A full motion pipeline, licensed for every seat at zero
A studio's cost is seats, and its risk is a pipeline nobody controls. Premation is an open-source compositor with the depth client work needs — rigging, 3D, expressions, tracking, 275 effects — that opens existing After Effects projects and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Free · AGPL-3.0-only · Windows, macOS & Linux · no watermark
- 01Keep the back catalogueOpen existing .aep projects and keep working on them.
- 02Character workBones, IK and puppet meshes for explainer characters.
- 03Tracking for screen replacementsTrack a point or a plane and pin graphics to it.
- 043D titles for broadcastExtruded, bevelled type with lights and cameras.
- 05HDR deliverablesExport HDR10 and HLG masters when the brief asks.
What changes
A per-seat subscription for every freelancer you book.
Free for every seat, with no licence server to manage.
A pipeline that breaks when a vendor changes its terms.
Open source (AGPL-3.0): the editor, the engine and the file format are inspectable.
Separate tools for 2D, 3D and rigging.
Cameras, lights, 3D models, bones and puppets in one composition.
Your first week
Step 1
Pilot on a live job
Open an existing .aep, finish a revision, and compare the render.
Step 2
Build the house kit
Turn recurring pieces into templates with editable fields for juniors and clients.
Step 3
Extend it
Add your own effects and panels through the plugin SDK when the job needs a tool that does not exist.
The parts you will use most
- Compositions, Layers, Track Mattes and Blend ModesThe stack everything else happens in. Nest one composition inside another, and it renders through its own camera until you tell it not to.Feature tour
- Bones, IK and Puppet Rigging for 2D ArtworkA real skeleton and a mesh deformer, composing on the same layer. After Effects has neither without a plugin.Feature tour
- 2.5D Cameras, Lights, 3D Layers and 3D ModelsThe Classic 3D model: flat layers standing in a shared space, lit and shot with real cameras — and imported 3D models with PBR materials.Feature tour
- 275 Effects, Layer Styles and Color CorrectionFewer than After Effects, parameterised properly. Still the honest gap, and a much smaller one than it was.Feature tour
- Native C++ Plugin SDK and Plugin StoreNative C++ plugins, modelled on After Effects' plugin APIs, run inside the engine: effects, and since 1.0 commands, panels, importers and export formats, installed from a store.Feature tour
Questions
- Can we open client projects made in After Effects?
- Yes, .aep projects open in Premation. The import guide on the use-case page lists what carries over and what is approximated.
- What does AGPL mean for client work?
- The licence covers the software, not what you make with it. Videos and images you render are yours to deliver and sell.
- Can we add our own tools?
- Yes. The plugin SDK covers effects, generators and panels; the build-a-plugin guide walks through one end to end.