Rendering, Exporting, and Output for Delivery
Two output routes
After Effects offers the Render Queue (rendered by After Effects using Render Settings plus an Output Module) and Adobe Media Encoder (queued from After Effects or via watch folders). Delivery codecs such as H.264 are normally produced through Media Encoder with a format and preset; the render queue's default Lossless module writes QuickTime with the Animation codec, which is high quality and supports alpha but creates large files. Watch folders use the render engine, so the submitting machine does not need an interactive session.
Settings worth memorizing
Render Settings cover quality, resolution, frame rate, time span (work area or whole comp), field render order, 3:2 pulldown, motion blur, and color depth. Output Module settings cover format, video output channels (RGB, Alpha, RGB+Alpha) and color depth, audio output, crop, resize, and frame rate. Alpha survives only in codecs that support it. Multiple output modules in one render item produce multiple deliverables from a single render pass.
Traps
- "Skip existing files" prevents overwriting and can leave stale renders in place.
- An output module frame rate different from the comp changes playback timing.
- Cropping and resizing in the output module are easy to forget once set.
- Color management mismatches appear at output, not in the comp view.
Rule of thumb
Render a high-quality master (ProRes or QuickTime Animation, RGB+Alpha when transparency matters), then compress deliverables from the master. Before a full render, set the work area, choose Work Area Only, and test the short span to verify alpha, frame rate, and crop.