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Preview and render with Multi-Frame Rendering

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After Effects

After Effects

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  1. After Effects User Guide
  2. Beta releases
    1. Beta Program Overview
    2. After Effects Beta Home
  3. Getting started
    1. Get started with After Effects
    2. What's new in After Effects 
    3. Release Notes | After Effects
    4. After Effects system requirements
    5. Keyboard shortcuts in After Effects
    6. Supported File formats | After Effects
    7. Hardware recommendations
    8. After Effects for Apple silicon
    9. Planning and setup
  4. Workspaces
    1. General user interface items
    2. Get to know After Effects interface
    3. Workflows
    4. Workspaces, panels, and viewers
  5. Projects and compositions
    1. Projects
    2. Composition basics
    3. Precomposing, nesting, and pre-rendering
    4. View detailed performance information with the Composition Profiler
    5. CINEMA 4D Composition Renderer
  6. Importing footage
    1. Preparing and importing still images
    2. Importing from After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro
    3. Importing and interpreting video and audio
    4. Preparing and importing 3D image files
    5. Importing and interpreting footage items
    6. Working with footage items
    7. Detect edit points using Scene Edit Detection
    8. XMP metadata
  7. Text and Graphics
    1. Text
      1. Formatting characters and the Character panel
      2. Text effects
      3. Creating and editing text layers
      4. Formatting paragraphs and the Paragraph panel
      5. Extruding text and shape layers
      6. Animating text
      7. Examples and resources for text animation
      8. Live Text Templates
    2. Motion Graphics
      1. Work with Motion Graphics templates in After Effects
      2. Use expressions to create drop-down lists in Motion Graphics templates
      3. Work with Essential Properties to create Motion Graphics templates
      4. Replace images and videos in Motion Graphics templates and Essential Properties
      5. Animate faster and easier using the Properties panel
  8. Drawing, Painting, and Paths
    1. Overview of shape layers, paths, and vector graphics
    2. Paint tools: Brush, Clone Stamp, and Eraser
    3. Taper shape strokes
    4. Shape attributes, paint operations, and path operations for shape layers
    5. Use Offset Paths shape effect to alter shapes
    6. Creating shapes
    7. Create masks
    8. Remove objects from your videos with the Content-Aware Fill panel
    9. Roto Brush and Refine Matte
  9. Layers, Markers, and Camera
    1. Selecting and arranging layers
    2. Blending modes and layer styles
    3. 3D layers
    4. Layer properties
    5. Creating layers
    6. Managing layers
    7. Layer markers and composition markers
    8. Cameras, lights, and points of interest
  10. Animation, Keyframes, Motion Tracking, and Keying
    1. Animation
      1. Animation basics
      2. Animating with Puppet tools
      3. Managing and animating shape paths and masks
      4. Animating Sketch and Capture shapes using After Effects
      5. Assorted animation tools
      6. Work with Data-driven animation
    2. Keyframe
      1. Keyframe interpolation
      2. Setting, selecting, and deleting keyframes
      3. Editing, moving, and copying keyframes
    3. Motion tracking
      1. Tracking and stabilizing motion
      2. Face Tracking
      3. Mask Tracking
      4. Mask Reference
      5. Speed
      6. Time-stretching and time-remapping
      7. Timecode and time display units
    4. Keying
      1. Keying
      2. Keying effects
  11. Transparency and Compositing
    1. Compositing and transparency overview and resources
