Exporting is taking an extremely long time (far longer than normal)

Report · Dec 01, 2021

I'm trying to export 45 seconds of video but it is taking many hours to complete (doesn't look like it will ever export). I'm not using 3D fetaures, no effects, no motion blur etc - just a simple grid of short videos of a circle changing scale - that's it. I've tried refreshing everything, emptying cache folders, i've made sure the computer has enough meemory, no other programs running etc. I've exported this same video before with different colours and it took no time at all so I'm all out of ideas of what's gone wrong.

Dimensions of the video: 1920x1080

Each little dot is its own mp4 file - one video for each different colour.

30FPS

H.264 format

Here is the video: Single colour background. Grid of mp4 videos. Total length 45 seconds.

Also, this video was originally made of vectors but that wou;dn't export so i'm now trying with mp4 files. Any help much appreciated.

Report · Dec 01, 2021

That sounds so frustrating. Can you render out an image sequence (as a workaround) ?

Is it Media Encoder or the Render Queue where you're rendering?

When you exported the previous video, was it in an older version of After Effects?

Report · Dec 01, 2021

@ShiveringCactus

Yeah so frustrating. That's a good idea to render out an image sequence, i didn't think of that. I've actually given up with this composition now and I've had to redesign it to something that exports ok.

I was rendering with Media Encoder but the same problem wiould occur within the Render Queue too. Yeah when I exported it previously it was with an older version (last exported this time last year).

I really have no idea what caused it, it was such a simple composition. Thanks for your help 🙂