multiprocessing after effects 2015

[jovise]

Where is the multiprocessing option in after effects 2015?

[Rick Gerard]

It is removed. Please read up on the changes. 2015 is much more efficient and has an entirely new rendering architecture.

[JC de Blok]

It's what the brochure says, but I've tried a few projects and don't notice a lot of change  in either speed and/or CPU usage..  both are around 20% of a 12 core system.  in CC2014 I was able to get in into to 60%.. 70% range by using 4 threads..

I'm using a lot of multichannel EXR's (with channel cache on) but they seem to be quite a performance hit for large resolutions a multiple channels so maybe that's bottle necking the whole thing..

[Szalam]

The speed change is in interactivity for this release. We were promised future versions would have increased interactivity AND rendering, so the rendering increase will likely be in a future version. Here's a tip: a 13.5 project file is compatible with 13.2 So you can benefit from all of the workflow enhancements in 13.5, then use 13.2 to render faster (if your project benefits from multiprocessing...and that's a big if).

[JC de Blok]

Thx for clarifying!  The timeline does feels much more responsive so that's a good start!

[Szalam · Accepted solution]

Here's the official word on it: features not available in After Effects CC 2015 (13.5)

[malowens]

Perfect Szalam. That's a great recommendation. I'm going to try this on my next project in a couple of days.

[Snakedogman]

2015 is much more efficient and has an entirely new rendering architecture.

what are you talking about? No it isn't and no it doesn't. The multiprocessing was removed because it was an antiquated system that never really worked reliably and has nothing to do with an "entirely new render architecture". The Adobe team has spoken about upcoming changes in the render architecture for which they've now laid the groundwork with the new preview system, but for now AFAIK the rendering is still the same as it always was.

[ekreidler]

My CC 2014 (13.2) got uninstalled when I upgraded. And I was never able to get multiprocessor to work through Media Encoder. Kinda missing the multiprocessor final render -- this render seems much slower. When you say "future versions"...how long are we waiting? Wish MP was left as an option until CURRENT version showed the improvements you're promising.

[Szalam]

ekreidler wrote:

My CC 2014 (13.2) got uninstalled when I upgraded.

The next time you update to a new version, make sure you uncheck the option to remove previous versions: keeping previous versions installed when installing CC 2015 applications | After Effects region of i...

ekreidler wrote:

And I was never able to get multiprocessor to work through Media Encoder.

Yeah, multiprocessing (and some other things like GPU acceleration of the ray-traced renderer [not that anybody cares about the ray-traced renderer anymore...]) never worked in the Adobe Media Encoder.

Other things also didn't work with multiprocessing; certain effects and certain expressions weren't compatible so multiprocessing would shut off. Super-annoying.

Sometimes you could get inconsistent results with multiprocessing too. Using the shading with Particular, for example, could result in flickering with multiprocessing turned on.

ekreidler wrote:

Kinda missing the multiprocessor final render -- this render seems much slower.

Good news! Do your work with the snappier interface and improved expression handling of CC 2015 and then open that same project file in CC 2014 to do your final render with multiprocessing. The project files are compatible between versions.

Here's how to install CC 2014 (or CC or CS6, for that matter): How to Find and Install Previous Version of Adobe Apps in CC 2015 | Adobe Customer Care Team

ekreidler wrote:

Wish MP was left as an option until CURRENT version showed the improvements you're promising.

According to the official page I linked to earlier, multiprocessing isn't compatible with the new framework. They released this version now so that we could enjoy some of the benefits, but if they're not enough for you, just wait for the next big update.

ekreidler wrote:

When you say "future versions"...how long are we waiting?

I think we can all agree that we would like that to be "not long"!   There is a bug fix update scheduled for sometime next month that should solve some of the big issues people have had in CC 2015 and then we'll just have to wait and see when the next big update is with the new renderer.

[ekreidler]

Hi -- thanks for the response! I felt a little bad about this post (it was in the heat of a project deadline) -- all in all, CC 2015 does seem pretty zippy. I will keep an eye out for the "remove previous versions" checkbox in the future.

Two bugs I've hit so far:

- puppet tool problems that require application relaunch to fix

- scrubbing a timeline sometimes makes the red line disappear, although scrubbing again eventually brings it back

Again, all in all I'm liking CC 2015 so far. The live dynamic preview takes some getting used to but it's pretty slick.

[Szalam]

Ekreidler wrote:

Two bugs I've hit so far:

- puppet tool problems that require application relaunch to fix

- scrubbing a timeline sometimes makes the red line disappear, although scrubbing again eventually brings it back

The disappearing red line is, as I recall, a bug they're aware of. I believe it's slated to be fixed in the update later this month.

You should file a bug report for the puppet tool one issue.

Eric Kreidler wrote:

Again, all in all I'm liking CC 2015 so far. The live dynamic preview takes some getting used to but it's pretty slick.

Right? And when they get the renderer multithreaded, it'll really be useful!

[Chris Hocking]

Yeah, multiprocessing (and some other things like GPU acceleration of the ray-traced renderer [not that anybody cares about the ray-traced renderer anymore...]) never worked in the Adobe Media Encoder.

