Photoshop script that lets you resize and reposition multiple layers on a Photoshop animation timeline, including the ability to stagger the position of each resized layer.
Download the script by right-clicking here and choosing "Save Link As..."
- Select the layer(s) in your timeline you want to change the duration of.
- If you also want to reposition+stagger the resized layers, move the playhead to where you want the first layer to begin.
- Run this script in Photoshop via File -> Scripts -> Browse...
- This script will prompt you to enter the new duration in seconds and frames for the selected layers and also ask if you'd like to reposition+stagger the layers.
For faster access to the script (via Photoshop's script menu), copy the script to Photoshop's script folder. Example location of the folder on Windows is C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2021\Presets\Scripts. Restart PS, after which the script can be run via File -> Scripts -> Photoshop Timeline Layer Resizer
For even faster access, you can create a keyboard shortcut to the script. First copy the script to the PS script folder as instructed above and restart PS. Then open the Actions panel and click + to create a new action. Assign an available shortkey key and name the action, then press "Record". Click the hamburger menu in the Action panel (small icon with four horizontal lines) and click "Insert Menu Item...". While the "Insert Menu Item" window is open, go to File -> Scripts -> Photoshop Timeline Layer Resizer. Then press OK on the "Insert Menu Item" dialog. Press the square stop button in the Action panel to complete the action recording. You can now access the script with the shortcut key you assigned to it.
Layer stagger example:
Before:
x <- Playhead
x
x[Layer 1]
x[Layer 2]
x[Layer 3]
After:
x <- Playhead
x
x[Layer 1]
x [Layer 2]
x [Layer 3]