Welcome to CurveConductor

CurveConductor is a procedural timing tool for After Effects. Instead of hand-tuning bezier handles on every property, you design an easing control curve once and let CurveConductor map it between your property keyframes. Change the curve later and every animation using it updates in real time.

CurveConductor separates the easing profile from the property values: you keep simple keyframes for where and when, and a reusable curve controls how the motion feels in between.

Core concepts

Curves

A curve is a reusable easing shape, normalized so it always maps the start of a move (time 0, value 0) to the end (time 1, value 100). Pick curves from a dropdown, shape them in the visual Curve Editor, or start from one of ten built-in presets.

The control layer

Curves live as Slider Control effects on a layer named CurveConductor, created automatically the first time you apply a curve. Because every animation references this one layer, editing a slider re-times everything that uses it. Press U on the control layer to reveal the curve sliders as 0–100 keyframes.

Three ways to apply a curve

CurveConductor offers three distinct ways to drive your animation with a curve. Each fits a different situation. The choice is made by which button you click when applying CurveConductor to your target property.

PrimaryMarker-Driven

A whole layer reads curve names from its timeline markers and remaps every keyed property accordingly. Procedural, easy to retime, survives keyframe edits.

Triggered by: Add Curve Marker button, or clicking a preset with Marker Mode checked.

AdvancedPer-Segment

Place a curve on specific keyframe pairs of a single property. Other segments use After Effects' native interpolation. Surgical control where you need it.

Triggered by: Apply to Selected Keys, or Span Selection with Curve (on a property that isn't already in Default + Exceptions mode).

AdvancedDefault + Exceptions

A single curve drives every segment on the property, with a master blend control. The per-segment buttons then act as exceptions — overriding the default curve on individual pairs or spans.

Triggered by: Apply to All Keys on Selected Property. Once active, Apply to Selected Keys / Span Selection / Remove Curve become exception overrides — they don't switch the property to Per-Segment mode.

Expressions on, expressions off

Expression-driven curves can slow down a heavy comp. The Utilities tab has a one-click Expressions ON / OFF toggle that fully disables the expressions — preserving their text — so you can edit keyframes at native speed, then flip everything back on instantly.