Step by step instructions for submitting After Effects jobs with Qube!
Install a submission menu into After Effects by opening the Wrangler View UI and choosing "Install AfterEffects AppUI..." as shown here.
After Effects job submission will be a little simpler and more flexible if Python is installed on the Workers (seeInstalling Python). This allows Qube! to locate the After Effects executable automatically. However, installing Python is optional.
Once installed there are a few things that need to be done before using the script.
Run After Effects and open the General Preferences:
Mac: After Effects > Preferences > General...
PC: File > Preferences >General...
Tick "Allow Scripts to Write Files and Access Network"
With a scene loaded in After Effects, select "Add to Render Queue" from the "Composition" Menu.
Set up the Render Queue with the parameters and settings that you want for the project.
Save the scene file so that the render queue is in it when the file is picked up on a Worker.
This is the Render Queue area
Now select "QubeAppFinder_Submit_RenderQueue.jsx" from the "File -> Scripts" menu.
If this is the first time you have done this, you will be presented with a dialog box that wants to know where to find the Wrangler View executable.
Fill this out appropriately:
Mac: /Applications/pfx/qube/qube.app
PC: C:\Program Files (x86)\pfx\qube\bin\qube.exe
This will present a pre filled submission UI.
Ensure sections marked in red have the correct details.
While not strictly required, the following settings are useful for getting a better result. You will need to turn on "Expert Mode" (check box at the bottom of the submission UI) in order to get access to them.
In "Execution" choose "Chunks with n frames". This is because loading the After Effects application and file typically takes much longer than the time to generate a frame, so it is more efficient to generate several from one After Effects session.
Make sure the CS version (or Creative Cloud version, if used) is set to the correct version of After Effects.
By default, Qube! will not retry failed frames. So set the "Retry frame/instance" value to 3 or 5, to get 3 or 5 retries before it gives up. Related to that, the default wait between retries is zero seconds, which is typically not useful. Set the "Retry Work Delay" to a value like 5 or 10 to allow machines time to recover from temporary problems such as network errors.
Click 'Submit'
For further details on the submission UI see below.
If you find you are getting errors here are some useful links for troubleshooting
