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

Discover the process of exporting H.264 with a preset in Premiere Pro. Learn from in-depth tutorials and gain insights into the steps involved in rendering and sharing videos for various platforms.

Key Insights

The tutorial focuses on exporting H.264 with a preset in Premiere Pro. This process is also known as rendering the video.
It recommends users to complete previous exercises for a smoother transition into this exercise.
The tutorial provides detailed steps for users who haven't completed the previous exercises, guiding them through saving, closing, and re-opening projects.
The Quick Export command in Premiere Pro is used to create H.264 video files, which are a type of MPEG-4 file commonly used today.
The tutorial further dives into the process of using Quick Export, highlighting the steps to make the Timeline active, clicking the Quick Export button, and choosing the location for the file to be saved.
Finally, the steps to view the exported video file are explained, which involve minimizing Premiere Pro and navigating to the saved file location.

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

This exercise is excerpted from Noble Desktop’s Adobe Premiere Pro training materials and is compatible with Premiere Pro updates through 2023. To learn current skills in Premiere Pro with hands-on training, check out our Premiere Pro Bootcamp, Video Editing Certificate, and video editing classes in-person and live online.

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.

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Getting Started

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.

Click on the Timeline to make it the active panel.
At the top right of the window, click the Quick Export button.
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).
In the Quick Export pop-up:
- Choose Match Source—Adaptive High Bitrate from the Preset menu.
- Click Export.
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.
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.

Jerron Smith

Jerron has more than 25 years of experience working with graphics and video and expert-level certifications in Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator along with an extensive knowledge of other animation programs like Cinema 4D, Adobe Animate, and 3DS Max. He has authored multiple books and video training series on computer graphics software such as: After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash (back when it was a thing). He has taught at the college level for over 20 years at schools such as NYCCT (New York City College of Technology), NYIT (The New York Institute of Technology), and FIT (The Fashion Institute of Technology).