Export MP4 in After Effects in 2 Proven Way on Windows/Mac
When you want to export the After Effects projects to MP4 that you can watch on your iPhone, you might not able to export MP4 if you are using any version of After Effects CC 2014 or beyond. Just learn more about the reason and find the best alternative to export MP4 in After Effects from the article. Moreover, you can also get answers to the frequently asked questions.
Part 1: Why You Cannot Export MP4 in After Effects
MP4 is the most popular video format, why cannot export the project files of After Effects to MP4? After Effects is professional software that use in the middle of the video creation process, which would render out the composition into an intermediate codec and finalize the video in Premiere Pro before exporting using Media Encoder to export the project file.
However, how to save After Effects as MP4 isn't unsolvable. You can add Media Encoder to your After Effects. This plug-in is officially developed by Adobe. Then, you can select this feature to export AEP to MP4 within the program.
Part 2: How to Export After Effects as H.264 Video
What should be the best alternative if you cannot export After Effects project to MP4 directly? Whether you render to QuickTime format and use H.264 for the codec, or render it normally in AVI format, you can convert the video files to MP4 videos.
Step 1 When you have made the creation, you can head to the Composition menu and choose the Add to Render Queue option to export the projects of Adobe Effects to H.264 videos.
Step 2 Click the blue text to open the Output Module option. After that, you can change the Format to H.264, which will be exported as MP4. Since you've added Media Encoder on your After Effects, you can easily switch the video formats, such as converting MOV to MP4 on Mac.
Step 3 Now you can name the project file and choose the destination folder before clicking the Save button. Click the Render button to render the After Effects project to H.264 movies to QuickTime instead of MP4.
Part 3: Best Method to Convert After Effects Output to MP4
Even if you use the Adobe Media Encoder, you might not be able to export MP4 in After Effects as desired, for sometimes, your Media Encoder may not be compatible with your program. How can you easily convert After Effects to MP4? You can render the video in After Effects to any format, and then turn to Tipard Video Converter Ultimate to export After Effects to MP4 with the highest video quality. This program offers great video upscaling features that will enlarge your video to 8K.
- 1. Convert the After Effects output files to MP4, Android phones, and more.
- 2. Offer advanced video editing features after you export After Effects as MP4.
- 3. Support converting AEP to 4K/8K MP4 and 1080P MP4 with high quality.
- 4. Provide different methods to enhance the video quality during conversion.
Step 1 Download and install the MP4 converter, launch the program on your MacBook. Click the Add File button to load the After Effects exported videos you want to convert into the program.
Step 2 You can also edit the MP4 video by clicking the Edit button. Choose the MP4, 4K MP4, or even the device type from the Profile menu. When you want to convert After Effects videos to a desired MP4, you can click the Settings button to tweak the advanced parameters.
Step 3 Of course, you can also trim the video, merge different clips and even apply effects. When you get a satisfied output file, you can click the Convert button to convert the output of After Effects to MP4.
Part 4: FAQs about Export MP4 in After Effects
Why Media Encoder Not a Nice Option to Export MP4 in After Effects?
If you have already installed the Adobe Media Encoder, you might not able to export MP4 in After Effects for a certain device. When you have another conversion for the rendered MP4, it might lose more video quality. Moreover, your Android phone or iPhone might not able to play the MP4 files from the Media Encoder.
What are the Differences between MP4 and H.264?
H.264 is only a video codec, which is different from the MP4 video container. Of course, the codec is directly related to the video quality. The H.264 video codec can be used in an MP4, MOV, as well as other popular video files. When you want to save After Effects project as MP4, H.264 is a nice choice you can take into consideration.
Why It Takes Forever to Render After Effects to MP4?
When there is not enough RAM for your computer, it might take a long time to render After Effects to MP4. Here are some tips to render the files with ease, clean out the cache, render intermediates to native codec, render individual layers and combine to master, and you can also convert the videos with Tipard Video Converter Ultimate or other video converters.
Conclusion
You've learned how to save After Effects as MP4 in 2 ways. MP4 is not the default output format for After Effects projects, but you can install Adobe Media Encoder to unlock the MP4 conversion feature. If you don't want to install any plug-in, you can also easily export After Effects as MP4 with Tipard Video Converter Ultimate. Whatever codecs are rendered by After Effects, this program can convert the output of After Effects to MP4 with high video quality.