    2. Alpha channels and masks
    3. Track Mattes and Traveling Mattes
  12. Adjusting color
    1. Color basics
    2. Color management
    3. Color Correction effects
    4. OpenColorIO and ACES color management
  13. Effects and Animation Presets
    1. Effects and animation presets overview
    2. Effect list
    3. Effect Manager
    4. Simulation effects
    5. Stylize effects
    6. Audio effects
    7. Distort effects
    8. Perspective effects
    9. Channel effects
    10. Generate effects
    11. Time effects
    12. Transition effects
    13. The Rolling Shutter Repair effect
    14. Blur and Sharpen effects
    15. 3D Channel effects
    16. Utility effects
    17. Matte effects
    18. Noise and Grain effects
    19. Detail-preserving Upscale effect
    20. Obsolete effects
  14. Expressions and Automation
    1. Expressions
      1. Expression basics
      2. Understanding the expression language
      3. Using expression controls
      4. Syntax differences between the JavaScript and Legacy ExtendScript expression engines
      5. Editing expressions
      6. Expression errors
      7. Using the Expressions editor
      8. Use expressions to edit and access text properties
      9. Expression language reference
      10. Expression examples
    2. Automation
      1. Automation
      2. Scripts
  15. Immersive video, VR, and 3D
    1. Construct VR environments in After Effects
    2. Apply immersive video effects
    3. Compositing tools for VR/360 videos
    4. Advanced 3D Renderer
    5. Import and add 3D models to your composition
    6. Import 3D models from Creative Cloud Libraries
    7. Image-Based Lighting
    8. Extract and animate lights and cameras from 3D models
    9. Tracking 3D camera movement
    10. Cast and accept shadows
    11. Embedded 3D model animations
    12. Shadow Catcher
    13. 3D depth data extraction
    14. Modify materials properties of a 3D layer
    15. Work in 3D Design Space
    16. 3D Transform Gizmos
    17. Do more with 3D animation
    18. Preview changes to 3D designs real time with the Mercury 3D engine
    19. Add responsive design to your graphics 
  16. Views and Previews
    1. Previewing
    2. Video preview with Mercury Transmit
    3. Modifying and using views
  17. Rendering and Exporting
    1. Basics of rendering and exporting
    2. H.264 Encoding in After Effects
    3. Export an After Effects project as an Adobe Premiere Pro project
    4. Converting movies
    5. Multi-frame rendering
    6. Automated rendering and network rendering
    7. Rendering and exporting still images and still-image sequences
    8. Using the GoPro CineForm codec in After Effects
  18. Working with other applications
    1. Dynamic Link and After Effects
    2. Working with After Effects and other applications
      1. Export After Effects project as Premiere Pro project
    3. Sync Settings in After Effects
    4. Creative Cloud Libraries in After Effects
    5. Plug-ins
    6. Cinema 4D and Cineware
  19. Collaboration: Frame.io, and Team Projects
    1. Collaboration in Premiere Pro and After Effects
    2. Frame.io
      1. Install and activate Frame.io
      2. Use Frame.io with Premiere Pro and After Effects
      3. Frequently asked questions
    3. Team Projects
      1. Get Started with Team Projects
      2. Create a Team Project
      3. Collaborate with Team Projects
  20. Memory, storage, performance
    1. Memory and storage
    2. How After Effects handles low memory issues while previewing    
    3. Improve performance
    4. Preferences
    5. GPU and GPU driver requirements for After Effects
  21. Knowledge Base
    1. Known issues
    2. Fixed issues
    3. Frequently asked questions
    4. After Effects and macOS Ventura
    5. How After Effects handles low memory issues while previewing

