Rate Stretch
Rate Stretch lets you change a clip’s playback speed by dragging its edge. Make a clip longer and it plays slower. Make it shorter and it plays faster. The edit point stays anchored and the content stretches to fill the new duration.
How to use it
Section titled “How to use it”Press R to activate the Rate Stretch tool.
Hover over a clip edge; left or right. Drag:
- Drag right edge rightward → clip gets longer → plays slower
- Drag right edge leftward → clip gets shorter → plays faster
- Drag left edge leftward → clip gets longer from the beginning → plays slower
- Drag left edge rightward → clip gets shorter from the beginning → plays faster
The opposite edge stays anchored. Only the edge you’re dragging changes.
What Rate Stretch does in After Effects
Section titled “What Rate Stretch does in After Effects”Rate Stretch adjusts the AE layer’s Stretch property.
- 100% stretch = normal speed
- 200% stretch = double speed (half as long)
- 50% stretch = half speed (twice as long)
This is how Premiere handles time stretching, but it is opposite of AE’s native time-stretch behavior. If you would like to match AE’s stretch behavior (200% = half speed, 50% = double speed), head to Settings → Preferences.
Context menu — Speed/Duration
Section titled “Context menu — Speed/Duration”Right-click any clip → Speed/Duration to enter an exact speed percentage or duration. This is the dialog-based version of rate stretch. You can type in a specific percentage or duration and apply it to the clip.