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Toolbox: Top 3 Time-Saving Scripts for AE Designers.
If you're still doing repetitive comp tasks manually, you're wasting billable hours. These three scripts should be in every motion designer's toolkit:
- rd: Composition Setter lets you batch-change composition settings across multiple comps instantly. No more clicking through dozens of windows to update frame rates or dimensions. I've used this for years and it's probably saved me years of work. And it's FREE!
- True Comp Duplicator Creates a complete duplicate of a comp hierarchy including sub-comps. If a comp is used multiple times, the comp only gets duplicated once and all remaining references point to the first duplicate. It's brilliant, especially when you must deliver multiple iterations with multiple precomps within your main output comp. Bonus: it's a "name your own price" product. But, at the very least, let's be cool and buy them a cup of coffee.
- The Loop Maker automates seamless looping for backgrounds and motion graphics elements, saving you from tedious manual keyframe adjustments. It's so easy to use, I don't leave home without it. Another "name your own price" product. Buy them a Pecan Cortado. It's the right thing to do.
Sure, there are similar scripts out there, but these three are battle-tested essentials that pay (they're practically free) for themselves in saved time on your first project. Check them out on aescripts.com
Rate Check: What LA Senior Motion Designers Should Charge for Streaming Content
Streaming platforms spend billions more than broadcast networks. What are senior motion designers rates for streaming services? The real difference isn't the day rate, it's the hidden costs most designers miss: usage rights, format deliverables, and revision expectations that separate profitable projects from money losers.
The streaming gold rush promised higher budgets and premium rates, but here's the reality, senior motion designers working on Netflix, Disney+, or Apple TV (they dropped the +) projects should expect the same $650-$1,000/day rates as traditional broadcast work. Despite streaming platforms spending billions more on content than networks ever did, individual designer compensation hasn't seen a systematic premium. What has changed is project complexity: tighter deadlines, more deliverable formats, and higher revision expectations mean you need to build 20-30% buffers into estimates and charge explicitly for additional formats beyond the master delivery.
The numbers that matter:
- Senior designer averages (5-10+ years): $131,164 annually with freelance day rates around $700 (2023 Motion Design Industry Survey)
- Multi-disciplinary seniors: $650/day (School of Motion guidelines)
- Established designers (minimal management): $750/day
- Independent professionals (large project capability): $800-$1,000/day
- Specialists (Houdini, complex simulations): $1,500-$2,000+/day
- Netflix staff positions: $130K-$193K annually (based on 285+ Glassdoor submissions)
The hidden cost that kills profitability isn't the day rate, it's usage rights. Streaming content goes global across multiple territories, gets reused extensively in social promotions, and may appear on multiple platforms simultaneously. The Graphics Artists Guild indicates transferring all rights costs 100-200% more than base production fees. Either build comprehensive streaming usage into your rates upfront or negotiate separate licensing. The phrase "work-for-hire" on a streaming project without usage negotiation means leaving serious money on the table.
Project Pricing Add-ons:
- Rush delivery (under 2 weeks): +15-25%
- Additional formats beyond master: $500-$1,500 per format
- Revisions beyond 2 rounds: 25% of project fee per round
- Worldwide streaming rights: +100% of base production fee
- Total copyright transfer: +200-500% of creative fee
NOTE: Confidence matters as much as skill. Platform budgets are tightening after peak content era spending. Producers will push back on your rate, it's their job, but remember: you're not negotiating against what they want to pay...you're establishing what quality costs. You got this. You earned this. Go get it.
Designer Spotlight: Steve Robinson
After Effects pro, Steve Robinson, is one of the sharpest creative minds in LA motion design. He's that rare designer who can explain complex technical workflows, collaborate seamlessly with his team and his clients, and still finds time to write music. We talk art vs. design vs. AI, leading teams, and how motion design and music are more alike than we think.