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I heard that it is possible to plug an external hard drive to a computer (I have a MacBook Pro) to make After Effects faster or more efficient.
Is that right? If so, how does it work?
By @Syntax_One
Attaching an external volume can help and is a best practice, but it is extremely important to understand that it does not actually “speed up” a computer. What it does is exactly the same thing as what adding more memory does: It removes bottlenecks that can result from not having enough of it. And if your computer already has enough of it, adding more won’t help. That said, an external SSD can usually help students because they usually buy a lower spec configuration.
Connecting an external volume for the Adobe video applications can provide two things: More space for original media files, and/or more space for temporary cache files, specifically the Media Cache (which you set in Preferences). If Premiere Pro and After Effects have lots of fast storage for cache, they can cache the contents of many more tracks/layers. This can keep the application running as fast as it should, because instead of having to constantly bog down the computer recalculating frames for every layer and effect, it can just pull any unchanged data from the cache and display it immediately.
Here is an example of where an external SSD is not necessary and will not help: If you or a student has a Mac with maybe 500GB to 1TB of unused space on the Mac’s internal storage. With that much free space, the Adobe Media Cache has plenty of room to build up project Media Caches without clogging the SSD. In addition, in current Macs, any internal SSD that’s 512GB or more is very fast, faster than any USB or Thunderbolt external connection. So if a Mac has enough internal free space for a very large Media Cache, that is the fastest possible Media Cache drive and no external is needed for that. There is no bottleneck to remove.
But what is much more common is that a student bought a base model Mac with limited internal storage. Then they start loading video on it, and the internal SSD starts to fill up. If free space gets below roughly 150GB, then when they start editing in Adobe apps, the apps start building their media caches (and/or Photoshop scratch files). As free space gets closer to 0GB, things start to slow down and maybe crash, because there is no more room for temporary files to be written on the internal SSD.
Because a full internal SSD is so bad for performance and stability, low free space on the system volume is to be avoided at all costs. Students should keep an eye on free space. If, as they edit, a student cannot keep free space above roughly 100GB on the internal SSD at all times, then they must resort to the traditional video drive setup: Use the internal/system volume for applications only (small documents are OK, like Word files) to keep free space available, and move video-related files to one or more external SSDs. It could be:
- One external SSD for original media, and Media Cache still on the internal (if room). Or the other way around, one external SSD for the Media Cache and the media files on the internal (if room).
- If the internal SSD doesn’t have enough free space for the above options, then connect two external SSDs: One for original media, and another designated for Media Cache.
The SSDs should be the kind that can deliver throughput consistently, and that is another challenge for students: Not just getting the cheapest SSD, but one with throughput consistent enough for smooth video editing.
Also, this may be picky but just making sure: You used the term “hard drive” but today, hard disk drives (HDDs) are not fast enough for video editing. They have to be solid state drives (SSDs).
Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I appreciate it a lot!
What it does is exactly the same thing as what adding more memory does: It removes bottlenecks that can result from not having enough of it. And if your computer already has enough of it, adding more won’t help.
By @Conrad_C
Memory: did you mean storage?
By @Conrad_C
I totally understand that if internal free space gets below roughtly 150GB, things start to slow down and maybe crash, because there is no more room for temporary files to be written on the internal SSD.
If I suggest they use their external drive for temporary files, is this where they have to configure everything?
- One external SSD for original media, and Media Cache still on the internal (if room). Or the other way around, one external SSD for the Media Cache and the media files on the internal (if room).
- If the internal SSD doesn’t have enough free space for the above options, then connect two external SSDs: One for original media, and another designated for Media Cache.
By @Conrad_C
I ask my students to always work directly on their computer to avoid problems (never work via an external drive). In other words, I ask that the active After Effects document and its linked files should all be directly stored on the computer when working on a project. I have seen too many students work via external drives and loose everything because of files being corrupted.
Am I wrong?
I ask because when I read: "One external SSD for original media, and Media Cache still on the internal", I wonder if you are suggesting that they put the After Effects project linked files on their external drive when working on a project.
Maybe I should read the following? "All media files (video, audio, vector, etc.) should be stored on the external drive to free as much space as possible on the internal SSD. However, when working on a project, all USED files should be stored directly on the internal drive."
