Renders Do Not Play Smooth
by Ian Maroney
on
Mar 24, 2008 at 10:52:14 pm
I am working on a motion graphics piece in After Effects CS3.
When I render out a .mov file, it does not play smoothly in Quicktime.
I can scrub through the movie by hand and it plays correctly.
The file is 900x600
29.97 frames/sec.
It contains a lot of 3D layers, but it renders out without error.
It is important to retain quality for the final product, it will be projected before a large crowd.
My original plan was to not render out sections any larger than 4 minutes, and then stitch them together aftewards.
Macbook Pro 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo
2 GB Ram
Is there a better (more reliable) format to render to?
What can I do to ensure smooth playback and maximum quality (I could deal with losing a little)
Re: Renders Do Not Play Smooth by Dave LaRonde on Mar 24, 2008 at 11:33:35 pm
I'm going to start by saying that 900x600 is an awfully strange resolution. Why are you using it? Who is the next person who will use your AE files, and how is this person going to use them?
Now, on to your problem: I'll bet it's playing in fits & starts, and the picture frequently freezes. Your drive(s) can't keep up with the bitrate of a 900x600 file in a high-quality codec. It happens a lot to files in high-quality codecs, and everything is probably okay.
But if you refuse to take it as an article of faith that everything's fine -- and who would? -- try this. Make an additional render: drop your 900x600 comp into a new 450x300 comp, scale the nested comp to fit, and render using something like Sorenson Video 3 at best quality. You can view the little tiny movie to check motion, and step through the bigger one to check details.
But all that begs the question: what does the NEXT person require out of your AE files? That's what you should render.
Re: Renders Do Not Play Smooth by Ian Maroney on Mar 25, 2008 at 12:50:59 am
First, thanks for your fast response.
The end users will be a team of 6 giving a presentation. I don't plan to hand over anything other than the playable movie file. I don't think they will make use of the After Effects file.
I'm not married to the 900x600 format at all. I only chose that because I was unsure of the projector model and needed to check the supported resolution. 900x600 was kind of in the middle between widescreen and the normal 4:3 so that when I make the change, I don't have to worry about changing my camera shots drastically.
Lastly, I'm not sure how to render using the Sorensen codec, I've never rendered to anything other than a .mov file. I've found the "Adobe Flash Video" format and the Sorenson Spark option within that. Is this the same?
Re: Renders Do Not Play Smooth by Dave LaRonde on Mar 25, 2008 at 3:29:29 pm
Okay, a couple of things:
Before you do any more serious work on this project, find out what you need to deliver to the people who will use your animation. It is crucial. Here's a quick list of some of the things you'll need to know, many of which you've already anticipated:
Horizontal & vertical resolution & pixel aspect ratio
Frame Rate
Codec. Quicktime, AVI &WMV are NOT codecs. They're architctures, or containers for media files. Animation, DVCPro & ProRes422 are codecs.
There's another reason to stop serious work right now: your client may need need some other screen aspect ratio than what you're current using, and you could be doing yourself more harm than good.
[Ian Maroney]"m not sure how to render using the Sorensen codec, I've never rendered to anything other than a .mov file. "
The Sorenson codec IS a .mov file.
Have you ever used the Render Queue in AE? If not, I STRONGLY suggest you read up on it in AE Help. It is a godsend.
Re: Renders Do Not Play Smooth by Ian Maroney on Mar 25, 2008 at 4:32:15 pm
Thanks again,
So to make things more simple.
They need a playable movie file of any format they are not tech specialists so as long as they can open it in Quicktime or The VLC or something of the sort.
It needs to be able to be played full screen projected.
Projector is an Optoma EP 7155
Native XGA (1024 x 768)
My end goals:
File plays smoothly
Plays full screen on a 1024x768 projector
Maximum quality is retained (but I would sacrifice some of this to ensure smooth playback)
Their End Goals:
24 minute presentation
A movie of any sort that plays full screen on projector.
So here are my questions:
What resolution would you recommend?
What file format would you recommend?
Which codec?
I have no preferences and only want things to work.
Additional question: If I cut the screen resolution down on the laptop/projector, will that help fit the movie file to the screen without as much pixellation?
Re: Renders Do Not Play Smooth by Dave LaRonde on Mar 25, 2008 at 7:55:48 pm
Hey, we're getting closer!
This is going to make it even simpler for them, and it will look just fine: make a DVD! They hook up a DVD player to the projector, and it's off to the races. Cool, huh?
So a few final questions remain before I can answer your questions about resolution and codec:
• Are you in a PAL (Europe) or an NTSC (USA, Canada) country?
• Does anybody you know how to author a DVD for use in a DVD player?
• If this presentation includes any kind of audio, how do you intend to incorporate it?
• Does anyone in your circle of friends have access to an editing application like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere, plus DVD authoring software like DVD Studio Pro or Adobe Encore?
Re: Renders Do Not Play Smooth by Ian Maroney on Mar 25, 2008 at 8:20:54 pm
I can't thank you enough.
-We are in the United States so NTSC.
-I might know someone who knows how to author DVDs.
-The presentation WILL incorporate audio. My plan was to create the movie in the parts, stitch the parts together (render the whole 24 minutes out), then add the audio (simply music/loops) afterwards (I have encore, but have never used it so I was going to investigate something as simple as GarageBand).
-On this laptop I have premier pro, on School workstations I have access to Final Cut Pro and possibly (75% chance) DVD Studio Pro.
I was hoping for a DVD solution, but didn't know the difficulty involved.
Re: Renders Do Not Play Smooth by Dave LaRonde on Mar 25, 2008 at 11:00:23 pm
Great. Here's what I'd do:
You're working in a 900x600 square pixel comp, right? That's a 3:2 screen aspect ratio. Well, a TV set has a 4:3 screen aspect ratio, and your graphics may look a little funny from a layout perspective.
You may have to start from scratch using an AE comp preset: NTSC DV. It's 720x480. It's a 4:3 ratio comp, and it's the precise size that NTSC DVD's are. The screwy thing: it has a non-square pixel aspect ratio. Unlike computers, TV sets can pretend that pixels are tall & skinny, or wide & fat... or sometimes square. You'll make abundant use of the Pixel Aspect Ratio toggle switch at the bottom of the comp window. Read up on it in AE Help. Nobody said this was going to be a chip shot, y'know?
Got your work all done? Render out in the Photo JPEG Codec set to 95% quality. The files will be abso-frickin'-lutely huge, but they'll look great. You'll assemble your AE files in Final Cut Pro, adding the audio. Make sure the codec of you FCP sequence matches your AE files.
If I were making the DVD, I'd export the completed edit from FCP as a reference (i.e. NOT self-contained) file, then drag the exported file into Compressor to make the actual file to be used for the DVD. Why? Because Compressor has a nasty tendancy to choke when you do an Export Using Compressor from FCP. It's far better to use the 2-step process I just outlined. Find that pal who knows how to burn DVDs using DVD Studio Pro, and you're set.
Now, a lot of the gobbledygook I just wrote is Final Cut Pro lingo. Print out this post and show it to the FCP people. They should understand it.
In the meantime, hook up a DVD player to that projector you intend to use and watch a movie. Any movie. You're doing a test. You don't want any nasty surprises on the day you show your presentation, do you?
