Getting Started

Once you have finished your edit, it is time to export! 

We suggest setting an in (hotkey i) and out (hotkey o) in your timeline around the portion of your film you want to export. This will prevent creating a file with any extra black screen at the beginning or end of your film.

Next, navigate to "export" at the top of the Premiere Window

Export Tab

This will being you to a new interface with all of your export settings

First, you'll want to name the file for your export next to "File Name" - It is always a good idea to add the date to your file name in case you export new versions in the future.

Below that, set the destination where your new file will be saved by clicking on the blue text. By default, this will go into your project location. Let's change that for better organization. 

Clicking the blue text will open a Finder window where we can navigate to a location. We suggest making a folder where you can keep all your exports for organizationalpurposes.

Unless you have been provided with a preset file, we can skip over the "preset" option

Below that, we can select our format. This is very important.

Most of the time, H.264 is a great choice. This format provides a smaller file size and it is optimized for playback in programs like Quicktime, VLC Player, and on the internet. If you want an uncompressed file, look ahead to the section below.

Video Settings

Open up the "Video" drop down and check your settings. Make sure the toggle is set to on (the switch will appear blue).

By default, this will match your sequence settings. If that is what you are looking for, great! You don't have to change a thing. If you need to make any changes to the frame rate, resolution, etc., uncheck the box next to that option and select your desired settings from the menu.

This step is optional, but if you want to optimize your export click "...More" and scroll down to "Bitrate Settings. By default, your bitrate is probably set to VBR, 1 pass. I generally recommend setting this to VBR, 2 pass. 

You can also play with these sliders, if you would like. A higher target/maximum bitrate will create a larger file.

Audio Settings

Open the "Audio" drop down. Again, make sure the toggle is on (blue). This will also match your sequence settings by default. Most often, we want to use an AAC audio format with a sample rate of 48000 Hz.

Those are the most important settings to check for your export. If you are exporting captions or effects, open those drop downs and make sure they are turned on.

Captions

If you are using the caption functions in Premiere Pro, you need to decide if you want to export your video with the captions burned-in, or if you want to export the video without captions.

When captions are burned-in, it means the text itself is encoded as a part of the image. This means the text is visible if you play your exported file in Quicktime or on the web. 

If you want captions burned-in, check to make sure the captions toggle is set to on (the switch will appear blue).

Underneath the captions toggle, you will see the "Export Options" menu. Select "Burn Captions into Video."

Alternatively, instead of Burning in your captions, you have the option to create a "sidecar file." This is a great option if your file is going to a venue where they have the option to turn on or off your captions. If you want to export with a sidecar file, open the "Export Options" dropdown and select "Create Sidecar File."

Finishing up 

If you are not using captions or effects, lets move on.

On the right, you'll see your video preview.

Underneath the video preview, you will see the "Range" setting. If you are using In and Out points in your sequence to define the export (as instructed above), open the drop down menu and select "Source In/Out"

Below that, you will see a summary of your settings. The "Source" settings refer to your sequence settings. The "Output" settings refer to your export settings. It is a good idea to take a look and make sure everything is set to your expectations. 

If everything is fine, go ahead and click the blue ""export" button on the bottom right.

You can track your progress in the window that appears. If you selected VBR 2 pass, the progress bar will fill an extra time. 

Once the export is finished, you will be brought back to your edit window. You can locate the file in the location you set before your export. 

Congratulations! You've exported your film.

Advanced Video Settings

This section is for anyone who wants a deeper dive into video settings. While H.264 is a great compressed codec, there are some times when we need an uncompressed codec such as Apple ProRes.

[coming soon]