Last think: when you say: "Use the internal/system volume for applications only (small documents are OK, like Word files) to keep free space available, and move video-related files to one or more external SSDs", how can that be done?
Also: "Use the internal/system volume for applications only". Does that include .aep files? (Those are quite small...)
Thank again and again!
Memory: did you mean storage?
By @Syntax_One
No, by memory I meant what’s generally called RAM, which Apple calls Unified Memory for its Apple Silicon Macs. I only mentioned RAM as an analogy, because the performance benefits of more RAM are the same as with the media cache: Once you have enough, adding more doesn‘t make the computer go any faster, because it never was speeding up the computer, it was only addressing a bottleneck that was preventing optimal performance.
If I suggest they use their external drive for temporary files, is this where they have to configure everything?
By @Syntax_One
Yes, the disk cache and media cache are set up in the dialog box that you showed. One caution: If they are assigned to an external volume, and the external volume is not mounted when the application is started, it may reset that path to the default location on the internal system volume. Just let students know that they should attach the external cache volume before starting up an application that uses these preferences, so that it doesn‘t reset on them.
I ask my students to always work directly on their computer to avoid problems (never work via an external drive). In other words, I ask that the active After Effects document and its linked files should all be directly stored on the computer when working on a project. I have seen too many students work via external drives and loose everything because of files being corrupted.
By @Syntax_One
I hope the video professionals here comment on this (Premiere Pro and After Effects are not my primary applications), because my understanding is that working off external volumes is extremely common in the pro video world because almost nobody has room to store all source clips and cache files on the laptop itself. Therefore students should be adept at working with external volumes.
If files are getting corrupted on external volumes, some things to think about are:
- Ensure that the cable is high quality and undamaged. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive, but at the first sign of trouble, replace it.
- If a drive has something irreplaceable on it, it must be backed up to another drive, and that backup must be updated frequently. Students must include the cost of system-wide backup in their hardware budgets, because on a pro job, the professional cost of losing irreplaceable work because of a hardware failure will exceed the cost of the hardware. If I buy a new external drive, I always make sure I have another one with enough space to back up that external, and if not, I buy a second external drive. (I prefer to have two backup drives for every primary drive.)
I ask because when I read: "One external SSD for original media, and Media Cache still on the internal", I wonder if you are suggesting that they put the After Effects project linked files on their external drive when working on a project.
Maybe I should read the following? "All media files (video, audio, vector, etc.) should be stored on the external drive to free as much space as possible on the internal SSD. However, when working on a project, all USED files should be stored directly on the internal drive."
…
By @Syntax_One
Also: "Use the internal/system volume for applications only". Does that include .aep files? (Those are quite small...)
This is all negotiable depending on how much free space there is on the internal volume.
- If everything fits internally with lots of room to spare, even when a 300-500GB Media Cache exists, then just use internal storage, no need to involve externals.
- If space starts to become an issue, the source files and large caches are the most likely to be moved to an external volume because they collectively take up the most space. Whether you put both on the external depends on whether there is enough space to keep one on the internal. If it’s just too tight, then you offload both. Again…the exact answer depends on the sizes of source/cache files compared to the free space on the internal.
- I don’t see any problem keeping After Effects .aep and Premiere Pro .proj files and their folders on the internal volume because like you said, they’re small.
- Similarly, it should be fine to keep other small files like Word and Excel documents on internal storage. Basically, if all those files are not taking up a lot of space and not growing a lot, sure, keep them on the internal.
Last think: when you say: "Use the internal/system volume for applications only (small documents are OK, like Word files) to keep free space available, and move video-related files to one or more external SSDs", how can that be done?
By @Syntax_One
For cache files, change the locations in the dialog box you showed.
For source files, just move those folders to the external volumes. The next time you open an After Effects or Premiere Pro project that used those files, they will complain that the files are missing, because the files will no longer be at their last recorded folder paths. Just use the standard relink features to point the applications to the new external location where you moved the files. Again…understanding how referenced file path links work, and how to quickly re-establish broken links because files moved, should be part of the curriculum. Link management is an essential competency because in a pro job, external drives may be passed around from computer to computer, and project/source files copied to and from them.
Thank you so much! I'm speechless!
Should they use their external drive for Maximum Disk Cache and Conformed Media Cache(Database + Cache), or just the Maximum Disk Cache?
Thanks again and again!
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