An animated grid of footage is one of those shots that looks simple and turns into an evening of work. You precomp every clip, line up the rows and columns, dial in the gaps and the corner rounding, then animate each tile in so they do not all pop on at the same instant. Get one cell wrong and the whole layout drifts. None of that is the creative part, it is bookkeeping.
GridMaker takes that off your plate. It is a Filmit plugin for After Effects that grids your footage in a couple of clicks, and its Advanced Mode adds a full flat grid designer with animation built in. This guide follows the demo above, covering the flat grids tab from the first click to applying a finished, animated grid onto your own clips.
This video may reference an older version of GridMaker. Features and UI may have changed since recording.
What is GridMaker
At its core, GridMaker just grids footage. You open a comp, insert a few clips, highlight them, click a layout like 2x2, and it grids them out. That is the heart of the tool, and for a quick row and column arrangement that is all you ever need to touch.
Click Advanced Mode and a bigger window opens with three tabs: flat, 3D spatial, and path. This tutorial is all about the flat tab, which is where you build the classic gridded out wall of footage with real control over the layout, the shaping, and the animation.
How to install and open GridMaker
GridMaker installs through Filmit Studio, the free desktop plugin manager you download from your dashboard. GridMaker and the whole suite are included, with a 7-day free trial, so you do not buy the plugin on its own. Install Filmit Studio, add GridMaker, and you are set.
Once it is installed, open After Effects and go to Window, then Extensions, then GridMaker. The panel opens docked like any other extension, ready to grid whatever footage you throw at it.
The one click grid
Before the advanced stuff, it is worth seeing how fast the basic flow is. Open a comp and insert a few GIFs with GIFer, our GIF browser. Highlight the footage in the timeline, click 2x2 in GridMaker, and it grids them out into a clean two by two arrangement. That is the core promise of the tool, and most quick jobs never need more than this.
When you want to design the grid rather than just snap one out, that is where Advanced Mode comes in.
Pro Tip: Use the core one click grid for fast jobs and Advanced Mode for hero shots. You do not have to open the big window every time, the basic 2x2 is right there in the main panel.
Flat mode: the Composer and layouts
Open Advanced Mode and land on the flat tab. At the top sits the Composer, a row of premade grids you can pick from, and a Randomizer button that randomizes the arrangement for you when you want a starting point you would not have drawn yourself.
On the left you set the composition: 4K, vertical, square, or HD. You can match the comp you already have or resize your comp to GridMaker, whichever way round suits the project. Then come the standard gridding tools: 3x3, 4x4, columns, or a custom grid where you set your own numbers, right down to something extreme like 50x50 tiny dots. Gap style and margin control the spacing, and every one of these values stays editable after you generate, so nothing is locked in.
Pro Tip: Hit Randomizer a few times before committing to a layout. It is the fastest way to find an off balance arrangement that looks designed rather than a plain even grid.
Animating the grid: timing, stagger, and the timeline
Animation is where the flat tab earns its place. Pick a move such as slide in or fade out, choose a direction like nearest edge, and have the tiles travel from off frame. Set the duration and the stagger, then hit Preview Animation to watch it play.
The timeline gives you the fine control. You can move the animation, extend how long it takes, and toggle uniform timing off so the in and the out overlap differently rather than mirroring each other. You can also scale the whole thing down to a specific length, say 4.6 seconds, by dragging or typing. It is the kind of timing work you would normally do keyframe by keyframe, handled with a few drags.
Pro Tip: Turn uniform timing off when the exit feels stiff. Letting the in and out points overlap on their own schedules gives the animation a more designed, less mechanical feel.
Shaping cells: merge, round, split, and spacers
Beyond the grid numbers, you can sculpt individual cells. Highlight two cells and join them into one box for a feature tile. Grab an edge and hold Alt or Command to round just that corner, or Shift plus Alt to round the whole box into a soft square.
You can also split a box vertically or horizontally to subdivide it, and add a box or a spacer to open up the layout. Because everything stays live, you keep adjusting until the composition reads the way you want, then move on to filling it.
Applying it to your footage
When the grid looks right, you have two ways out. Click Create New Comp to build the empty structure in After Effects, or apply it to real footage. To use your own clips, make a new comp and bring in footage, GIFer for GIFs or Sourcer for free stock video, count your boxes, for example six, select your layers, and click Apply to Selection. GridMaker builds the grid in After Effects instantly with your footage in place.
If a layout is a keeper, you can save it as a preset and pull it back next time. That turns a grid you designed once into a one click starting point for every future project.
Key takeaways
Highlight your footage and click a layout like 2x2, and GridMaker grids it out instantly.
The flat tab adds a Composer, custom layouts, gaps, and margins, all editable after you generate.
Pick a move, direction, duration, and stagger, then shape the result on the timeline.
Merge two cells, round corners with Alt or Shift plus Alt, split boxes, and add spacers.
Select your layers, click Apply to Selection, and GridMaker builds the grid in After Effects.
Get started with Filmit
GridMaker installs through Filmit Studio, the free app that manages every Filmit plugin for After Effects and Premiere Pro. One install puts GridMaker in your editor with a 7-day free trial, and keeps it updated.
To fill your grids fast, pair GridMaker with Sourcer, the free stock footage tool that drops royalty free clips straight into your cells. It is part of the same suite, so GridMaker, Sourcer, and every other plugin run under one subscription.