Other things also didn't work with multiprocessing; certain effects and certain expressions weren't compatible so multiprocessing would shut off. Super-annoying.

Sometimes you could get inconsistent results with multiprocessing too. Using the shading with Particular, for example, could result in flickering with multiprocessing turned on.

This is really handy to know - I had no idea that AME didn't use multi-processing. I wish this was better documented!

[JC de Blok]

Yeah, lack of documentation on this part is really bad.  I see people buy dual socket 24 core xeon workstations for AE which is actually really awful for mostly single thread operations like rendering in AE without multicore processing. Even with multicore processing enabled 24 cores is a waste due to 3gb+ memory per thread required by AE on serious projects unless it ships with 128GB of memory but that's another story and even then the overhead would probably kill any advantage. Currently multi core rendering is kind of a hack.. it starts a 'headless' AE session in the background which all load the project and they start rendering frames.. ideally a single AE session would internally render it multi threaded which is probably what they are working on, or at least they should be!

[Szalam]

JC de Blok wrote:

ideally a single AE session would internally render it multi threaded which is probably what they are working on, or at least they should be!

They are and I'm very excited to see how it performs! I mean, I assume it'll be similar to how multiprocessing worked only without all the issues. Add that render speed boost in with the uninterruptible previews and, especially on higher-end systems, it should be a pretty big workflow boost.

[TavTHF]

Welcome to Adobe's revolutionary new cloud based software model - If software isn't ready within the year, we'll release it anyway ...

[Dave_LaRonde]

TavTHF wrote:

Welcome to Adobe's revolutionary new cloud based software model - If software isn't ready within the year, we'll release it anyway ...

Amen.  You've got to keep those Adobe Marketing Weasels placated, y'know....

[samuelv36553033]

Test results for the same composition, no external plug in 's:

Render on CC2014 multi processor: 3 minutes 29 seconds (+-30% cpu)

Render on CC2014 single processor: 4 minutes 47 seconds (+-10% cpu)

Render on CC2015: 4 minutes 42 seconds (+-10% cpu)

I guess it's better to wait for a CC2015 with multi processor mode. One day, I hope to see 100% of cpu usage.

Setup: 2X Xeon processor 32 Gb ram

MXF 1080p + graphics -> MXF 1080p

[Chris Hocking]

Thanks for sharing - very interesting!

You wouldn't happen to have Element 3D on your system by any chance? Be interested to see the same tests with an Element effect thrown into the mix!

[samuelv36553033]

Sorry, I don't have Element 3D.

[RimVai]

Dual Xeon Workstation here too (40 threads) - barely hitting 10-20% CPU usage when rendering 4K...

I absolutely can't wait for them to finally sort it all out! Adobe's code seems to be single-threaded in most of their software (including Photoshop) it seems and it bugs me a lot. It's the end of 2015, for crying out loud - multi-core CPUs have been around in the mainstream for a decade now!

[Szalam]

RimVai wrote:

Dual Xeon Workstation here too (40 threads) - barely hitting 10-20% CPU usage when rendering 4K...

I absolutely can't wait for them to finally sort it all out! Adobe's code seems to be single-threaded in most of their software (including Photoshop) it seems and it bugs me a lot. It's the end of 2015, for crying out loud - multi-core CPUs have been around in the mainstream for a decade now!

Open that project in CC 2014, make sure you've turned on multiprocessing in your preferences, and see if it makes better use of your CPUs. It will likely be better, but that depends on the nature of your comp.

The issue you're bringing up is a huge part of the reason why they're re-writing AE (and CC 2015 is only the first baby step) - they're attempting to make it a much more multi-threaded and modern software. Notice in CC 2015 how the renderer is on a separate thread from the UI. This is a huge change in AE's core and points towards the future they're striving for. Those of us who use AE to make a living certainly hope they succeed!

[hawkeye123xzy]

you people are idiots!!! who else would launch a new product with soooo many bugs!!!!!!

[BramvanOosterhout]

Well it is really frustrating. I am paying hundreds of euros each year for this software. I have also a 6-core CPU.

With the old updated I got 80% to 99% CPU usage, with the new 2015, just around 30%.

This is very bad Adobe! Please make my CPU usefull. I pay for this!

I do not want to install an older Adobe version to render, make this into the new version, damn!

[Szalam]

BramvanOosterhout wrote:

make this into the new version, damn!

That is precisely what they are doing. CC 2015 is a partial step forward to try some pieces of the new architecture. Notice that the UI and the renderer are running on separate CPU threads in CC 2015 now? This is a very complicated process and it is taking a while for it to get done. Notice what happened with the initial release of 13.6? HUGE problem for a lot of folks when the Undo command no longer worked. It's yet another issue they've run into trying to get AE to properly run on multiple threads.

But they are working on it. The whole point of this re-do of AE's architecture is to replace the old, buggy multiprocessor with a true multithreaded app that runs more quickly and uses system resources better. The AE team is very small though (especially when compared to, say, the Photoshop team), so it's going to take a while.

I use CC 2014 to render and it hasn't been an issue for me. Sure, it's a tiny extra step, but it's not too annoying.