Render settings



Render settings apply to each render item and determine how the composition is rendered for that specific render item. By default, the render settings for a render item are based on the current project settings, composition settings, and switch settings for the composition on which the render item is based. However, you can modify the render settings for each render item to override some of these settings.

Render settings apply to the root composition for a render item, as well as all nested compositions.

Important: Render settings only affect the output of the render item with which they’re associated; the composition itself is not affected.
Click the triangle to open the Render Settings menu, or click the underlined text to open the Render Settings dialog box.

Change render settings

  • To change render settings for a render item, click the underlined render settings template name next to the Render Settings heading in the Render Queue panel, and choose settings in the Render Settings dialog box.
  • To apply a render settings template to selected render items, click the triangle next to the Render Settings heading in the Render Queue panel, and choose a template from the menu. You can choose a custom render settings template or one of the preset render settings templates:
    Best Settings
    Often used for rendering to final output.

    Draft Settings
    Often appropriate for reviewing or testing motion.

    DV Settings
    Similar to Best Settings, but with Field Rendering turned on, set to Lower Field First.

    Multi-machine Settings
    Similar to Best Settings, but with Storage Overflow set to Off.

    Note: The default render settings template is assigned to a render item when it is created. To change which render settings template is the default, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you choose a render settings template from the menu.

Create, edit, and manage render settings templates

You perform the following tasks in the Render Settings Templates dialog box. To open the Render Settings Templates dialog box, choose Edit > Templates > Render Settings, or click the triangle next to the Render Settings heading in the Render Queue panel and choose Make Template.

  • To make a new render settings template, click New, specify render settings, and click OK. Enter a name for the new template.
  • To edit an existing render settings template, choose a template from the Settings Name menu, click Edit, and specify render settings.
    Note: Changes to an existing template do not affect render items that are already in the render queue.
  • To specify a default render settings template to be used when rendering movies, individual frames, pre-rendered movies, or proxies, choose a template from a menu in the Defaults area of the Render Settings Templates dialog box.
  • To save all currently loaded render settings templates to a file, click Save All.
  • To load a saved render settings template file, click Load, select the render settings template file, and then click Open.

Render settings

Each of these settings overrides composition settings, project settings, or layer switch settings.

Log
You can choose how much information After Effects writes to a render log file. If you choose Errors Only, After Effects only creates the file if errors are encountered during rendering. If you choose Plus Settings, a log file is created that lists the current render settings. If you choose Plus Per Frame Info, a log file is created that lists the current render settings and information about the rendering of each frame. When a log file has been written, the path to the log file appears under the Render Settings heading and Log menu.

Quality
The quality setting to use for all layers. (See Layer image quality and subpixel positioning.)

Resolution
Resolution of the rendered composition, relative to the original composition dimensions. (See Resolution.)
Note: If you render at reduced resolution, set the Quality option to Draft. Rendering at Best quality when reducing resolution produces an unclear image and takes longer than Draft quality.

Disk Cache
Determines whether the disk cache preferences are used during rendering. Read Only writes no new frames to the disk cache while After Effects renders. Current Settings (default) uses the disk cache settings defined in the Media & Disk Cache preferences. (See Memory and storage.)

Use OpenGL Renderer
Determines whether OpenGL is used for rendering. (See Render with OpenGL.)

Proxy Use
Determines whether to use proxies when rendering. Current Settings uses the settings for each footage item. (See Placeholders and proxies.)

Effects
Current Settings (default) uses the current settings for Effect switches . All On renders all applied effects. All Off renders no effects.

Solo Switches
Current Settings (default) uses the current settings for Solo switches for each layer. All Off renders as if all Solo switches are off. (See Solo a layer.)

Guide Layers
Current Settings renders guide layers in the top-level composition. All Off (the default setting) does not render guide layers. Guide layers in nested compositions are never rendered. (See Guide layers.)

Color Depth
Current Settings (default) uses the project bit depth. (See Color depth and high dynamic range color.)

Frame Blending
On For Checked Layers renders frame blending only for layers with the Frame Blending switch set, regardless of the Enable Frame Blending setting for the composition. (See Frame blending.)

Field Render
Determines the field-rendering technique used for the rendered composition. Choose Off if you are rendering for film or for display on a computer screen. (See Separate video fields and determine field order.)

3:2 Pulldown
Specifies the phase of 3:2 pulldown. (See Introduce 3:2 pulldown.)

Motion Blur
Current Settings uses the current settings for the Motion Blur layer switch and the Enable Motion Blur composition switch. On For Checked Layers renders motion blur only for layers with the Motion Blur layer switch set, regardless of the Enable Motion Blur setting for the composition. Off For All Layers renders all layers without motion blur regardless of the layer switch and composition switch settings. (See Motion blur.)

Time Span
How much of the composition to render. To render the entire composition, choose Length Of Comp. To render only the part of the composition indicated by the work-area markers, choose Work Area Only. To render a custom time span, choose Custom. (See Work area.)

Frame Rate
The sampling frame rate to use when rendering the movie. Select Use Comp’s Frame Rate to use the frame rate specified in the Composition Settings dialog box, or select Use This Frame Rate to use a different frame rate. The actual frame rate of the composition is unchanged. The frame rate of the final encoded movie is determined by the output module settings. (See Frame rate.)

Use Storage Overflow
Determines whether rendering continues when the first assigned storage volume overflows. If this option isn’t selected, rendering pauses when the first assigned volume reaches capacity. (See Overflow volumes and segment settings.)

Skip Existing Files
Lets you rerender part of a sequence of files without wasting time on previously rendered frames. When rendering a sequence of files, After Effects locates files that are part of the current sequence, identifies the missing frames, and then renders only those frames, inserting them where they belong in the sequence. You can also use this option to render an image sequence on multiple computers. (See Render a still-image sequence with multiple computers.)
Note: The current image sequence must have the same name as the existing image sequence, and the starting frame number, frame rate, and time span must be the same. You must render to the folder that contains the previously rendered frames.

Shoaib Khan provides a video tutorial on the MaxAfter website that shows how to use the Skip Existing Files option to avoid needing to rerender an entire movie when correcting a simple mistake in a rendered image sequence.