Custom Speed Control

Want more control over how the speed changes over time? Use Time Remapping.

Here’s what to do:

1. Right-click your layer and choose Time > Enable Time Remapping.
2. Keyframes will appear at the start and end of your layer.
3. Add more keyframes where you want the speed change.
4. Move keyframes closer together to increase speed between them.

This method is perfect if you want variable speed (like speeding up then slowing down) or syncing movement with music or dialogue.

3. Trim or Pre-compose for Better Timing

Sometimes speeding up a clip affects other layers or timing in your comp. To keep things clean:

• Trim the layer after speeding it up so it doesn’t leave extra blank space.
• Or Pre-compose the sped-up clip so you can treat it like a new asset without affecting other layers.

This helps especially when you're working with multiple clips that need different timing adjustments.

Conclusion

Speeding up clips in After Effects is pretty straightforward once you know where to look. Use Time Stretch for quick changes, Time Remapping for detailed control, and pre-compose when needed to keep things tidy.

Once you’ve done this a few times, adjusting video speed becomes second nature.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to speed up video clip in After Effects?

You can use either Time Stretch or Time Remapping. For quick changes, right-click your layer, go to Time > Time Stretch, and set the stretch factor below 100%. For more control, enable Time Remapping and adjust keyframes manually.

How to speed up an object in After Effects?

Enable Time Remapping on the object's layer by right-clicking and selecting Time > Enable Time Remapping. Add keyframes at points where you want movement changes, then move them closer together to increase speed between those points.

How do you speed up a video clip?

In most editors including After Effects, reducing the duration speeds up playback. In After Effects specifically, use Time Stretch (set below 100%) or enable Time Remapping for custom control over playback timing with keyframes.

How do you speed up After Effects?

To improve performance:

• Lower preview resolution
• Purge memory (Edit > Purge)
• Disable unused effects/layers
• Use proxies for large files
• Increase RAM allocation under Preferences

These steps help After Effects run smoother during editing and previews.