Filmit Reducer cleans up bloated After Effects projects without deleting the expression-linked controls and background comps that After Effects' own Reduce Project wipes out. Choose your main comp, and Reducer keeps everything it depends on — including items referenced only by expressions — so you trim the fat without breaking the brains of your project.
What After Effects gets wrong
Run File > Dependencies > Reduce Project and After Effects removes unused items — but it also deletes anything not directly referenced by a layer, including expression-only controls. Adobe even warns: "Items referenced only by expressions are not preserved." If a Color Master controller drives fills across your project via expressions, AE sees it as unused and deletes it. Suddenly your streamlined project is missing the system that held it together.
This video may reference an older version of Reducer. Features and UI may have changed since recording.
How Reducer works
- Main comp-driven cleanup — pick your main comp and Reducer keeps everything it depends on, directly or indirectly.
- Expression-safe — it preserves layers, effects, and comps referenced only by expressions, the exact thing AE misses.
- The "Keep Folder" workaround — drop any controllers, expression-only items, or UI elements into a Keep Folder and Reducer guarantees they survive the cleanup.
Why it matters
For complex, expression-driven projects, the native Reduce Project is a liability. Reducer gives you the same space savings without the collateral damage — lighter project files that still work. It's included with the Filmit Studio subscription alongside every other Filmit plugin.
