If you are a regular user of Adobe After Effects or Premiere Pro, Media Encoder is a necessary application to optimize your workflow.
Media Encoder offers many features beyond encoding, including a wide range of effects and graphics you can easily add to your project. Learn more about these advanced features, and how to take advantage of them below.
1. Add a LUT
A LUT is a code that transforms color input values from your camera to different color output values in your final footage. This gives your final footage a different look or feel.
It’s also a great feature to take advantage of when you need to make the same adjustments to several sections of footage.
You can think of LUTs as preset colors for your video footage that can help speed up the editing process. Follow these steps to create your preset with LUTs:
- Load your project into the Media Encoder queue.
- Click on your video’s format type under Format.
- Under the Effects option found to the right of the Export Settings popup window, select the Lumetri Lool / LUT checkbox.
- Preview and select the best adjustment option for your project from the Applied dropdown list. Your adjustments can be previewed in the Output window to the left.
- If you have a custom file for your LUT adjustment you can choose Select from the dropdown list to browse for and select your file.
- Once you have a LUT adjustment selected, click OK to save your settings.
2. Add Image Overlay (Watermarking)
Another great utility under the Effects tab is Image Overlay. This effect makes it easy to add a visual watermark or logo to your videos. Once you have your overlay image selected or created, follow these steps to add it to your video in Media Encoder:
- Load your project into the Media Encoder queue.
- Click on your video’s format type under Format.
- Under the Effects option found to the right of the Export Settings popup window, select the Image Overlay checkbox.
- From the Applied dropdown, select the Choose option.
- Browse your computer to locate the file and select the image you wish to overlay. For a more professional look, the image should be transparent. Then, select OK.
- Select the position for your image from the options in the Positions dropdown list.
- Next, enter any Offset you require.
- Adjust your image Size. It is recommended that your originally uploaded graphic be as close to the required size as possible to maintain its clarity in the video.
- Adjust the image Opacity. This is a great feature to use when watermarking your project.
- Select OK to save your settings.
3. Name Overlay
Using name overlays allows you to properly label and organize your footage. This is helpful when you’re working with dailies or editing footage from a multicamera shoot.
These overlays allow you to add a prefix and suffix, as well as select how you want the name to be formatted—Prefix and Suffix Only, Source File Name (with or without extension), or Output File Name (with or without extension).
The steps below will guide you through the process of adding a name overlay to your project:
- Load your project into the Media Encoder queue.
- Click on your video’s format type under Format.
- Under the Effects option found to the right of the Export Settings popup window, select Name Overlay.
- Enter a Prefix for your project. A great use for this option is adding the edit number (i.e. EDIT 1)
- Next, select your Format. There are several options here. Luckily, you can preview them in the Output window to the left to ensure your selection works for your project.
- Enter the Suffix for your project, if required.
- Select the Position for the name overlay. As name overlays are most often used in the editing stage of a project, it is important to ensure your name overlay does not interfere with any in-video text or effects.
- Enter any required Offset, adjust the Size, and adjust the name overlay Opacity.
- Select OK to save your settings.
4. Add a Timecode
Adding a timecode is a great feature to take advantage of when you are working with others. This allows them to easily indicate sections of your project they would like to have adjusted or changed.
Adding a timecode to your project can be done quickly with the following steps:
- Load your project into the Media Encoder queue.
- Click on your video’s format type under Format.
- Under the Effects option found to the right of the Export Settings popup window, select the Timecode Overlay option.
- Select the Position of your timecode overlay, keeping in mind your in-video text and effect locations.
- Adjust the Offset as required.
- Adjust the Size of the timecode overlay. As this will be a reference point for others providing feedback on your video, you will want to ensure the size is large enough to easily see.
- Select the Opacity of the overlay.
- Select Media File or Generate Timecode. If you want to display the timecode of the source video, which is most often the case, check Media File.
- Select Offset in Frames if required. This option allows you to shift the starting timecode by a few frames; for example, to start on an even second.
- Select OK to save your settings.
Saving Your Preset
If these settings are ones you want to use over and over again, you can easily save them as a preset using the following steps:
- Select the Save Preset icon found next to the Preset dropdown list.
- Name your preset.
- Ensure the Save Effects Settings checkbox is selected.
- Select OK.
Save Time with Adobe Media Encoder
Using Media Encoder has many advantages, such as allowing you to continue working on your projects in Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Saving your custom preset, as outlined above, is another great advantage of Media Encoder, and will save you time during the encoding process. All of those small increments of time you save add up!