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Rendering single-frame sequences on multiple systems


    Although the preferred method of rendering for multiple systems is using the Watch Folder feature, you can also use multiple systems and multiple copies of After Effects to render a project across a network. Rendering in each copy of After Effects starts at approximately the same time. By specifying that each copy skip existing frames or frames in progress, multiple systems can render the project simultaneously, writing the single-frame sequence to a single folder.

    You can use multiple systems to render only single-frame sequences; you cannot use multiple systems to render movies. You can use any combination of Windows or MacOS systems.

    Note: If you are rendering a project using Production Bundle effects on multiple systems, each system must be running the Production Bundle version of After Effects.

To render a single-frame sequence with multiple systems:

  1. Install After Effects on each system that will be rendering the project. Make sure that you have the same fonts installed on each system.
  2. Note: Do not share plug-ins across a network. Make sure that you have a copy of the plug-ins folder on each system that is running After Effects. When using third-party plug-ins, also be sure that the same plug-ins are available on all systems and that you have sufficient licenses for the plug-ins.

  3. Open the project on one system, and then choose Composition > Add to Render Queue.
  4. In the Render Queue window, specify the Skip Existing Files option in the Render Settings section so that multiple systems do not render the same frames. Make sure that the Use Storage Overflow option is deselected.
  5. In the Render Queue window, specify a single-frame sequence in the Output Module section and specify a folder in the Output To section. This folder must be available for all the systems that are rendering.
  6. Save the project on the system where you opened it in step 2.
  7. On each system that will be rendering, open and save the project. This ensures that After Effects records the new relative paths to each system in the following step.
  8. Unless the network can handle large file transfers rapidly, copy the project file and all its source footage to each system that will be rendering.
  9. Open the Render Queue window on each system and click Render. You do not need to start rendering on each system simultaneously, but to ensure equal workloads, start them at approximately the same time. As each system finishes rendering a frame, After Effects searches the Output folder for the next unrendered frame and starts rendering again.
  10. You can stop and start any system at any time. However, if you stop a system without starting it again, the frame that it was rendering may not be finished. If one or more systems stop during rendering, starting any one system will ensure that all frames in the sequence get rendered.