Scalable AI Video Production
Automated Multi-Format Versioning with Plainly and After Effects.
Scalable AI Video Production
Automated Multi-Format Versioning with Plainly and After Effects
Global brands need high volumes of content across multiple platforms, markets and campaigns, and producing every aspect ratio, colour scheme and copy variant manually doesn't scale. This workflow solves that with a master After Effects project built across three compositions, 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16, sharing one visual language and animation system, with three controllable colour parameters driving the entire visual scheme of each version.
The completed project was uploaded to Plainly, where every dynamic layer, text, pricing, colour, was parametrised to pull from CSV data at render time. Three CSVs, ten variant rows each, defined a unique combination of colour scheme, product name, price point and time display per row. Triggered from Plainly's interface, all thirty files across the three formats rendered simultaneously in the cloud in under two minutes, no local processing, no render queue, no manual intervention.
The result was thirty individually named, platform-ready files delivered in one download, no post-render finishing needed, ready to use across YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok, a workflow transferable to any product launch or multi-market campaign at scale.
Behind the scenes
01
Master After Effects Template
The foundation is a master After Effects project containing three compositions — 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16 — all built from the same visual language and animation system.
Three controllable colour parameters define the entire visual scheme of each version — a primary colour driving the watch strap, side bar and price text, a secondary colour controlling the background, supporting text and price text box, and a third parameter for the watch edge frame.
02
Template to Plainly / Parameters Defined
The completed After Effects project was uploaded directly to Plainly, where each dynamic layer was identified and parametrised through Plainly's interface.
Text layers — watch name, price point and time display — were set as dynamic parameters alongside the three colour values.
Each parameter was named and configured to accept incoming data from the CSV at render time, with the full parameter set covering all three format compositions simultaneously.
03
Populate CSV
Three CSVs were built, one for each composition format, each containing ten variant rows defining a unique combination of colour scheme, product name, price point and time display.
With the same parameter set applied across all three format compositions, the process of populating each CSV was fast and consistent.
Ten rows per CSV, three CSVs in total, producing thirty individual output files across 16:9, 1:1 and 9:16 formats.
04
Batch Render
With the CSV’s uploaded and parameters mapped, the batch render was triggered directly from Plainly's interface.
All thirty files, ten variants across three aspect ratios, rendered simultaneously in the cloud in under two minutes. No local processing, no render queue management and no manual intervention required.