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Jerron Smith/3 min read

The Interview: Exporting the Final Video (H.264) in Premiere Pro

Export H.264 with Quick Export

1

File → Save

Save your project before exporting.

2

Use Quick Export Button

Top-right of Premiere — fastest way to export with a preset.

3

Choose H.264 Preset

Match Source - Adaptive High Bitrate is a safe default for sharing or upload.

4

Pick Output Location

Premiere produces a self-contained file you can upload, share, or broadcast.

Master Premiere Pro at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate teaches Premiere Pro alongside After Effects.

Learn how to export and render an interview video using the Quick Export command in Premiere Pro in this comprehensive tutorial.

Topics Covered in This Premiere Pro Tutorial:

Exporting H.264 with a Preset

Exercise Preview

preview export interview

Exercise Overview

In the previous exercises you edited and refined an interview video. In this exercise you’ll export it. Also know as “rendering the video”, exporting produces a completely stand–alone file that can be shared with others, uploaded to a video sharing site, or broadcast.

Getting Started

  1. You should still have Your Name—The Interview version 2 open in Premiere Pro. If you closed it, re-open it now by going to File > Open Project then Desktop > Class Files > Premiere Pro Class > The Interview. We recommend you finish the previous exercises (2A–2C) before starting this one. If you haven’t finished them, do the following sidebar.

    If You Did Not Do the Previous Exercises (2A–2C)

    1. If a project is open in Premiere Pro, go to File > Save, then File > Close Project.
    2. Go to File > Open Project and navigate to Desktop > Class Files > Premiere Pro Class > The Interview.

    3. Double–click on The Interview—Done.prproj.

    4. Go to File > Save As. Name the file Your Name—The Interview version 2.prproj and save it to Desktop > Class Files > Premiere Pro Class > The Interview.

Using Quick Export

The Quick Export command in Premiere Pro is intended to create an H.264 video file. H.264 is a type of MPEG–4 file and is probably one of the most ubiquitous files types for video today. This command produces a video file that most people can view either on their computers, mobile devices, or via the web.

  1. Click on the Timeline to make it the active panel.

  2. At the top right of the window, click the Quick Export button quickExport button.

  3. In the pop-up panel, click on the link below File Name & Location and in the dialog that appears:

    • Navigate to Class Files > Premiere Pro Class > The Interview > Exports.
    • Leave the Save As name as is. By default, Premiere Pro uses the Sequence name as the file name.
    • Click Save (this doesn’t export the file, it just chooses the location).

  4. In the Quick Export pop-up:

    • Choose Match Source—Adaptive High Bitrate from the Preset menu.
    • Click Export.

  5. When the export is done (which can take a while), choose File > Save or hit Cmd–S (Mac) or CTRL–S (Windows) to save the Premiere project file.

  6. If you want to view your exported video file:

    • Minimize Premiere Pro
    • On your Desktop, navigate to Class Files > Premiere Pro Class > The Interview > Exports.
    • Double–click on the video file to preview it.