Skip to main content
D
drew.munn
Participant
April 16, 2014
Answered

Can I batch render a composition with different resources?

  • April 16, 2014
  • 2 replies
  • 1477 views

Hi All,

I've got a composition that I want to render and send out to a large number of people (around 1000) as a video file. One element of this composition includes an image depicting the viewer. I have all of images of each person, and I was wondering whether or not I could set AE to render out 1000 copies of the composition, substituting the generic image for the image of each viewer in turn. I'd also like to be able to change the contents of a text layer to include the name of that viewer (I've got that in a CSV at the moment). Is this possible? The exponential increase in processing time is not an issue for my purposes; in fact, doing it this way would mean a dramatic decrease in time spent on another part of the project.

EDIT: I've just realised I could use Javascript to call from an array of names for the text, but how would I get the array index to iterate each time it's exported?

Thanks in advance!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Mylenium

You will have to duplicate the comp 1000 times and add those 1000 comps to the render queue. How you do it is up to you. Beyond that AE cannot dynamically substitute items at render times just based on expressions.

Mylenium

2 replies

A
AndyR_
Inspiring
May 14, 2014

You can also modify the commandLineRenderer.jsx file in your Scripts/Startup folder so you can pass it an arbitrary javascript file that it runs before executing the renders.  I've done this and the addition has allowed me to do all sorts of interesting tricks that would otherwise be difficult or require manual work.  You should backup your commandLineRenderer.jsx file before attempting this!

-Andy

Mylenium
MyleniumCorrect answer
Legend
April 16, 2014

You will have to duplicate the comp 1000 times and add those 1000 comps to the render queue. How you do it is up to you. Beyond that AE cannot dynamically substitute items at render times just based on expressions.

Mylenium

D
drew.munnAuthor
Participant
April 16, 2014

Cheers. Would a viable alternative be to run a render, swap out physical files for the resources, and re-run the render a second time? I know this is possible manually, but can this be automated (ie, does AE have the capacity to fire an event that I can pick up in-system and act on once a render is complete)?

Never mind, I've done what you've suggested using a script, and it worked perfectly. Thanks!

A
Arie Stavchansky
Legend
April 17, 2014

Hi There,

It's not available quite yet, but Templater is a new plugin + script that will be available for purchase soon.  Check out http://templater.dataclay.io for a solutions that handles substitution of layer data from external data sources like Google spreadsheets.  It handles the substitution at rendertime and has design logic to fix alignment, scale, of layers according to rules you setup as the data comes into your layer.

Thanks,
Arie

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices