Position from Scale in After Effects

Setting Up the Expression

The foundation of this effect lies in properly organizing your layers and applying a custom expression that separates positional movement from scale changes. This technique is essential for creating sophisticated motion graphics where elements need to disperse without losing their visual hierarchy.

1. Double-click on the Space Quote Precomp to enter the composition workspace.
2. Select all layers using Cmd+A (Mac) or Ctrl+A (PC).
3. Deselect the Null layer specifically by Cmd-clicking (Mac) or Ctrl-clicking (PC) on it.
4. Parent all remaining layers to the Null by dragging the swirl (parent) symbol from any selected layer to the Null layer.
5. Select any parented layer and press S to reveal the Scale property.
6. Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (PC) on the Scale stopwatch to enable expressions.
7. Enter the following expression in the text field that appears:

s = [];

ps = parent.transform.scale.value;

for (i = 0; i < ps.length; i++){

s[i] = value[i]*100/ps[i];

}

s

This expression creates an inverse relationship between the parent's scale and the child layers' scale, ensuring that as the parent grows larger, the children maintain their original size while still following the positional changes.

1. With the Scale property selected, navigate to Edit > Copy Expression Only.
2. Select all layers again using Cmd+A (Mac) or Ctrl+A (PC).
3. Deselect the Null layer using Cmd-click (Mac) or Ctrl-click (PC).
4. Paste the expression to all selected layers using Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (PC).

Animating the Word Cloud

Now that your expression framework is established, you'll create the primary animation that drives the entire effect. This phase controls the overall timing and feel of your text explosion.

1. Position the playhead at the beginning of your timeline (frame 0).
2. Select the Null layer.
3. Press S to reveal Scale properties.
4. Press Shift+R to add Rotation properties to your selection.
5. Click the stopwatches next to both Scale and Rotation to create initial keyframes.
6. Set Scale to 210 for the starting position.
7. Set Rotation to 25 degrees for initial angular offset.
8. Move the playhead to 0:00:01:00 (1 second).
9. Increase Scale to 320 for maximum expansion.
10. Advance the playhead to 0:00:01:20 (1 second, 20 frames).
11. Set Scale to 0 for the exit animation.
12. Reset Rotation to 0 degrees.
13. Select all Scale keyframes by Shift-clicking on them.
14. Right-click any selected keyframe and choose Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease for smooth interpolation.

Animating Individual Element Rotation

Adding secondary animation to individual elements creates visual depth and prevents the mechanical feel that can plague uniform animations. Focus on your most prominent words for maximum impact.

1. Choose three prominent words for individual animation—larger text elements typically work best. In this example, we'll animate "Cosmos," "Us," and "Of."
2. Select the "Cosmos" layer.
3. Press R to reveal Rotation properties.
4. Move the playhead to 0:00:00:04 (4 frames in).
5. Click the Rotation stopwatch to set your first keyframe.
6. Set Rotation to 70 degrees for dramatic initial movement.
7. Move the playhead to 0:00:01:10 (1 second, 10 frames).
8. Set Rotation back to 0 degrees for the settled position.
9. Select the "Us" layer.
10. Press R for Rotation.
11. Move the playhead to 0:00:00:26 (26 frames in).
12. Set your first Rotation keyframe.
13. Apply 25 degrees of rotation for a subtler effect.
14. Move the playhead to 0:00:01:10.
15. Return Rotation to 0 degrees.
16. Select the "Of" layer.
17. Press R for Rotation.
18. Position the playhead at 0:00:00:00 (timeline start).
19. Set the initial Rotation keyframe.
20. Apply 65 degrees of rotation for immediate impact.
21. Move the playhead to 0:00:01:10.
22. Reset Rotation to 0 degrees.

Final Scale Animation

The concluding step involves animating your entire precomposition within the main timeline, creating the explosive reveal that brings your word cloud to life. This final scale animation should feel dramatic but controlled.

