Nanny creates nulls and changes layer parenting in After Effects so you can build or undo a hierarchy in one gesture. It is a free micro tool in Motion Dock.
Select layers in the active composition, then choose Adopt, Chain, or Release. The layers stay in place when their parent links change.
Use it when several layers need one control, when each layer needs its own null, or when a parent hierarchy needs rebuilding.
Give a group one control
Adopt puts a null at the selection’s center and parents the layers to it. Move, rotate, or scale that null to control the group. Start with your first null parent.
Choose the relationship before clicking
Hover previews show the kind of relationship you will create. Holding a modifier changes the diagram before you click. These diagrams explain the action; they do not read your actual layers.
You can create one shared null or a null per layer. Chain links the existing layers without creating nulls. Release removes parent links or removes selected Nanny nulls.