After-Effects renders videos too big of a filesize; how to reduce filesize?

[bradleyk34889741]

Problem: I render After Effects Video and get a file size too big.

More information below:

ExtendScript
var rq_item = app.project.renderQueue.items.add(comp); // add the comp to the render queue rq_item.outputModule(1).file = File('~/Desktop/out.mov'); // set the output path rq_item.render = true; // set it to enabled (is the default) app.project.renderQueue.render();

However, the size of the 1080p rendered video is about 4GB. It is just a very simple 2 minute video.

I had this problem with After Effects before. To solve it, I was told to use Adobe Media Encoder. This solved my problem. For some reason, using Adobe Media Encoder to render the After Effects file drastically reduces the file size to 160MB. A lot of online forums say "Use Adobe Media Encoder" as a solution to the large file size problem.

Edit: I now manually fixed it and found that the problem was due to the codec (it was set to "Animation"). I changed it to H.264. Unfortunately I don't know how to do this in ExtendScript.

Thank you!

[davidarbor]

You could ask for help on changing the codec in the scripting forum.

And just for clarity, the "use AME for smaller file sizes" is a misnomer. As you said, the codec was set to "Animation" which is exporting a visually lossless file. After Effects is often not the last step in a production pipeline and you want the highest quality file when exporting for the next step. AME can give you the H.264 (as well as every other codec Adobe supports, including Animation) file with the benefit of being able to process in the background while you continue to work in After Effects.

If this H.264 isn't your final file then you might want to consider using another intermediate codec like ProRes, Cineform, or DNxHD, which will give you smaller file sizes than Animation, but still offer lossless quality. Understanding codecs and bit rates can be very complicated, but it will go a long way to help you troubleshoot your issues. H.264, for example uses lossy compression, where visual data is lost, but at the benefit of a smaller file size. You can choose whether you want a variable bit-rate (VBR) or a constant bit rate (CBR), and then define the bit rate as a number (Kbps or Mbps), which determines the amount of data that will be used for each second (Kilobits or Megabits Per Second).

[Dave_LaRonde]

Long story short: you have not said what you have to DELIVER. 

What are your delivery specifications? 

How will your AE animation be used next?

[Mylenium]

CoDec options are not available in scripts. You have to create a output module preset and call it up in your script.

Mylenium

[Rick Gerard]

You also do not want to render H.264 files using the Output Module. It does a lousy job rendering GOP compressed files. I think that the best automated option would be to create a watch folder. That is how I would automate the process of creating a bunch of deliverables with the least amount of user intervention.

[Kevin-Monahan · Accepted solution]

Hi BradleyK,

As you said, you used the Animation codec instead of a standard intermediate codec. More info: FAQ: Why is my output file huge, and why doesn't it play back smoothly in a media player?

Thanks,
Kevin

[John5D80]

The link is dead, please update.

[Star Wars]

Thanks for the answer, a sound spectrum of a 30 minute track i rendered came out at about 192GB before the changes and maxed out my storage