BOX CUTTER by Will Rosekelly — 1.2.3
After Effects panel

Box track-matte transitions on every cut in your comp,
and split screens from the same set of layouts.

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INSTALLING  (about a minute)
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1. The .zxp is NOT double-clickable. Adobe retired their
   Extension Manager and never replaced it. Get the free
   installer first:

       https://zxpinstaller.com

2. Open ZXP Installer, drag BoxCutter.zxp onto it.

3. It will warn you about an "unknown publisher". That is
   expected — the panel is self-signed. Continue.

4. Restart After Effects.

5. Window → Extensions → Box Cutter by Will Rosekelly

Works in After Effects 2019 through 2026, Mac and Windows.

If you are updating from 1.1.0, install straight over it —
ZXP Installer replaces the old copy. Your key stays put.

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WHAT IT DOES
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TRANSITIONS. It adds shape layers of animated boxes, and
nothing else.

It does NOT trim your clips, move in or out points, or set
the track matte for you. You pick the boxes up as a track
matte yourself when you want them — so it cannot damage an
edit. Worst case it builds a matte you don't like, and
"Remove mine" deletes only what the panel made.

Because of that, the overlap is yours to arrange: if you
want the boxes to reveal shot B over shot A, shot A has to
be underneath and still running through the wipe.

Quick go:
  · Open a comp
  · Set "What to box" to Playhead (works even in an empty comp)
  · Hit Preview, then Make mattes
  · Set the new layer as a track matte on the clip below it

SPLIT SCREENS. Set "Fill the boxes" to Split screen — or
hit the 2-up or 3-up preset, which sets everything for you.
Now each box gets its own clip instead of its own matte.

  · Select the clips you want in it, or select one and it
    takes the layers underneath it
  · Hit Make split screen — it builds at the playhead
  · Click a box in the preview to choose which clip is in
    it; drag inside a box to reframe that clip by hand
  · Punch, drift and offset give each box its own framing
    off one seed, so it doesn't look like a contact sheet

Cmd+Z once undoes a whole pass, either kind.

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NEW IN 1.2.3
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  · Re-signed with a new certificate. The old one had been
    reachable on the website by mistake, so it is replaced
    rather than trusted. Nothing about the panel itself has
    changed. Your installer may note a different unknown
    publisher; that is this, and it is expected.

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NEW IN 1.2.2
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  · Price is now $49. If you already bought it, nothing
    changes — your key keeps working, and updates stay free.

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NEW IN 1.2.1
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  · The preview now shows the trial's 6-box cap in every
    pattern, not just split screens. It used to draw the
    full sixteen and then build six, which looked like a
    fault rather than a limit.
  · A way to buy from the panel, shown only once the trial
    has actually stopped a build.

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NEW IN 1.2.0
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  · Split screens, with per-box clip choice and hand reframing
  · 2-up and 3-up presets
  · Real clip thumbnails in the box picker
  · Split screens build at the playhead, stacked, so the
    boxes land where you are parked

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YOUR KEY
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Enter it at the bottom of the panel ("Enter key").
Without a key it runs in trial mode: 3 spots per pass and
6 boxes per build, everything else unlocked.

Activation needs an internet connection once. After that
it works offline and re-checks about monthly.

One purchase covers both the After Effects panel and the
DaVinci Resolve version; the same key works in both.

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FEEDBACK
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Worth reporting:

  · Do the boxes match what the panel's preview showed?
  · Does the matte cover the frame at the end
    (with "Tile the frame solid" ticked)?
  · In a split screen, is each box the clip you picked, and
    framed where you left it?
  · Anything that errors, hangs, or looks wrong.

williamrosekelly@gmail.com
