Adobe After Effects is one of the market’s most popular Motion Design & Compositing software; however, After Effects can sometimes be a bit slow, especially when working with complex projects. This article lists 8 easy steps to make After Effects run faster and streamline your editing process.
Also Read: Adobe After Effects System Requirements
How To Make Adobe After Effects Run Faster
Step #1: Optimizing Memory Cache Settings
By selecting the Enable Disk Cache preference, you can allocate adequate memory for other applications by enabling caching frames to disk for previews. In Adobe After Effects, assign as much space as possible to the Disk Cache folder (on a separate fast drive) for better performance.
Step #2: Have Enough RAM
Adobe After Effects requires 4 or 5 GB of physical memory (RAM) without any other open graphic applications, you can achieve optimum performance with computer systems with at least 2 GB of installed RAM per processor core.
Step #3: Managing RAM
Quit applications that are not necessary for your work. The performance on Adobe After Effects can be greatly reduced when resource-intensive operations run in the background.
Preferences > Memory allows you to set how much RAM is reserved for other applications.
Step #4: Keep Source Files on Local Drive
Keeping the Source Footage Files for your project on a fast local disk drive can help to improve performance on Adobe After Effects. Ideally, use separate fast local disk drives like a portable USB3 RAID for source footage files and rendered output.
Also Read: 8 of the Best Adobe After Effects Transitions to Upgrade your Videos
Step #5: Using Render Presets
Adobe After Effects comes with a number of built-in presets for common output formats, and using these can save you a lot of time when exporting your project.
Step #6: Streamline your Project
Streamline your project as much as possible. Adobe After Effects can bog down even the fastest system if you’re working with complex compositions and effects. So, before you start rendering, take a look at your project and see if there are any areas you can simplify.
Step #7: Render in After Effects
You may be tempted to export a project to Media Encoder directly, but Media Encoder is prone to many render errors and slowdowns. Rendering would be a quicker process if you export your project from After Effects and transcode that file to another format in Media Encoder afterward.
Step #8: Updating Adobe After Effects and Drivers
Keep your system up to date. Both After Effects and your Graphics Drivers should be regularly updated to ensure that you’re getting the best possible performance. To check for and install updates for After Effects, choose Help > Updates.
Conclusion
These 8 simple steps can help you make Adobe After Effects run faster on your systems. But, if your system doesn’t have the minimum requirements to run After Effects, check out Postudio. With Postudio, you can launch After Effects without having to think twice about your system specifications. All you have to do is edit and create, Postudio takes care of the rest.