User Guide

CHAPTER 12
354
Rendering a Movie
Understanding rendering and compression
Rendering is a series of operations performed on your composition. First, each layer or
nested composition is rendered with its masks, effects, and layer transformations. Next,
transfer modes are applied. Finally, the composited frame is sent to each output module
to create the final movie.
The output module specifies the compression scheme to be used in rendering the movie.
The quality of the audio for a movie is determined by the settings in the output modules.
For a list of compressors and file formats, see the Adobe Web site.
Making (rendering) a movie
Making a movie from your final composition can take a few minutes or many hours,
depending on the composition’s frame size, quality, complexity, and compression method.
When you place your composition in the render queue, it becomes a render item that uses
the render settings assigned to it. An audio alert indicates that rendering is complete. You
will not be able to work in After Effects while making a movie.
To make a movie from a composition:
1 Save the project.
2 Do one of the following:
• Select the composition in the Project window, choose Composition > Make Movie,
specify the name and location of the output file, and then click Save.
• Choose Window > Render Queue, and then drag the composition you want to render
from the Project window to the Render Queue window. Default render settings and
output module templates are assigned automatically. See “Using the Render Queue
window” on page 355.
3 Click the underlined setting to the right of Render Settings to change the default render
settings template, or choose a render settings template from the pop-up menu. See
“Changing render settings” on page 358.
4 Choose a Log type from the Log menu.
5 Click the triangle to the left of the Output Module heading to view the default output
module settings template, or choose a template from the Output Module pop-up menu.
See “Changing output module settings” on page 361.
UG.book Page 354 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 12:05 PM