After Effects delivers on the number one feature request, Multi-Frame Rendering. You see performance gains on your system from Preview to Export, and includes a variety of features that enable you to optimize the computer for peak performance.

Why should I try Multi-Frame Rendering?

Multi-Frame Rendering makes After Effects faster. It impacts how fast your projects can render on your computer based on the number of CPU cores, available RAM, and graphics card compute power. 

Review the table below to see how much faster After Effects 2022 may render a composition.

 

Minimum specs

Mid-range system 

High-end system

Cores 

4-6

8-10

16-64

Memory (GB)  

16

16-32

48-128

Current speed Improvement

1.2-1.5x faster

1.75-2x faster

2.5-4x faster

Enable Multi-Frame Rendering

Multi-Frame Rendering is enabled by default in After Effects. To disable/re-enable it:

  1. Select After Effects > Settings > Memory & Performance (macOS) or File > Preferences > Memory & Performance (Windows). 
  2. Under the Performance section, check or uncheck the Enable Multi-Frame Rendering option.

After Effects has the ability to use 100% of your CPU power, so you can choose to reserve some of the CPU power that can be used by other applications on your machine. Use the % CPU reserved for other applications slider to adjust the value from 0%-70% (default is 10%).

Speculative Preview when After Effects is idle

After Effects renders compositions automatically while idle after a set amount of time. So, when you come back from a break, your preview is ready to play. The default idle time is set to 8 seconds. To change the settings, select After Effects > Preferences > Previews. There are the following options under the Cache Frames When Idle section:

Cache Frames When Idle settings

  • Idle Delay Before Caching Starts - The duration for which After Effects is idle, before the caching of frames starts automatically. Default is set to 8 seconds.
  • Cache Frames - How the frames cache in relation to the CTI position.
  • Cache Range - Change the range of frames that are rendered while idle.
  • Cache Frames has the following options:
  • From Current Time - Frames start caching from the beginning of where the CTI is positioned.
  • Around Current Time - Frames start caching around the CTI (one frame before and one frame after).
  • From Start of Range - Frames start caching from the beginning of the set Cache Range.
  • Cache Range has the following options:
  • Work Area - After Effects caches all frames inside the work area.
  • Work Area Extended by Current Time - Caches frames beginning from where the CTI is positioned, till the end of the work area. 
  • Entire Duration - Caches frames in the entire duration of the comp.

Rendering process information in the Render Queue panel

The Render Queue panel is open and the settings are updated as per the final output requirements.
The Render Queue panel allows you to queue, customize, monitor, and control multiple compositions efficiently.

The Render Queue panel takes advantage of Multi-Frame Rendering and highlights what’s rendering, how much time is remaining, the rendering progress, and how it's using your system. This information is helpful in analyzing render performance and disk space usage. Learn more about rendering and exporting with the Render Queue panel.

The Render Queue panel is open and the Info prompt is open showing the rendering status.
The info button in the Render Queue panel provides information that helps you monitor and optimize your rendering performance.

The info button in the Render Queue displays information about the frames rendering.

Receive remote notifications after render completes

When your render queue job or the entire queue is finished rendering, After Effects notifies you via your Creative Cloud Desktop and mobile app. Make sure to install the Creative Cloud app on your mobile device to receive the notification. When you select the notification, it redirects you to the notification list in the app for you to review. Additionally, if you have a smart watch attached to your mobile, you receive the notification there too.

Learn more about receiving remote notifications after the render completes.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Multi-Frame Rendering accelerates the creative process by taking advantage of the full power of your system’s CPU cores when previewing and rendering. Additionally, the After Effects team has added new features that take advantage of Multi-Frame Rendering that greatly speed up your workflow. 

  • The Composition Profiler shows which layers and effects in a composition are taking the most time to render in relation to other layers and effects. 
  • Speculative Preview renders active compositions while the application is idle. 
  • A reimagined Render Queue and Adobe Media Encoder lets you export faster.

The more cores in your CPU, the bigger the performance gains, but other factors come into play, including your GPU, RAM, the effects used, third-party plugins, and, potentially, the types of projects you work on.

The After Effects team has worked with various partners to provide the best system options based on your workflow.

  • Puget Systems
  • HP
  • Dell (Coming Soon)
  • Lenovo - Download the following file to get the system configuration details.
Get file
After Effects recommended system configuration for Lenovo ThinkStation P620

All of the effects bundled with After Effects 2022 have been optimized for Multi-Frame Rendering. Third-party effects have also been optimized and you can find them listed here.

Note:

Effects that do not support Multi-Frame Rendering display a yellow warning icon in the Effects Control Window.

No. Multi-Frame Rendering is a new technology in After Effects which utilizes all of the cores in your CPU in parallel. An older technology called "Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously" or Multiprocessing worked by running multiple instances of After Effects to speed up some processes. After Effects no longer uses multiprocessing.

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