Add BPM to Motion Dock

  1. Click Edit layout in Motion Dock’s top bar.
  2. Click an empty area and choose BPM from the module picker.
  3. Click Exit layout mode.

If BPM is already in the layout, use its existing slot.

Lay four beats

Use a practice composition with a two-second solid starting at time zero. Open it in the Composition viewer and set the work area to cover those two seconds.

  1. Move the playhead to time zero.
  2. Right-click the round Tap pad. Type 120 and press Enter.
  3. Leave 1/1 selected.
  4. In BPM’s settings, use First Beat = At the playhead, Nudge (ms) = 0, and Range = Work area. These are the defaults.
  5. Click Lay grid.

The pad now reads 120 BPM. The composition should have markers at 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 seconds.

The range end is excluded, so there is no new marker at 2 seconds.

Tap first means no tempo is set. No comp means you need to open a composition before laying markers.

Split the practice layer

Select the unlocked solid in the Timeline and click Split. It becomes four half-second pieces, with cuts at 0.5, 1, and 1.5 seconds. The pieces are selected afterward.

Use Edit > Undo in After Effects once to undo the split. Undo again to remove the grid.

If you see No selection, select the solid again. If you see No grid, lay the grid before splitting.