1. Return to your Main Comp by clicking it in the Project Window.
2. Select the Space Quote Precomp layer.
3. Press S to access Scale properties.
4. With the playhead positioned at the origin, set Scale to 3 for an almost-invisible starting point.
5. Move the playhead to 0:00:00:10 (10 frames forward).
6. Increase Scale to 120 for the full reveal.
7. Select both keyframes by clicking and dragging across them.
8. Right-click any selected keyframe and apply Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease for professional motion curves.

Video Transcription

Hey, this is Tziporah Zions for Noble Desktop.

In this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to use a Position from Scale Expression in Adobe After Effects. The Position from Scale Expression allows objects to derive their position from a Scale property without changing their actual size. What I mean by this is that typically, altering the scale of multiple objects will change both their size and position simultaneously.

However, this expression enables objects to move positionally without any size modification. As you can see in our finished project, this technique excels at creating explosive graphics where blocks of items move outward together while maintaining their original dimensions. It's particularly effective for logos, graphic-style explosions, or text blocks like the one demonstrated here.

I've prepared another example to illustrate this concept more clearly. Notice how the elements disperse while retaining their individual scale relationships. The only external asset required is a texture file included in the project folder—you'll find the complete project file with all assets in the video description below.

Let's begin by double-clicking to enter the Space Quote precomposition. You'll see multiple layers here, but don't let the quantity intimidate you—the process is straightforward. Notice the Null object present in the layer stack. If you're unfamiliar with Null objects, they're essentially empty containers that excel at organizing and controlling multiple layers simultaneously. When you manipulate a Null, all parented layers respond accordingly, creating unified movement across your composition.

We'll start by selecting all layers, then deselecting the Null since we want it to serve as our controller rather than being controlled. After connecting all other elements to the Null object through parenting, you'll see they're now linked—moving the Null moves everything connected to it.

Next, I'll select any word—let's choose "Cosmos"—and press S for Scale. By Alt-clicking (Option-clicking on Mac) the stopwatch, I'll access the expressions editor and input our custom expression. Expressions are code snippets that instruct After Effects to perform automated actions based on specified parameters.

The expression I'm entering tells After Effects: "When changing the parent's scale, ignore the size changes for this layer, but do apply the positional movements." Watch what happens when I adjust the Null's scale—everything else shrinks and moves except Cosmos, which only moves. This is exactly the effect we're targeting.

With the Scale property selected, I'll navigate to Edit > Copy Expression Only, then select all layers (deselecting the Null), and paste the expression using Cmd+V or Ctrl+V. The red indicators confirm successful expression application across all layers.

To create our explosion effect, I'll position the playhead at the origin, access Scale properties, and establish our initial keyframe at a large value like 320. Moving to approximately 10 frames in, I'll set the scale to 100%. After selecting both keyframes and applying Easy Ease through the Keyframe Assistant, we can preview our basic animation.

Adding rotation enhances the dynamic quality significantly. Starting with the Null, I'll press Shift+R to add rotation properties, set an initial 25-degree rotation at the origin, then return to zero degrees at the 2-second mark. For individual word animation, I'll select "Cosmos" and apply custom rotation values, creating varied movement that prevents mechanical uniformity.

I'll repeat this process for additional words, using different rotation values and timing offsets to create organic-feeling movement. The key is varying both the rotation amounts and their timing to achieve natural motion flow.

Finally, returning to the main composition, I'll animate the precomposition's scale from 3 to 115 over approximately 10 frames, creating the explosive reveal effect. Applying Easy Ease to these keyframes ensures smooth acceleration and deceleration.

This technique works exceptionally well with logos, connected typography, title cards, and any scenario requiring graphic-style explosions with multiple moving pieces. The Position from Scale expression is particularly valuable in motion graphics work where maintaining visual hierarchy while creating dynamic movement is essential.

That concludes our tutorial on using Position from Scale expressions in Adobe After Effects. If you have questions or suggestions for future tutorials, please share them in the comments below. This has been Tziporah Zions for Noble Desktop.