Write-ON effect INSANE lag

[AndrewTheGreat]

I just don't get it - what is going on with Premiere Pro?

A general Write-on effect put on transparent video\any footage\black video or a still image (!!!) makes the part of the timeline red and lags SO much that you cannot change the effect's properties and see the result at a time thus making it impossible to use! What-the-hell????

And before you ask it's a 1920x1080 sequence on an SSD (7500\7000) on a core-i7 13700 paired with RTX 4080 and 64 gigs of 5600 MHz ram!

What is happening, Adobe? I don't wanna do such a simple thing in Ae.

[Zwea]

Red line means it's not GPU-accelerated. I'm guessing you're also using H264 or H265 footage?

[AndrewTheGreat]

Hi. I'm using a blank video. The rest is switched off. I also started a new
sequence with an empty timeline with only a blank video or a still image -
the result is the same. No matter whether it's GPU accelerated or not it
should work on a 13700 even if it was used on a h264\265. Just think - the
last gen processor cannot cope with a video footage with a single effect on
it? So what's the point in upgrading at all?

[Ann Bens · Accepted solution]

Write-on is non GPU accelerated and very much obsolete.

After Effect is the way to go.

[Carlos Ziade]

hey, I fully agree with Ann, i do write-on on AE, but check this from Premiere Gal's video and try it, i haven't yet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VROCk8zyBX0

[AndrewTheGreat]

Hi, Carlos. Shapeflow of intended to be used as a shape mask transition. What I need is a tool that is capable of writing ON video - and that is the renowned Write-on effect which doesn't actually work in Premiere Pro in the draw in the original image mode. This is what I need to do (see below) - which is as simple as 5 cents, but instead of just drawing a 6 point line with Write-on which is deadly laggy I had to use venetian blinds to make it not as dull as just a white line plus the Write-on in Reveal in original image paint style which is as bulky as animating masks. And this is a simple line which can be made and animated without a flow in Davinchi and Final Cut.

[jstrawn]

Pr's Write-on effect is in the 'Obsolete' folder for a reason. There are some things you could do using Pr Text with masks and source text animation, but they are all pretty time-consuming and won't look as good as Ae's Write-on effect anyways. We've had requests to add a good Write-on effect to Pr, but that has not happened yet. Probably because everyone already uses Ae to do it.

[MyerPj]

To echo what @jstrawn said, here's a very good and quick tutorial on doing a write-on in After Effects. Under 4 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArQZnpNY5s&t=114s

[AndrewTheGreat]

You are all, guys, speaking about Ae is if it's "better", "faster" and "more convenient" for smaller tasks like mine which is absolutely not. You have to switch from software to softvare, Ae creates it's own layer in Pr which does not always work fine or load fast or load at all. I've had tons of experience with it and am fed up already. And @MyerPj  "under 4 minutes" is not "good and quick". If the write-on effect worked I would have done what I needed in seconds. Instead I have to switch to another software, wotk there absolutely distanted from what I am doing in Premiere Pro and if I import some footage into Ae and then I have to change anything in Premiere I'll also have to change it in Ae. A ton of inconveniences for such a simple task. For big motion graphics projects Ae is the one and only, for sure. But when you need to fulfill smaller tasks you wanna do them in the same software you work with. @jstrawn I'm sure there are plenty of video editors who prefer to stay within one software of choice and as a proof of it - there are tens if not hundreds of videos on Youtube titled as "Make this effect in Premiere Pro without Ae", the above mentioned Premiere Gal has some. Those who work with tons of all kinds of videos, not just some particular type, prefer using a workflow which is fast, less complicated and is reliable. Having an Ae layer with simple motion graphics which SHOULD be able to be made within Premiere Pro, which can stop working or makes that part of the timeline laggy in Premiere is not reliable at all. I for one prefer doing 99% of everything within Premiere Pro because I know every bit of it and I can quickly remake what I need using another technique if the chosen one does not work. And one thing more. If I'm a video editor - that is, I'm working with videos - why do I have to work in a motion graphics software? Why do I have to learn another software at all? (for the record I know Ae, I've worked in it since 2012). Such obvious thing as giving the users the ability to work within a single sowftware is the actual reason alotta Premiere Pro users are switching to DaVinchi Resolve. 

To sum it all up. The Write On effect IS needed and it is needed to work fast. 

PS: I just don't get it. In Premiere 2019 this effect works flawlessly, without a hint of lags. Why is Premiere pro 2023 so lame? It cannot even playback 4k h264\265 video screencast without missing frames (tens of frames!) on a machine which costs as much as $3000

[jstrawn]

@AndrewTheGreat We understand the value of porting Ae's Write On effect over to Pr. We did the same thing for Warp Stabilizer several years ago and customers loved it. It's not as easy as it sounds though. The Ae Write On effect uses text animators, which is a complex method that Pr can't handle, at least not yet. So what you and others are generally asking for inside Pr is a simple preset for animation effects. We have discussed the possibility of doing that but it has not yet risen as a top priority.

Note that you can do a write on effect in Pr manually by setting keyframes on the source text string, but it is a lot of work. This is why we still recommend the Ae method.

[AndrewTheGreat]

Thanks for monitoring the thread. Unfortunatelly I cannot say I feel happy about not having a convenient tool for drawing and animating lines in Pr (why does everybody keeps thinking I need texts animation with masks?). The way it can be done right now is really ... bulky. And as for Ae - I wrote about it... Not that it shall bother anyone but think I'm gonna switch... Thanks anyway

[jstrawn]

OK wait @AndrewTheGreat before you leave for good...
Animating a line in Pr is totally different! I watched your video but I didn't understand much of what I was seeing and was wondering what your line example had to do with Write On text.

For an animated line, start here:
(1) Draw a straight line using the pen tool
(2) Find that shape in the ECP and toggle on animation Path
(3) Move the playhead later in time and move a vertex in the Program Mon to make it longer or shorter
Note: Use a shift modifier to keep the line flat if needed

Unlike Source text and appearance things, Path animation inerpolates between keyframes so it will grow as the playback proceeds. It's still not as robust as what you can do with Ae but it's a lot easier to set up when animating a whole text string on one character at a time.

[AndrewTheGreat]

You are speaking about a single line which is either horisontal or vertical or diagonal. What I need is a line in some shape. A circle, a square or as in my example -  something like Z letter. Can I do it your way?

[jstrawn]

For anything more complex than a moving or transforming line, I would use one shape to mask out another in the same Graphic. This screenshot kind of shows how I did that and I also have a Pr mogrt I can give you if you want to explore the whole Graphic in detail.

Disclaimer: This really is Ae territory and my animation was not careful, but this should give you a decent idea of what's possible with animated shape paths.

[AndrewTheGreat]

Ok, thanx, maybe it's not so bad, I'll give it a try