Exporting codec

Hawk Teflon

Hawk Teflon

Veteran
What's the fastest, best looking, smallest file using codec when exporting from AE?

I've been using Animation (default), but there are so many to choose from. I'm currently trying Apple ProRes (not the HQ version) to compare the render time to that of my Animation render (2Hr 42 Min). But that will cover 2 of the tons that are offered. Is there one you use that I'm missing?
 
avid DNxHD is visually lossless but much smaller than uncompressed. I don't know how fast it is compared to uncompressed rendering.
 
Yeah, I always do H.264 for the web compressions for small file sizes. I actually haven't tried it for a DVD.

Just a heads up, the ProRes render was about a half hour faster (2 hours, 16 minutes), and I cannot tell the difference in the quality. I only left the Animation setting because I heard it was good for keeping Alpha Channels, and I don't need them on this export. I figured that would cause more render time.
 
Try rendering to Quicktime with the PNG codec (includes alpha channel).
ProRes and DNxHD are also excellent choices depending on the destination of the file.
DNxHD can include the alpha channel - although you shoud make sure you have the current DNxHD codecs (see Avid's site).
 
milksac said:
ProRes and DNxHD are also excellent choices depending on the destination of the file.
Click to expand...

For the most part, I deliver to DVD AND to web. I've yet to find one codec that will give me excellent DVD quality and still small enough to put on the web without having to wait a while for buffering.
 
Hawk Teflon said:
For the most part, I deliver to DVD AND to web. I've yet to find one codec that will give me excellent DVD quality and still small enough to put on the web without having to wait a while for buffering.
Click to expand...


You can't do both

DVD (as in regular DVD-video playable on a standalone player) is MPEG2 only - unless you meant a DVD data disc, or AVCHD disc

It would be better to use uncompressed, or lossless compression as your export, then encode 2 different formats from that.
 
PDR said:
It would be better to use uncompressed, or lossless compression as your export, then encode 2 different formats from that.
Click to expand...
+1

A compression app like Sorenson Squeeze or Telestream Episode will give you a lot more control of the encoding process.
 
Adobe Media Encoder

Adobe Media Encoder

I agree with milksac that a separate encoding application gives more control.

Consider using Adobe Media Encoder. It has features like two-pass encoding that you don't get when you render and export directly from After Effects.

I have a watch folder set up so that when my intermediate files come out of After Effects (losslessly encoded MOV files using the PNG codec), AME picks them up and makes F4V movies (which, of course, use H.264). That way, I always have a web-ready version to post.

As I mentioned, I like PNG codec in a QuickTime MOV container. PNG is lossless and can carry transparency information, and the files are about half the size of files encoded with Animation---assuming that the images are of photo-real scenes. Animation is optimized for large expanses of flat color, as in a cartoon. If you're encoding a cartoony movie, Animation can beat PNG for file size. PNG also takes a little more processor power to decode, so you can have laggy playback. (But we're talking about an intermediate format here, not one for playback.)
 
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