[Ivan Myles]

In Premiere, under Preferences for memory, check Optimize Rendering For Memory. Also, what is the setting for memory allocation to Premiere/CS apps?

I second Al’s recommendations to export directly from Premiere, and use Task Manager to monitor memory usage while encoding.

[Ivan Myles]

If referring to jittery on-the-fly playback, then try rendering the sequence.

If referring to sub-optimal frame-to-frame motion after changing the speed of the clip (via interpret footage, speed/duration, or motion effects), check whether every 5th frame is repeated (e.g. ABCDEEFGHIJJ…). Frame blending might help. Alternatively, try exporting a lossless version of the clip at 80% speed, and then apply Warp Stabilizer to the exported clip.

If you are using Warp Stabilizer to reposition only, another potential option is the Stabilize Motion effect in After Effects. It provides more interactive control over the stabilization results. Note, however, it takes more time to set up, and may require multiple iterations.

[Ivan Myles]

I don’t think changing the export setting for bit depth will matter because Animation is 8-bit per channel. Also, the 19 fps reading could be the result of dropped frames during playback.

Questions:

What codec is the source footage, or was the gradient generated in Premiere?

Are you using a Mac or PC?

What version of QuickTime?

Did you use CPU or GPU encoding?

If you import the Animation file to Premiere and view frame by frame, are there any repeated or dropped frames?

What will be the final delivery codec for the compressed video?

As Chris suggested, try exporting a short test clip using other codecs. Compare 8-bit vs 10-bit, RGB vs YCC (YUV), QuickTime vs AVI. Examples include AVI 10-bit YUV, AVI None, QT JPG2000 or PNG, or QT ProRes 4444 (if available).

[Ivan Myles]

Todd, I posted a reply in your thread the incredible disappearing audio.

[Ivan Myles]

Reveal in Project: In the upper right corner of the project bin, click the settings button and select “Preview Area”. Highlight a source file in the project panel. The preview area will show a thumbnail and brief description of the clip. Look for the down arrow (triangle); clicking it will open a popup that shows all places where the source file appears in the project (sequence name : clip name : in-point). Clicking on a clip location in the popup will move the playhead to the in-point for the clip.

[Ivan Myles]

I have experienced this issue multiple times; it regularly happens when copying clips from one project file to another. The good news is that the audio is recoverable, and the process is fairly simple. The bad news is you need to repeat the process for every audio source file with clips pasted into the sequence.

From the project panel, open one of the problem source files into the source monitor.

Find one of the clips from the same source file in the timeline, and open the clip from the timeline into the source monitor.

In the source monitor for the clip from the timeline, move the playhead to either the in- or out-point.

Remove and reset the in/out-point by clicking either the { or } button twice. The audio should now reappear for all clips from the same source file.

Save the project.

Close all files in the source monitor.

Repeat the process for every other problem file.

Note: I am reciting this process from memory. There’s a chance that you’ll need to reset the in/out point on the source file instead of the timeline clip; try that if the above does not work.

[Ivan Myles]

The choppy playback is probably due to a frame rate mismatch. Right-click on the source clip(s) in the project bin and select Properties to find the native frame rate(s). Let us know what you find. There are a few different ways to address this issue.

Selecting the best resolution will depend on your footage. High quality, high bitrate video will probably be OK if scaled 150%-200% from a low resolution (although 200% might be pushing the limits). In contrast, highly compressed web video won’t scale-up well. Take a short sample clip from the different sources and test in Premiere at different settings. Export the test files, import back into Premiere, layer the imported clips on top of each other in the test sequence, and compare frame-for-frame to determine which looks best.

[Ivan Myles]

The process isn’t very difficult, but it is moderately involved and depends on how the clips were treated. Given the circumstances, it might be better to just use the version without MRQ.

[Ivan Myles]

There are disk speed applications available depending on your OS. Custom tools are available for Blackmagic or AJA users, also.

[Ivan Myles]

Try removing vlc. In addition, Premiere sometimes has issues when QuickTime is updated too far beyond the officially supported version. The CS5 specs list QuickTime 7.6.2; try downgrading QuickTime and see if the problem is resolved.

Finally, it is a good idea to clean the registry using CCleaner or similar tool once the video players/codecs are uninstalled. Restart the PC and go from there.