Guest post: Dr. Imed Bouchrika, PhD and BSc, is a Computer Science professor from the University of Southampton, UK, who specializes in eLearning, image processing, and biometrics. (Here are Larry’s rules for guest posts.)
Implementing efficient export workflows can save time, maintain quality, and increase productivity.
Businesses around the world have increased their online presence over the past decade to engage on platforms where their target markets are active. Taking advantage of this global user base, individuals and companies collectively upload millions of multimedia content on social media platforms daily. As a result, rising above global brands in terms of video content quantity and quality is often a tall order for small and mid-sized businesses.
Keeping a dynamic online presence on a single platform can be difficult enough, so producing multimedia content for diverse digital channels while keeping up with new consumer trends entails efficient systems.
The efficient export workflows detailed below can help your team save time, maintain content quality, and increase work productivity.
Understanding the Complexities of Multi-Platform Video Export
The ever-evolving digital landscape poses various major challenges to media professionals, multimedia specialists, and content creators. For instance, TikTok is changing global trends thanks to its large user base — 102 million users in the United States alone in June 2023 — and the nature of the short-form video-sharing application.
Common among these challenges are the video and audio format requirements set by digital platforms, video quality maintenance, and brand consistency.
Platform Format Requirements
Technical specifications for videos on online platforms vary. For example, most videos on YouTube are shot and edited horizontally with a standard aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. TikTok videos, though, are usually produced vertically, with a 9:16 aspect ratio and 1080 x 1920 resolution.
Different social media platforms may also require different video and audio codecs; as well as different video compression rates and audio levels.
The higher the compression bit rate, the higher the potential image quality but the larger the file size. While uploading large files today is not the challenge it once was, still finding the right balance between image quality and file size will vary from one video to the next.
Brand Consistency
Media professionals not only need to be consistent with the technical requirements of platforms. They also need to be consistent with brand image and message. Following media content guidelines remain as important as ever.
Essential Tools for Simultaneous Video Export
Different video editing programs – such as Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and DaVinci Resolve – offer unique tools and processes that make batch exporting videos possible.
Batch Sharing in Final Cut Pro
Apple’s Final Cut Pro enables users to export multiple videos from the same library, even if they use different project settings, through batch sharing. Frame rates, resolutions, and aspect ratios are set in each project and carried through to export.
Projects, clips or clip ranges can all be exported as a batch. However, all batch exports must be of the same type: projects only, clips only, or clip ranges only.
One unique feature that Final Cut Pro has and other editing software does not is its ability to support network-based compression to speed compressing multiple files simultaneously.
Adobe Media Encoder for Adobe Video Editing Software
Adobe Media Encoder allows users of Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Character Animator to export multiple videos simultaneously in the background. While Adobe Media Encoder processes files, you can perform other tasks on your computer, from simple web browsing to editing other videos.
Batch Exporting in DaVinci Resolve
By default, the Render Queue only shows files queued for export for that project. However, using the Delivery page, you can send as many projects as you want to the Render Queue. Then, click the three dots in the top right corner and change the setting to “Show All Projects.” This shows all projects queued for export across all projects for the current user.
Click Render All to export all those files at once.
Get or Stay Current with Technology
Mastering the complexities of producing video content for different platforms is important for media professionals and content creators aiming to be cost-effective while maintaining quality and keeping up with their competition. Thus, the need for an efficient post-production workflow that can optimize the export process across various platforms is necessary.
NOTE: Many degree programs for media and multimedia arts provide training on the latest technology and are some of the easiest online degrees to obtain. However, that degree does not guarantee that it will lead to jobs in the real world.
Setting Up Your Workflow for Multi-Platform Export
These three essential tips can help you set up an efficient system for multi-platform exporting:
1. Organize Your Project for Efficient Export
For a smooth post-production process, start with organizational basics. Before opening your editing software, arrange your project files in an accessible, manageable, and convenient way. It is generally good practice to create a single containing folder for each project, then store project assets in separate folders within that containing folder.
You can also use collections in your editing software to categorize digital assets. Moreover, label sequences clearly, so that you can identify them easily when you create multiple versions of the same project for different platforms. For instance, you can label sequences as “YouTube Full-length,” “YouTube Shorts,” or “Instagram Stories.”
2. Create Export Presets for Different Platforms
Manually adjusting export settings each time you finish editing a project iteration can be laborious. To streamline this process, create custom export presets for each digital channel you publish regularly.
Most video editing software enables you to save export settings as presets, which you can then apply with a single click. For instance, you can create a preset for TikTok videos with a 1080 x 1920 resolution in MP4 format at a specific compression data rate, while burning in a watermark. Doing so helps you stay consistent with platform requirements across your content. Plus you save time applying a preset with each export.
3. Implement Naming Conventions and Folder Structures
Like your raw assets, multiple versions of edited video content need to be organized efficiently. To avoid confusion, apply a standard naming system and folder structure from the onset. For example, include the project name, platform, version number, and date in each file name (e.g., “ProductLaunch_Instagram_v01_2024-08-30.mp4”).
In terms of folder structure, you can create a main “Exports” folder with subfolders for each platform, such as “YouTube,” “Facebook,” “Instagram,” and “TikTok.” Within each platform folder, you can organize files by project or date.
Optimize Your Post-production Workflow
The varying format requirements of platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, necessitate a deep understanding of technical specifications. Ensuring consistent video quality and brand messaging across these platforms adds another layer of difficulty. Fortunately, Final Cut, Premiere and Resolve all provide tools and processes to simplify simultaneous video exports.
By organizing your project files, creating export presets, and applying consistent naming and folder systems, you can streamline the post-production process, save time, and ensure that your content meets the specific needs of each platform while maintaining your brand’s integrity.
