Current recommended versions:
ProTools version 2021.3 and later
Mac OS - Big Sur 11
This article is specific to the Life.Church Worship workflow and is not the highest quality encode there is. Our workflow is such that the video file is shared across multiple states. We keep the file size manageable, quality excellent, and the reliability top notch. It is critical to us that video playback in ProTools be 100% reliable.
This article will walk you through adding a preset into Adobe Premiere and how to export in Premiere or Media Encoder. This preset should optimize your ProTools video to be the best it can be without compromising the computer's processing power. It would be best preferred to use this preset with every video you create for use in ProTools. It is very important when encoding/rendering videos for ProTools that you pay close attention to a few settings. Doing so will prevent future crashes or glitches in ProTools.
Follow these simple steps to render the video for this coming weekend.
This section assumes that you have edited your weekend video and are ready to render it for ProTools.
Export the Sequence:
With your sequence or timeline selected, choose File > Export > Media.
Import the Preset:
First, select the Format dropdown and select "DNxHR/DNxHD MXF OP1a".
On the right side of the Export Settings dialogue box, you will see an icon with a folder and arrow pointing to the right; this is the Import Preset button. Please select this button and find the preset file in the location where you saved it on your hard drive.
Choose the Preset:
Name the Preset:
You'll be requested to name the preset. The screenshot above shows an example of what you could name it.
Use the Preset:
Once you name the file, select the newly imported preset from the preset dropdown.
Export:
If you are ready, click the Export button; this process may take a while, so please be patient. If you need time and want to export this while at lunch or during a break, click the Queue button to send the sequence to Media Encoder.
Keep reading to learn how to use Media Encoder to render other videos without Premiere open.
Media Encoder is a powerful rendering application included with Premier; here you can encode multiple files to multiple locations while working in the background. The application has a queue feature which allows you to setup your render and then do it later when you are away from your computer.
Export video to Media Encoder:
Select File > Export > Media.
Select "Send to Media Encoder".
Import Preset:
Similarly to what we did in Premiere, you will need to import the ProTools preset. Select the "Import Presets" icon. It will be a folder with an arrow pointing to the right from the left corner (of the icon).
Verify Preset Area:
The preset now appears under the User Presets and Groups setting of the Preset Browser.
Drag and Drop the Preset to Apply:
The last thing to do is drag and drop the preset to the queue video on the left side. Once you drop, you will see the preset column change to reflect the LC ProTools Preset.
Ready to Render:
Make sure you click on the output file path to tell Encoder where to save the rendered file, then click the green play button to start the queue in the top right corner.
If you encounter any issues, we are always here to help, please don't hesitate to reach out.
The photo below is a screenshot of the video compression settings we have found that work really well without having any adverse effects in ProTools.
