AE puzzle

Chris Coulson · June 12th, 2008, 06:18 AM

I've been working on this project for a while, and I've just noticed that there's a funny icon next to some of the files..

It may be a simple thing that I've not figured out, but next to core value2.avi, there's an example of the icon. (it's at the bottom right of the avi icon.

Above it there are some other AVIs and it's not on them....

I'm using AE 7, with Nucleo pro.

Anyone recognise it?

Aric Mannion · June 12th, 2008, 09:11 AM

Is your AVI a still or just in the stills folder? At first I thought you may have imported as an image sequence by mistake, which changes the icon. But in CS3 the icon looks nothing like that. Try importing again, see if it still happens.

Chris Coulson · June 12th, 2008, 10:25 AM

nah, that's just my bad organisation... :-) there's nothing unusual about it.

I wonder if it's something about it being located on a network drive or something, but I'm pretty sure it's not...

Glenn Fisher · June 23rd, 2008, 01:33 PM

I don't use after effects (well, I have, but I haven't used it in at least a year or so) so I'm not too familiar with it, but it looks like that's one of the icons for windows media player, so I thought I would throw my 2 cents in here, on the off-chance of it being any help.

What icon does that file have if you look at it from My Computer or Windows Explorer? Is it the same? If so, then I bet that After Effects just uses the icon of the default program that is set to open those files (at least, it looks that way to me judging from the other .jpeg files), and so with an update to Windows Media Player or something similar, your computer is now set to play that kind of file in WMP by default, so the icon that AE shows changed.

I use a mac, so I don't recall how to switch which program opens a certain file extension by default, but my guess is that if you right click on the file from My Computer or Windows Explorer, you could find an "Open With..." option, which will pop up a dialog box to select which application you would like to open the file with, and somewhere on that dialog box there would be a checkbox for something like "Always open files with the extension .xxx with this progam." or something similar.

If this is the case though, then it really isn't very important that you change the icon back unless it helps you to better organize your files. The change in icon in this case wouldn't mean anything to AE in the way it handles that file.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

Scott Anderson · July 1st, 2008, 08:04 AM

I think that's the icon for a stills sequence. Like a series of sequentially numbered tiffs that get imported as a kind of pseudo movie file. Maybe AE interpreted your avi that way because it's in a folder called stills. I don't know.

Goto the clip properties and see how AE is interpreting that particular file.

Jon Shohet · August 4th, 2008, 11:33 PM

AFAIK, the icon means that this is an avi file with only video, no audio. The same type icon will also appear in .mov files with no audio.

Chris Coulson · August 5th, 2008, 01:14 AM

nope, the video has audio...

I had a bit of a revelation yesterday... I think it may be something to do with when you replace footage...

I haven't done any tests to back this up, but I noticed the icons had appeared yesterday, and I'd replaced some footage too...

hmmm...

June 12th, 2008, 06:18 AM	#1
Chris Coulson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 101	AE puzzle - what's this symbol? I've been working on this project for a while, and I've just noticed that there's a funny icon next to some of the files.. It may be a simple thing that I've not figured out, but next to core value2.avi, there's an example of the icon. (it's at the bottom right of the avi icon. Above it there are some other AVIs and it's not on them.... I'm using AE 7, with Nucleo pro. Anyone recognise it? Attached Thumbnails

June 12th, 2008, 09:11 AM	#2
Aric Mannion Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 616	Is your AVI a still or just in the stills folder? At first I thought you may have imported as an image sequence by mistake, which changes the icon. But in CS3 the icon looks nothing like that. Try importing again, see if it still happens.

June 12th, 2008, 10:25 AM	#3
Chris Coulson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 101	nah, that's just my bad organisation... :-) there's nothing unusual about it. I wonder if it's something about it being located on a network drive or something, but I'm pretty sure it's not...

June 23rd, 2008, 01:33 PM	#4
Glenn Fisher Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bridgewater, NJ Posts: 65	I don't use after effects (well, I have, but I haven't used it in at least a year or so) so I'm not too familiar with it, but it looks like that's one of the icons for windows media player, so I thought I would throw my 2 cents in here, on the off-chance of it being any help. What icon does that file have if you look at it from My Computer or Windows Explorer? Is it the same? If so, then I bet that After Effects just uses the icon of the default program that is set to open those files (at least, it looks that way to me judging from the other .jpeg files), and so with an update to Windows Media Player or something similar, your computer is now set to play that kind of file in WMP by default, so the icon that AE shows changed. I use a mac, so I don't recall how to switch which program opens a certain file extension by default, but my guess is that if you right click on the file from My Computer or Windows Explorer, you could find an "Open With..." option, which will pop up a dialog box to select which application you would like to open the file with, and somewhere on that dialog box there would be a checkbox for something like "Always open files with the extension .xxx with this progam." or something similar. If this is the case though, then it really isn't very important that you change the icon back unless it helps you to better organize your files. The change in icon in this case wouldn't mean anything to AE in the way it handles that file. Hope that helps! Good luck!

July 1st, 2008, 08:04 AM	#5
Scott Anderson Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 327	I think that's the icon for a stills sequence. Like a series of sequentially numbered tiffs that get imported as a kind of pseudo movie file. Maybe AE interpreted your avi that way because it's in a folder called stills. I don't know. Goto the clip properties and see how AE is interpreting that particular file.

August 4th, 2008, 11:33 PM	#6
Jon Shohet Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: London, UK Posts: 277	AFAIK, the icon means that this is an avi file with only video, no audio. The same type icon will also appear in .mov files with no audio.

August 5th, 2008, 01:14 AM	#7
Chris Coulson Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 101	nope, the video has audio... I had a bit of a revelation yesterday... I think it may be something to do with when you replace footage... I haven't done any tests to back this up, but I noticed the icons had appeared yesterday, and I'd replaced some footage too... hmmm...