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Convert footage items between video formats

You can use After Effects to convert one kind of video to another. When converting video, keep in mind the following guidelines:

  • Changes in resolution may result in a loss of picture clarity, especially when up-converting from a standard-definition format to a high-definition format.

  • Changes in frame rate may require the use of frame blending to smooth out the interpolated frames. For longer footage items, the use of frame blending can result in very long render times.

  1. Import the footage you’re converting into a composition using the preset of the format you’re converting to. Example: if you’re converting NTSC to PAL, add your NTSC footage item to a composition with the appropriate PAL composition settings preset.
  2. Select the layer with the footage to be converted and choose Layer > Transform > Fit To Comp Width (or Fit To Comp Height).
    Note: For converting between two formats with the same frame aspect ratio, either of these two Fit commands does the same thing; if the frame aspect ratios differ (for example, going from 4:3 to 16:9), fitting to width or height chooses between cropping or letterboxing the resulting image.
  3. Do one of the following:

    • If your footage has no scene cuts, choose Layer > Frame Blending > Pixel Motion. Pixel Motion provides the best results for interpolation of frames, but may require long rendering times.

    • If your footage has scene cuts, or if you want to sacrifice quality for shorter rendering times, choose Layer > Frame Blending > Frame Mix.

  4. Choose Composition > Add To Render Queue.
  5. In the Render Queue panel, next to Render Settings, choose the appropriate preset from the menu. For example, if you’re converting to DV footage, select DV Settings from the menu.
  6. In the Render Queue panel, next to Output Module, choose the appropriate output module preset from the menu, or choose Custom to enter custom settings. For example, if you’re converting to DV PAL, choose the D1/DV-PAL output module preset with the audio sampling rate that you require.
  7. Click the name of the output module preset that you chose in step 6 to select additional Format Options.
  8. Specify a name and destination for the output file using the controls to the right of the Output To heading in the Render Queue panel. (See Specify filenames and locations for rendered output.)
  9. Click the Render button to render your movie.