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Render and replace media in a sequence

Last updated on Jun 24, 2025

Learn how to use the Render and Replace feature to flatten video clips and After Effects compositions, improving the performance of VFX-heavy sequences.

Premiere Pro attempts to play back all sequences, clips, effects, transitions, titles, and any other unrendered elements in real time without first rendering them.

However, it's sometimes necessary to render media files, especially VFX-heavy sequences, to facilitate smooth playback. Rendering any unrendered media elements of the timeline reduces the dependence on the available system resources.

The Render and Replace feature in Premiere Pro lets you flatten video clips and After Effects compositions, speeding up the performance of VFX-heavy sequences. At any point, you can revert to the original clip using the Restore Unrendered feature.

  1. Open the sequence containing the media to render in the Timeline panel.

  2. With the Timeline panel active and the media selected, select Clip > Render and Replace.

  3. In the Render and Replace dialog box, select the format and other settings based on which sequence is rendered.

    The Render and Replace dialog box displays settings such as Source, Format, Preset, Location, and several others that you can adjust.
    Adjust the Render and Replace settings to render clips into a simpler, pre-rendered format, reducing the processing load during playback.

    • Source: Matches the settings of the rendered media with the sequence settings, individual clip settings, or presets.
    • Format: Selects a file format that provides the best quality playback while maintaining an optimal rendering time and file size. You can choose from MXF OP1a files, MXF OP1a files in DNXHD format, or QuickTime format.
    • Preset: Uses the frame size, frame rate, field type, and pixel aspect ratio of the chosen preset and renders all clips to these settings. When the sources cannot be matched, the clips are not rendered.
    Note:

    The only preset that supports alpha is the GoPro CineForm with Alpha preset. All other presets flatten any alpha channel.

    • Location: Specifies the path to save the rendered file. You can save the rendered file alongside the original media or select Choose Location to navigate to a location other than the default.
    • Include Handles: Specifies the number of additional frames to retain before the In point and after the Out point of each rendered clip. You can set a value from 0 to 100 frames. For example, a value of 30 means that 30 frames are retained before the In point, and 30 frames are retained after the Out point. Handles function as extra frames that allow for additional minor adjustments to the edits in the new project.
    • Include Video Effects: Renders any effects applied to the clip. When this option is selected, Premiere Pro renders all non-intrinsic video effects applied to the clip. Rendered effects appear in the Effect Controls panel, but their settings become non-editable.

  4. Select OK.

The rendered file is created in the selected destination.

Unsupported media types

  • Still images cannot be rendered, but image sequences can.
  • You can render most media types, including After Effects compositions.
  • However, special clips, synthetics, nested sequences, and adjustment layers cannot be rendered and replaced.

Effect handling while rendering

  • All non-intrinsic effects on the clip are rendered in the timeline.
  • Intrinsic Motion effects are rendered if the Source is set to Sequence (even if Include Video Effects isn't selected). Intrinsic Opacity, Time Remapping effects, Transition effects between clips, and Audio effects cannot be rendered. Rendered effects cannot be moved or edited in the Effect Controls panel.
  • For audio-video (AV) clips, you can render audio by using a suitable preset. However, if the selected preset doesn't support the clip's audio type, the AV clip cannot be rendered and replaced. For audio-only clips, or if you select the audio portion of an AV clip, Premiere Pro renders the audio clip into audio files in .wav format. For audio-only clips, you can revert to the original unrendered media.

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Render a section of a sequence

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Replace rendered clips with original media

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