Workflow and overview for exporting

Community resources:

FAQ: "How do I export a movie for YouTube, Vimeo, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV?"

FAQ: What’s the best export format or codec?

Jeff Bellune provides an overview of the ways to export video from Premiere Pro on his website.

Exporting to DVD is done with Adobe Encore. For information about exporting a DVD of your program, see Exporting to DVD or Blu-ray Disc.

Exporting for web video is done with Adobe Media Encoder. For more information about exporting a file suitable for uploading to the web, see Exporting for the Web and mobile devices.

You can export video from a sequence in the form best suited for further editing or for a viewing audience. Premiere Pro supports export in formats for various uses and target devices.

Exporting files for further editing

You can export editable movie or audio files. Then, you can preview your work with effects and transitions fully rendered. Also, you can continue editing the files in applications other than Premiere Pro. Similarly, you can export a still-image sequence. Also, you can export a still image from a single frame of video for use in a title or graphic.

After editing P2 MXF assets, you can export the sequence back to P2 MXF format. You can continue editing the resulting MXF files on other editing systems that edit MXF.

Premiere Pro supports both direct export and Adobe Media Encoder export. Direct export generates new files directly from Premiere Pro. Adobe Media Encoder export sends files to Adobe Media Encoder for rendering. From Adobe Media Encoder, you can choose whether to render an asset immediately, or to add it to a render queue.

Exporting to tape

You can export a sequence or clip to videotape in a supported camcorder or VTR. You can use this type of export for archiving a master tape, or for delivering rough edits for screening from VTRs.

Send to Encore for DVD, Blu-ray Disc, or SWF file creation

You can send video from any sequence into Adobe Encore for output to DVD, Blu-ray Disc (Windows only), or a SWF file. Changes made in the timelines of either Premiere Pro or Encore are reflected in the other, by way of Adobe Dynamic Link. You can send content from Premiere Pro to Adobe Encore for creating an AutoPlay disc without menus. You can quickly create menu-based discs using the professional templates in Adobe Encore. Finally, you can use the deep authoring tools of Adobe Encore, Adobe Photoshop, and other applications, to author professional-quality discs. You can also export in formats appropriate for CD-ROM distribution.

Export project files for other systems

You can export project files, not just clips, to standard EDL files. You can import EDL files into various third-party editing systems for finishing. You can trim Premiere Pro projects down to their essentials and ready them, with or without their source media, for archiving.

Export formats for various devices and web sites

Finally, using the Adobe Media Encoder, you can export video in formats suitable for devices ranging from professional tape decks to DVD players to video-sharing web sites to mobile phones to portable media players to standard- and high-definition TV sets.

Premiere Pro and other applications employ Adobe Media Encoder, a standalone encoding application. When you specify export settings in the Export Settings dialog box and click Export, Premiere Pro sends the export request to the Adobe Media Encoder.

From the Export Settings dialog box, click Queue to send Premiere Pro sequences into the standalone Adobe Media Encoder queue. From the queue, you can encode sequences into one or more formats, or take advantage of other features.

When the standalone Adobe Media Encoder is rendering and exporting in the background, you can continue to work in Premiere Pro. Adobe Media Encoder encodes the most recently saved version of each sequence in the queue.

By default, Adobe Media Encoder saves the exported file in the folder where the source file is located. Adobe Media Encoder appends the extension for the format specified to the end of the filename. You can specify watched folders for various types of exported files.

For instructions on how to export video with an alpha channel (transparency), see this post.

This chapter from the “Adobe Premiere Pro Classroom in a Book" series teaches how to export frames, clips, and sequences.

FAQ: "What are the best export settings?"