Moving Parents

A multi-purpose script with parenting, null-parenting, un-parenting, re-parenting and animation features. Parent up your layers, including cameras, lights or 3D shapes, and then make them move with adjustable expressions or scale transforms.


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  $12.99
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Description

How Moving Parents Works

Let Moving Parents save you the hassle of parenting, null parenting, un-parenting and re-parenting. Then let it make the moves for you! All without keyframes.  Moving Parents allows you to select any number of layers and parent them to a newly created parent null or to the first selected layer. With options to apply keyframe-free expressions to make that parent layer/null scale, drift, move or slam-in/fly-out, even in 3d space. With Effect Controls sliders that allow numerous adjustments to the moves.Want to reposition layers after parenting?  Just select the parent layer and hit the Un-Parent button and it will no longer be the parent! Then make changes and hit the Re-Parent button and parenting will be restored.

With additional buttons to select siblings, parent, children,  or just have selected layers set to None.Also works with Camera's, Lights, OBJ's and AE 2026's new 3d Shapes.


Parenting

Select the first layer to be the parent and then additional layers, hit apply and they'll instantly be parented to the parent layer, or parented to a null. With options so that only un-parented layers (set to "None") will be parented.  Created nulls will be placed in the calculated center point between all layers, or optionally at the center of the comp. With an additional option so that he null durations will only match the layers durations in the timeline. 


Un-Parent/Re-Parent

Select a Parent layer, hit Un-Parent , and all layers linked to it will be un-parented.  Make changes to those layer and the hit Re-Parent and all parenting links will be restored.  With options so that all child-layers will be selected, or that locked layers will be un-parented as well.


Resize

Select layers and hit apply, and when Resize is enabled the new parent or parented null will be resized by the entered percentage.  When not parenting, this feature will resize all selected layers individually, even keyframes will be resized by entered percentage!  


Drift

When Drift is created, the script will apply a scaling drift expression to the new parent / parented null,  or in 3d, as a Z-position drift expression.  With effect controls sliders to alter the start value, drift rate and drift in reverse.


Move

When Move is created, the script will apply an expression to the new parent / parented null in the X , Y positions,  as well as Z position when in 3D.  With effect controls sliders to adjust the move rate, move direction and reverse move direction.  No more fudging with keyframes, just click a checkbox or select any option from the pulldown and move in a different duration and speed.


Slam-In/Fly-Out

The Slam-In/Fly out expression simulates a layer "Slamming in" at the start and "Flying Out" at the end.  With numerous effect controls sliders to alter start and end size,  slam-in frame duration, fly-out frame direction, as well as curve controls to simulate exponential scale (2d) as well as ease-in/ease-out amounts.  With the ability to turn off either.

And when nulls are created, all these options can be applied in combination at the same time, with nulls parented to one another. 

With a full featured dock-able UI Interface that can be reduced to the basics when necessary

Tutorial

Limitations

* Drift, Move and Slam-in/Fly-Out expressions cannot be applied directly to a parent layer that is a camera, light, 3d Object or Shape, as they cannot accept effect controls sliders, use Null Parents instead.

Discussions

Want to talk about it?

Head over to r/aescripts to chat with fellow users about this product.

Need Support?

Please open a support ticket to be connected directly with the author of this product

Version History

1.0 -

Feb 16, 2026

• Initial Release

Compatibility

After Effects

2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020

EULA

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Updated: Oct 21, 2025 1:35 AM