Welcome back to the last tutorial in our series. Previously, we’ve shown you how to import, edit, add transitions, and color grade in Premiere Pro.
Now that your film is trimmed, polished, and ready to roll, it’s time to learn how to export.
Before You Start
There are many options for exporting, and it can all seem a bit overwhelming at first.
So, let’s break it down into some very easy steps. Before you begin, think about where your finished film will be shown.
If it’s on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter, then you will want to change the compression settings for these platforms.
It might sound wrong to export your videos at a ‘lower’ quality, but if you upload a large high-definition file, some sites will compress the quality automatically anyway.
Open The Export Window
Firstly, to bring up the export settings window, ensure your timeline panel is selected (it will have a blue outline around it).
Next, go to File > Export > Media. This will bring up the export settings window.
Alternatively, with the timeline panel selected, simply press CTRL + M or CMD + M if you are on a MAC.
On the left-hand side of the window is the source, showing what your film will look like. You don’t need to touch anything on this side.
All your export settings are on the right.
Firstly, ensure that the format is H.264. Basically, H.264 uses a very efficient codec that provides high-quality videos and uses a minimal amount of bandwidth.
Choose A Preset
Below this, you will find a drop-down menu for presets. As you can see, there’s a lot to choose from.
For example, if your film is going to be uploaded to YouTube, there’s a custom setting for YouTube 1080p Full HD, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
This is pretty much all you would need to do. By choosing a preset, you get Premiere Pro to do all the hard work for you!
Alternatively, let’s say your film is going to be shown at a film festival on a large screen. If it’s shot in 4 K, you’ll want to choose a preset such as High Quality 1080p HD or even High Quality 2160p 4K.
Common Delivery Formats
Below, we’ve compiled a table of the most common delivery formats and their preferred export settings.
| Platform | Premiere Pro Preset | Frame Size | Bitrate | Format | Audio codec | Audio bitrate |
| YouTube | YouTube 1080p Full HD | 1920×1080 | 16mbps | H.264 | AAC | 320kbps |
| Vimeo | Vimeo 1080p Full HD | 1920×1080 | 16mbps | H.264 | AAC | 320kbps |
| Facebook 1080p Full HD | 1920×1080 | 12mbps | H.264 | AAC | 192kbps | |
| Facebook 1080p Full HD | 1920×1080 | 12mbps | H.264 | AAC | 192kbps | |
| Instagram Feed | Mobile Device 1080p HD | 1920×1080 | 8mbps | H.264 | AAC | 128kbps |
| Instagram Stories | Mobile Device 1080p HD | 1080×1920 | 8mbps | H.264 | AAC | 128kbps |
| Twitter 1080p Full HD | 1920×1080 | 2.05mbps | H.264 | AAC | 128kbps | |
| Wistia | YouTube 1080p Full HD | 1920×1080 | 16mbps | H.264 | AAC | 320kbps |
| Large Screen (HD) | High Quality 1080p HD | 1920×1080 | 20mbps | H.264 | AAC | 320kbps |
| Large screen (4K) | High Quality 2160p 4K | 3840×2160 | 80mbps | H.264 | AAC | 320kbps |
Each time you change the quality with the preset options, you’ll notice that the estimated file size at the bottom of the export settings window changes.
This is all down to the video’s bitrate, which we’ll explain.
Adjust The Bitrate
Bitrate is the number of bits per second. The common symbol used for video is Mbps (megabytes per second). It generally determines the size and quality of the video file.
For example, the higher the bitrate, the better the quality and the larger the file size.
When you choose a preset, the bitrate is automatically chosen for you, but sometimes, you may need to alter it yourself.
To do this, go back to the export settings video tab, where you can alter the height and width of the resolution.
Scroll down until you get to bitrate settings. Using this slider, you can change the bitrate.
If you are looking for a file size that is really small and don’t mind the quality being impacted, you should go for something between 1-2Mbps.
However, if you’re looking for really high-quality content and don’t mind the file size being larger, increase it to around 20Mbps.
Double Check Your Settings
It’s good to get to grips with this and experiment a bit. Finding the sweet spot between quality and file size is often challenging and can take time.
Before hitting export, it’s good to do a once-over and ensure that automatically checked boxes inside the export settings window (like export audio) are still checked.
Name Your File
Lastly, you’ll want to choose the file name and the location of where you’re exporting to.
To do this, go to Output Name and click the name written in blue and underlined.
This will open a separate window in which you can choose the location and type the file name. We recommend using a name and file location relevant to your export.
In this example, we’re exporting a video about Istanbul, so we will call it Istanbul 2020 and save it in the edits folder in Istanbul.
Export Your Video
Now, you’re good to go. Hit the Export button and leave your computer to it. A progress bar that estimates how long it will take should show in the center of your screen.
That’s the basics of exporting videos in Premiere Pro. As always, we recommend playing around with the different presets and settings to identify what works best for you.
Also, remember to always consider where the video will be shown. This has a huge impact on your file size and quality.
