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Exporting in CS6
One thing that I can’t seem to get used to is the exporting process of Premiere Pro. I realize that PP sequences generate preview files which operates differently than FCP7’s Sequence Compression settings, but it seems that PP doesn’t have an equivalent to FCP’s ‘Export Quicktime Movie’ command…that works well.
For example, in FCP7, when a project was finished, I would simply export a QT movie with the current sequence settings and the process would be complete within a blink of an eye (if the project was already rendered). I would then use compressor to make all of the various versions of the project with my QT movie.
Premiere Pro doesn’t seem to be as efficient with its export process. Even if I export with ‘Match Sequence Settings’ the process seems to take a significant amount of time…even with my Quadro4000 card and 32MB of ram.
I’d be curious to know what export workflows seasoned Premiere Pro users use. Any input, or does it just take longer in PP?
Thanks!
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3 Replies
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[Beau Leland] “even with my Quadro4000 card and 32MB of ram.”
I’m assuming this is 32GB of ram, not 32MB! 😉
PPro in my experience is much faster than FCP, at virtually all formats. It uses more GPU, CPU, and ram then FCP7 ever could (by nature of being a 32 bit app).
The most natural question that arise when people post this (do a search it’s posted nearly every week):
1) what codec and format is your source material in?
2) What codec are exporting out to
3) How many layers do you have, AE links, color correction, etc.
4) What hard drive are you exporting out to (internal, external, same drive as your OS)?
5) How are the drives connected – firewire, eSata, Thunderbolt…are they setup in RAID
6) How old is your machine? What version of the OS are you running?My experience has been that CS6 will do h.264 mp4’s anywhere from 2-3X faster than FCP7/Compressor/QT Pro could do them. Exporting ProRes is only slightly faster than FCP7 (could be a limitation of the old 32bit Quicktime engine…dunno).
Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes -
[Ryan Holmes] “1) what codec and format is your source material in?
2) What codec are exporting out to
3) How many layers do you have, AE links, color correction, etc.
4) What hard drive are you exporting out to (internal, external, same drive as your OS)?
5) How are the drives connected – firewire, eSata, Thunderbolt…are they setup in RAID
6) How old is your machine? What version of the OS are you running?”Hi Ryan, and yeah, I meant 32GB of RAM. Hahahaha, oops. Firstly, thank you for your thorough response. I didn’t realize that this was such a common question, but then again, I’m glad I’m not the only one who seems a bit lost. Here are the answers to your questions…
1) I work primarily in DSLR footage shot on a Canon 60D. So by default, premiere likes to use i-frame only mpegs for its preview files. I find that using those sequence settings (which makes mpeg files) doesn’t make for the most friendly format. Maybe I’m wrong.
2) The codec I export to seems to be an ever-changing ballet. As I said above, I sometimes use the default i-frame sequence settings, or sometimes I export to ProRes. When I do expect to end up with prores, sometimes as a variable I’ll change my sequence preview files to match exactly the output mode I want.
3) I usually don’t have graphic intensive projects, but I do perform color correction. I usually have lower thirds and animated stills.
4 & 5) My media drive is an external RAID 5 setup hooked up through an eSata card. I then export my media to a two-disk internal striped RAID drive which is also my system drive.
6) My machine is a 6-core 3.33 GHz MacPro running Lion.
From all that I’ve disclosed here, what do you think I’m doing wrong? I generally need to export a master file that will ultimately end up as DVD files and various bandwidth web files. Is there a codec standard you recommend I use for premiere?
Thank you again for your willingness to diagnose.
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In FCP you were always working in Quicktime, but in Premiere Pro you might be working in any number of endless codecs and native formats. So simply “Export as Sequence” may not be practical.
Premiere Pro simply offers an endless array of choices when exporting media. It can be overwhelming at first, but once you get used to the export process, it’s quite handy. What I suggest is to start saving presets as you go.
For example, we have presets in all of our edit suites for 720p/ProRes, 1080i/ProRes, Vimeo 720p, Client Review 640, etc…… So when I export, I go Quicktime and then select the preset I want.
As for render time, for whatever reason, Adobe Media Encoder tends to render faster using the “Queue” command instead of “Export” when you have your preset all ready. We use that, quit PPro and then start the AME encoding. Tends to go faster.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“This American Land” – our new PBS Series.
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