Using Prelude to transcode & prevent lengthy render at output

I've been reading the comments about PP, which sound great except for the need to budget time at the end of the process to do a complete render for output.

I understand that this is a deliberate workflow decision on the part of the PP designers. But it doesn't work for me; time gets very tight at the end of an edit.

I wonder whether Prelude offers a way around this. From what I can see of it, Prelude offers selective ingest, along with transcoding. Is there some format to which I can transcode all my desired clips, so that when I'm finished editing I can simply output the show with a minimum of render time?

Bob C

[Shane Ross] ". Delete temp render files before you do this (I hear you need to do that)...that way the original media gets referenced, not the render files, that might be MPEG-2."

Unless you check "Use Preview Files" when Exporting a sequence (not to be confused with rendering which is mostly done when its necessary to see your timeline playback and it cant due to effects or other reasons) you DO NOT have to delete your preview files. They are only used when that box is checked. You can in certain cases shorten your export time by selecting a Preview File Codec like Prores or DNxHD, then rendering those portions of the TL that need it AND check the Use Preview Files in the Export GUI.When exporting these renders files will be used.

Also, there is a small select bunch of codecs that can take advantage of Smart Rendering in CS6 (where files are just copied , not regenerated frame by frame as in the process Exportinga timeline). It limited to files with no effects, Heres a quote from Adobe literature.

"Smart rendering
Quickly export unaltered media in your sequences using Smart Rendering, which supports XDCAM MPEG-2 in an MXF wrapper, DV HDV, and DVCPRO formats."

Tom Daigon
PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
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[John-Michael Seng-Wheeler] "Also, if I might ask, what format do you usually deliver to?"
Variety of output formats. Often ProRes, .h264, .wmv for corporate websites, and DVDs.

Shane, are you saying that the render time on output is not that lengthy? I'm usually making 3-10 minute pieces.

The render/re-render workflow does not worry me; I doubt there is a significant quality impact. But my workflow often has involved making After Effects renders, then layering them with other elements in a FCP timeline, so as to be able to edit and adjust the timing of certain effects in the final timeline. What format should I use for the AE renders, or is the integration so tight that I have to look at a different way of working?

Thanks for humoring these basic questions. I'm thinking of making the jump for a project that is due this summer and want to look, and re-look, before I leap. I have other questions but I'll post them in another thread, if I can't find the answers through the Search function.

Bob C

[Bob Cole] "Shane, are you saying that the render time on output is not that lengthy? I'm usually making 3-10 minute pieces."

I'm currently working on a 3 min piece...now almost 4 min, and I exported it as H.264. Took it 3 min. The other major project I did with CS6 was 7 min. That exported to the Vimeo H.264 preset (using media encoder) in 6 min. I exported a ProRes master of that to see how long it would take...again, 6 min.

It's fast.

Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

Bob,

There is a database of CS5 and CS5.5 performance benchmarks that you may want to look at.

I think you have your general answer already. But if you want to look at tuning your specific computer for Adobe Premier Pro performance, you can see the relative times to perform export and some other tasks here:

http://ppbm5.com/Test.html


Basically, end users are asked to run a standard CS5 or C5.5 project, with 4 different tasks, then report their results as a total time and 4 separate times.

You can search the database on specific components. I have a PC with an i7 920, so I searched on just that CPU, then looked at the graphic cards that people were using for best performance(GTX 460, etc.), how much RAM (I just went to 27GB, which is plenty), etc. It can help you compare your own equipment to determine your expected results.

There is also a good site with a discussion of those same benchmark times with various Nvidia cards, with different numbers of GPU's (CUDA cores.)

There, the bottom line is: ANY Nvidia card - with 96 to 480 CUDA cores (GPU's) - will speed up export by at least an order of magnitude over the software only Mercury Engine. The incremental benefits of going from a GTX 450 to a GTX 470 are smaller. (Sweet spot seems to be the older 460 at around $120-$160)

http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/PremiereCS5.htm


There is also a hack there to turn on the hardware GPUs in any Nvidia card (only a few are completely tested and approved by Adobe, but almost all work.)

If you download a 30 day trial of Production Premium and run the tests it might all make a little more sense. Then you can mine that info to configure your system for best results. (I don't know if you can still download and run CS 5.5, so CS6 might be a wild card, but it will tell you where you are overall in comparison.)

Good luck!

Best,
Michael

Use Maximum Render. I just did another one today. 3 min project. Rendered out in just over 3 min...3:20. To ProRes. From Mp4

Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

Encoding a 8:30 piece shot with my Canon 550D at 1080p 23.98 to YouTube 1080p 23.98. It is slated to take 18 min.

I still think that is good. That's a compressed format.

Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def