HD Export in After Effects

[Kevin Camp]

[Phil LeBeau] “I created a 40 second composition with the following settings:

1920×1080
Pixel Aspect Ratio D1/DVNTSC 0.91
30 Frames Per Second”

first off, if your working in 1920×1080, you comp settings should be square pixel and 29.97fps (or 23.976, if you are working with 24p). you should be able to change your current comp settings to those and not have any issues.

as far as the codec to render to, most users typically use the lossless animation codec as their intermediate codec (to go between software before final render/delivery), but the files are quite large… they are intended to preserve quality as they pass through your workflow and are not intended for real-time playback.

since you are using fcp and it sounds like fcp is the next destination, prores hq is one of the better alternatives, and probably what you’d want fcp would convert the animation file to anyway to edit with.

Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW

[Phil Lebeau]

Thanks for your reply.

Since I have the comp at 30fps – will it hurt it if I change it to 29.97?
Can I still leave my comp at 30 fps?

My video consist of photos that are cut in pieces and move, flourishes that write on, and moving text. I don’t have any moving video.

Once I export the file from AE using the Animation codec – I will put it in Final cut and then re-export it from Final Cut using Apple Pro Res HQ.

My only 1920×1080 Apple Pro RES HQ in Final Cut is 30 FPS. Will that be a problem if I change it to 29.97 in After Effects?

Thanks so much.

[Kevin Camp]

changing your comp from 30 to 29.97 shouldn’t effect anything in the comp since you don’t have any footage items…. however if you did have footage layers, they would usually be 29.97 (or 23.976 for 24p, or 59.94 for hd 720), since those are the standards that are used ntsc/atsc video.

however,if you have video in fcp that is infact 30fps and this will be edited/combined with that video, then you should stick with 30 fps, but i would verify that the footage is indeed 30fps… as i said, 29.97 is a video standard frame rate and what most cameras shoot with, however there are some cameras and screen capture apps that record for computer playback, rather than tv/video playback, and those often record in 30fps.

since your destination sounds like computer playback 30fps would probably be ok to stick with.

Kevin Camp
Senior Designer
KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW

[Phil Lebeau]

Awesome – thanks so much!

[Luke Jubie]

I would still render an Animation Codec version of your comp, it is a good codec that doesn’t care about your editing system. Some day in the future someone might need to import your animation into a system that can’t play ProRes, for example.