In this video we're going to go over how to export a broadcast quality video file, such as a QuickTime file directly out of After Effects using the render queue.
So to start, I'll go to the project panel and double click on the composition I'd like to output.
So I'll double click on the pollinators comp, which will make the timeline panel active.
Now when I grab the current time indicator and scrub, you can see this is an animated title that I wanna output.
Now before I go to the render queue,
Checking composition settings and bit depth for broadcast
I always look in the bottom of the project panel, and I'll even click on this button so you can see what I'm talking about.
I wanna make note of the bit depth.
For broadcast quality graphics, 8 bits per channel is the absolute minimum.
If I click on this drop down, you'll notice I could choose 16 bits per channel, or even 32 bits per channel (float).
It's important to note what this setting is because only specific codecs will allow you to render at these different bit depth levels.
Okay, I'll go ahead and click OK.
And to add this file to my export,
Adding a composition to the render queue
I need to click in the timeline, go up in the Composition, and choose Add to Render Queue.
The render queue will pop up here and you'll notice there are three main sections.
Configuring render settings and time span
Let's start with the Render Settings here.
I'll click on the blue text say Best Settings.
I'll leave the Quality set to Best and the Resolution set to Full.
A setting you might change regularly is this drop down here for Time Span.
You could render just the work area or the length of the comp.
For this specific project, it doesn't matter because they're both exactly the same.
If I wanna choose a custom duration, I can do that by clicking the custom button over here.
I'll click OK and move on to the output module.
Choosing output module formats and codecs
Click on the word Lossless, and that'll open the module settings.
Up at the top under Format, click on the drop down and make sure you've chosen QuickTime.
That'll be the default on the Mac but maybe not on Windows.
Now, after that, go to the Format Options here in the video output section.
When I click on that button, go to the Video Codec drop down.
Notice I have several different codecs I can choose.
Codec stands for compress decompress.
Now, since I'm only working in 8 bit, I can go ahead and choose Apple ProRes 422, and that'll be perfectly fine.
If I was working with high dynamic range footage, I would wanna choose something like Apple ProRes 4444.
I would also choose that if I were rendering a graphic with an alpha channel.
Other popular codecs are DNxHR/DNxHD, and GoPro CineForm.
But let's choose Apple ProRes 422 and click OK.
We can leave the default audio settings set up and then click OK.
If we go to the output to section,
Naming outputs, creating multiple renders, and rendering
this is where we can name our files.
So I want you to click on the name, or the blue text there, and I'll call this the pollinators_ProRes.
And I'm rendering it to my Renders folder, which is in my Export Broadcast Quality Video folder.
Then I'll click Save.
To create an additional file without necessarily having a second render, you can click this plus button here next to Output too.
Then go back to the new output module and click on the word Lossless to open its settings.
If you're on Windows, you'll need to make sure QuickTime is chosen from the Format drop down menu, then click on the Format Options button.
Now we can change the drop down for the video codec to DNxHR/DNxHD.
Notice that resolution will default to the HQ 8-bit, which will be perfect.
Go ahead and click OK and click OK one more time.
And to render this, just click the Render button.
Notice the render bar is only going to travel across the screen once.
But if I jump into my Renders folder, you'd notice I've created two different high quality renders directly out of After Effects utilizing the render queue.
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What you learned: Export a broadcast-quality video file
Note the bit depth settings in your project
Click the Project Settings button in the bottom of the Project panel to open the Color settings and to find out the bit depth of your project. (Higher settings like 16 or 32 bit will require specific codec settings when you render your project.)
Change the setting in the Depth drop-down menu (if desired), and click OK to close the panel.
Tip:
Artists and designers often work at higher bit depth to smooth out gradients and access more varying colors. Working at higher bit depth does require more processing, and 8 bit is the minimum depth required for broadcast-quality video.
Add the composition to the Render Queue
Make the Timeline panel active for the composition to render.
Choose Composition > Add to Render Queue.
Adjust settings in the Render Queue to determine the kind of file to render
Click Best Settings (blue text) next to the Render Settings heading to access and change settings like the duration of the area you want to render. Click OK.
Click Lossless (blue text) next to the Output Module heading to set the kind of file to render.
Set the Format drop-down menu to QuickTime, and click the Format Options button to set the codec for the QuickTime file. Click OK.
Click the blue text next to the Output To heading to set the location and name of the file. Click Save.
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