Social Media Ad: Exporting Files

Topics covered in this After Effects tutorial:

Using Adobe Media Encoder, Exporting Files, Media Encoder vs. Render Queue

Exercise Preview

Exercise Overview

In this exercise we are going to render the animation built earlier.

Getting Started

1. You should still have Your Name - Guitar Picks.aep open in After Effects. If you closed it, re-open it now by going to File > Open Project then Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks. We recommend you finish the previous exercises (1B–2B) before starting this one. If you haven’t finished them, do the following sidebar.

   If You Did Not Do the Previous Exercises (1B–2B)

   1. If a project is open in After Effects, go to File > Save, then File > Close Project.
   2. Go to File > Open Project and navigate to Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks > Finished Projects.
   3. Double–click on Guitar Picks - Done.aep.
   4. Go to File > Save As > Save As. Name the file Your Name - Guitar Picks.aep and save it to Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks (replacing the file if it’s already there).

Exporting An H.264 Video File

For other people to see the great animation you’ve created, you have to render it. This means you export it from After Effects and turn it into a video file. You’ll do this using another app in the Adobe Creative Cloud, called Adobe Media Encoder. It included at no extra charge with your subscription.

If Media Encoder was not automatically installed with After Effects, you can install it via the Creative Cloud app. Media Encoder is necessary to produce many common video types from After Effects.

NOTE: As of After Effects 2023 you can export h.264 files directly from the After Effects Render Queue, though Media Encoder is still helpful since it doesn’t tie up AE while exporting the file.

1. If you have changed the length of the work area bar, double–click the gray work area bar (above the timeline) to reset it so it covers the length of the entire timeline.

2. With the Timeline active, choose File > Export > Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue (or Composition > Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue).

3. Wait until Adobe Media Encoder to launch and add your file (be patient, it can take a while).

   You’ll know its ready when you see the name of your composition listed in the Queue panel (at the top right of the Media Encoder window).

4. In Media Encoder, click on the Format column’s arrow and choose H.264

5. From the Preset arrow choose Match Source - High Bitrate.

6. In the Output File column, click the blue file path/name.

7. Navigate to Desktop > Class Files > After Effects Class > Guitar Picks > Exports.

8. Change the Name of the file to Your Name - Guitar Picks Square.

9. Click Save.

   NOTE: Clicking Save here does not actually render the file. It’s only confirming the name and location for the file you’ll export.

10. Let’s make some changes to the preset. Click the blue Match Source - High bitrate text in the Preset column.

11. In the Export Settings dialog, in the Video tab on the right, check on Render at Maximum Depth (you may have to scroll a little to see it).

    NOTE: Render at Maximum Depth is usually used when working with high bit depth (16 or 32) footage or to enhance the output of transparency and blending effects (which is why we’re using it here). It can produce better looking final video, but can slow down the rendering process significantly.

12. Scroll down and locate the Bitrate Settings section.

13. Change Bitrate Encoding to VBR, 2 pass.

    NOTE: This will be slower but will usually result in better quality video. If you are short on time, leave the encoding at VBR, 1 pass.

14. Change the Target Bitrate [Mbps] to 16

15. Change the Maximum Bitrate [Mbps] to 20

    NOTE: Social media sites will re–compress your uploaded video, so starting with a higher quality video is beneficial.

16. In the Export Settings at the top of the window, click the Save Preset button .

    • Name the preset My Match Source - HQ
    • Click OK to save the preset.

17. Click OK at the bottom of the Export Settings dialog to return to Media Encoder.

18. Click the green Start Queue button at the top right of the window to begin the rendering process.

19. When it’s done, in the Output File column, click the blue file path/name to reveal the file.

20. Double-click Your Name - Guitar Picks Square.mp4 to open it and watch your video!

Bitrate & Multi–Pass Encoding

Bitrate

Mbps stand for Mega bits per second. The bitrate controls how many bits of data each second of video is allowed to be. In general, larger bitrates produce higher quality files but they also produce files with higher file sizes. Bitrate is a measure of the amount of data used to represent a certain amount of video. It’s typically measured in bits per second (bps) and is used to control the quality and file size of a video.

In simple terms, a higher bitrate means that more data is used to represent each second of video, resulting in a higher quality video but also a larger file size. A lower bitrate means less data is used and result in lower quality video but smaller file size. A video with a high bitrate will look clearer and more detailed than one with a low bitrate, but it will also take up more space on your hard drive or take longer to download or stream.

It’s important to note that Bitrate is one of the factors that affect the quality of a video, not the only one. Some other factors are resolution, frame rate, codec and compression.

Multi–pass Encoding

In video editing, the process of encoding refers to converting the raw video footage into a compressed file format that can be used for streaming or storage. The term “pass” refers to the number of times the compression process is run.

1-pass encoding involves analyzing the entire video only once, and then making decisions about the compression settings based on that analysis. This method is generally faster but may result in less efficient compression and lower video quality.

On the other hand, 2-pass encoding involves analyzing the video twice. The first pass analyzes the entire video to gather information about the video’s characteristics, such as the distribution of different colors and the frequency of movement. The second pass uses this information to make more informed decisions about the compression settings, resulting in more efficient compression and higher video quality. However, 2-pass encoding is generally slower than 1-pass encoding because of the additional analysis required.

Adobe Media Encoder vs. The Render Queue

There are two ways to export video files from After Effects. Which you use depends on your workflow and the type of files you want to create.

• The Render Queue is the native export built into After Effects.
• Adobe Media Encoder is a stand–alone app that can function as the render tool for both After Effects and Premiere Pro.

The Render Queue is intended to be used as part of a video production workflow and is intended to produce mostly large, low compression files. These files are usually intended for use in a video editing, color grading or other video production app. It produces a very limited set of file types. Once things to note, as of After Effects 2023 it can export MPEG-4 H.264 files as well.

Adobe Media Encoder is intended to produce files for viewing by the general public. It specializes in rendering video that can be viewed on televisions, computers, or uploaded to video sharing services and social media apps. Certain file types like Animated GIF and others that cannot be exported directly by the Render Queue can be produced here.