Memory Allocation Issue in After Effects

Report · Aug 01, 2024

Hello Adobe Community,

I am experiencing a recurring issue with Adobe After Effects related to memory allocation during frame rendering, especially when working on projects with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 8 bpc. The error message I receive is: "Unable to allocate enough memory to render the current frame (1920 x 1080 @ 8 bpc). Either decrease the memory requirements for the rendering of this frame, or install more RAM. (12805)." This problem seems to be unique to After Effects, as I do not encounter similar issues with other software.

My system specifications are as follows:

Processor: Intel Core i5, 8th Generation
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 500GB SSD
Graphics Card: NVIDIA MX110 with 2GB VRAM

Despite these specifications, After Effects struggles to allocate the necessary memory for rendering, which impacts my workflow and project productivity.

I have attempted several solutions to reduce memory usage, such as lowering the project resolution, reducing color depth, minimizing the use of complex effects, and decreasing the number of layers. However, the issue persists.

I am seeking assistance from the community and the technical team to understand the potential causes of this issue and to find effective solutions. Additionally, I would appreciate any advice on specific settings or optimizations that could enhance After Effects' performance on my system.

Thank you in advance for your help and support.

Report · Aug 02, 2024

I suspect AE is trying to use your graphics card, but with only 2Gb RAM, it's struggling. The minimum these days is 4Gb

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/after-effects/system-requirements.html

In your project settings, try switching to Software only and in the render queue or Media Encoder, use "Software render only". Your renders might take longer, but you should get there. Another option, render out image sequences. This way, if a render fails, you only need to render again from that frame onwards.

Report · Aug 02, 2024

Sounds like something that you are doing in After Effercts needs more resources at the current Resolution than your system provides.

To continue working, try lowering the Resolution to Quarter or Custom (6 by 6 or 8 by 8). You can also set the Layer Quality to Draft for all or most Layers. For motion, you can skip frames and use Wireframe (not ideal, but requires very little RAM). Also take a look at source footage that's being scales to 50% or less most of the time and replace that with duplicates tbat are scaled down outside of After Effects.

However, you will need to move the project to a system with higher specifications to do the render at Full Resolution.

Chris Zwar's series of articles for ProVideo Coallition on After Effects performance are very good to read and refer back to: https://www.provideocoalition.com/after-effects-performance-part-14-make-it-faster-for-free/