No overlayed music in exported MP4 file but present in timeline

[__Nat__]

Hi all,

I have Adobe Premiere Elements 2023, and I have a 7h long movie I am trying to export into 1080p MP4 format. Throughout the movie there are overlayed mp3s which show and play fine in the timeline.

Upon completion of the export and playing the file, none of the mp3 music has come through, but normal audio from any segments where it was left in is still there, as is any music scores I have added from within Premiere (eg: Afternoon Sun track, etc).

I have tested playing the mp4 in VLC and via Plex, it's definitely not there (and obviously the giveaway that something has gone wrong is that other audio is present).

For the export preset I have chosen TV, HD/1080p 16:9 in High quality using H.264. The automatic audio selection is AAC which I haven't touched.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

[__Nat__]

Sorry, not sure if I can edit the post above, but one thing I wanted to add is that I put the music in as an Audio layer, and recently noticed there's actually a layer that can specifically be used for music, which I didn't use. Does it matter?

[Bill Sprague]

.. recently noticed there's actually a layer that can specifically be used for music, which I didn't use. Does it matter?

By @__Nat__

No, it should not.  Typically the Music track gets used when you use the built in music system.  MP3s should work on any audio track.   I can't imaging a 7 hour video!

[__Nat__]

Ok thanks. I'll answer that below, lol

[Steve Grisetti]

A 7 hour long movie? What are you going to do with it?

Not that the program has limitations on your movie length. But the longer  your project, the more the seams show. And if there is a bug in the program or in your media, the more likely it will cause problems.

What happens if you output a half hour video -- closer to the average viewers attention span? Do you still have this issue?

[__Nat__]

Ha! Yes it's weird I know. I do all our holiday videos like this, we obviously don't sit down and watch 7 hours of video! We watch it in parts over time. Still, I know you're right in that it's introducing a greater margin for errors by having it that long.

Incidentally, I did another export overnight, same settings, and the music has worked. So it must have just been an error on that particular export.

I do have another question though, I originally tried exporting this movie in 4K as that's what the footage was taken in. As you can imagine, that put a significant load on the PC and CPU usage shot to 100% and crashed after about 6 hours of running. I have an Intel i9 so a decent CPU (2 years old). But obviously it still couldn't cope.

We have a 120" screen and this is why I bought a 4K capable camera, so it's a shame to not be able to see it in 4K. I am guessing I will need to split the project up to be able to export it as 4K, say 2 hour sections or something.

[Steve Grisetti]

It depends. Is your 4K video 30 fps? If so, the program should be able to handle your video with an i9 processor.

However, if it is other than 30 fps, the program will probably overload trying to handle a 4K format it's not capable of digesting.

[__Nat__]

Thanks. It's 25 fps, presume that's ok as well?

[Steve Grisetti]

Go to the program's Edit menu. Look on the main page under Project Settings and ensure these settings match your video specs -- in your case 3840x2160 25 fps. If so,  you're operating at max efficiency.

[Peru Bob]

We watch it in parts over time. 

By @__Nat__

I would make separate projects.

[Steve Grisetti]

Oh, I most definitely agree, Bob! As I've said, attention span for most videos is under 30 minutes. I think people would be much more likely to watch one 30-minute part of a 14 part series than watch more than a few minutes of a 7 hour movie. Assuming of course that David Lean didn't direct it, of course. 😉

[__Nat__]

Haha - I know I know. It's just for hubby & I to watch mostly, we will show other family members parts here and there, but I will take what you've suggested on board 🙂 Especially with 4K I know I can't make massive long movies anymore.