# API Failure - Adobe Premiere Pro CS3



## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

First, here's my computer stats:

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (build 2600)

2.67 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad Q9400
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
3072 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (4 total)
Not hyper-threaded

3326 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

3165.30 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
1594.92 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

Using Adobe Premiere Pro CS3

I have converted a 40 minute, 10,886,010 KB .AVI file, which I used Premiere to create to capture a VHS video, into a QuickTime using Format Factory.

I import that 313,344 KB, 40 minute QuickTime file into Premiere, snip off some time at the beginning and end of the file, and checked deinterlace.

I am attempting to render in Standard NTSC source to download 1024 kbps, 640x480, deinterlaced, H264, quality set at 90, 120,000 bit depth.

Everytime I do I get an error message that says API Failure, then it says that Premiere is running low on memory and I should save my project.

Now, the largest film I've successfully rendered on this computer is a 26 minute long QuickTime at 720p. So I wouldn't think that the standard file would be a problem. 

I shortened the same QuickTime video to about 30 seconds, and it rendered out fine. Then I lengthened it to 20 minutes, and I get the API error.

I've looked at this information

Error:API failure - Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Forums: API Failure

API failure : Adobe Premiere Pro

But the info there doesn't seem to help.

I've tried rebooting my computer of course, but still have the same problem.

I haven't tried the PERL cure though, only because I've never heard of it and have no idea what it is, or what it does.

Anyone have any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong here?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Just tried to render it out at 50 quality and 72,000 bit depth with the same results.

Incidentally, I am using Media Encoder.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

So I imported the same 313,344 KB, 40 minute QuickTime file into After Effects CS3, and it rendered out as a .mov just fine with no errors.

However, the rendered file is 3,641,941 KB, and the picture quality is worse than the 313,344 KB version. How does that work?

I have the quality set at 90 in the H264 codec, but if I increase it to get better picture quality, the file size would get bigger than 313,344 KB.

Also, as an aside, when I render in Premiere, it goes all the way to the end with just a few seconds/frames left,before it gives me the error message.

Any thoughts?


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

In case it wasn't evident earlier, the reason I passed through the original AVI through Fil Format was that I thought that maybe a smaller file might help with the errors I was receiving in Premiere. Also, I've just had better luck/results with .mov files.

I found out that passing the AVI through File Format introduced the interlacing, and turned it into 24 fps, whereas the original AVI was at 29.97 fps.

So I imported the original AVI into After Effects, and rendered out an H264 QuickTime at 90 percent quality. It rendered out just fin with no errors however the file size is at 7,104,538 KB, and there is some pale blotchiness to the image. The 313,344 KB .mov file seems to have better deeper colors.

Sure would like to find out why I have that API Failure error in Premiere though.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

I am getting the same API failure message with another project. 

This time, my project 5;04;15 minutes long. 

It has 55 .mov clips that were all rendered out of Adobe After Effects CS3 at 720p with the Photo - JPEG codec.

I've rendered out a half hour film using the same After Effects rendered .mov's with the same codec out of Premiere before. So I'm pretty sure this isn't a problem.

I've gone through each .mov file and confirmed that each one is at 29.97 fps, just in case it might have been an issue.

I haven't tried the PERL cure, does anyone know what that is?

I've rebooted my computer with the same results.

Does anyone have any idea what this is?

Thanks in advance to any help anyone can give.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

So I've gone through and rendered out each .mov asset through Premiere and all of them rendered out fine.

I've also double checked my edits to make certain that there wasn't any blank spaces;there wasn't.

It seems when I get up to about 15 .mov clips or so, I start getting low memory messages. If I keep adding clips, when I get to about 20 clips or so, it starts giving me the no output message.

I'm suspecting this may be a lack of memory issue, though I'm really confused as to why this might be, considering that I rendered out a half hour film with the exact same software and computer at 720p just fine.

I'm wondering if it has to do with the number of clips, since the half hour film I rendered out only had about 10 or 12 separate clips whereas this time I have about 55 clips I'm attempting to render out into one .mov.

Does the amount of clips kept in the Project file tax memory?

In case I didn't mention, in each case I'm rendering out a 720p .mov file with Quicktime format, as opposed to H.264 with a bit rate of 144,000 kbps through Adobe Media Encoder.

I'm also wondering if my memory is being taxed elsewhere. When I bring up the Windows Task Manager, and look at the processes tab, I see that I have 54 processes running. Do I really need that many processes running?

Here are the processes that are running:



> chrome.exe
> chrome.exe
> chrome.exe
> chrome.exe
> ...


All of these process show varying Mem Usage between 2000K and 40000K. All of them show 00 under CPU except for System Idle Process which shows 99.

Below is says Commit Charge 1404M/6487M

As of this writing the only thing I have open is one window and one tab of Chrome, Adobe Premiere Pro, and the Task Manager.

So I'm not sure what all this other stuff is. I have no iPod or Apple mobile devices.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance for any help whatsoever. :smile:


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Well, I'm at a complete loss.

I tried lowering the bitrate in the Quicktime format to 3,000 kpbs from 144,000 kpbs and rendering out the original 9125 frame 3 and half minute long video I have at 720p with no luck.

The only other thing I can think of is that 720p is too much for my system? I've rendered out plenty of other videos out of Premiere longer than 5 minutes but those weren't at 720p. But that can't be since I've rendered out a half hour film at 720p already. Did I just get lucky?

And now I'm also getting the following error code:

[..\..\Sic\PPixHandleUtilities.cpp.114]

I then rebooted and tried again but got a low memory error.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

I've gone through and tried rendering with different formats through Media Encoder.

I tried the MPEG-2 and got a Debug Event when it hit frame 6525 and the [..\..\Sic\PPixHandleUtilities.cpp-114] error message. It then said it had to shut down because of a serious error, whatever that means.

I then tried MPEG-2-DVD which stopped on frame 6305 and I got a message that it encountered a problem and needs to close.

Then I tried the H.264 which when it hit frame 6787 gave me the [..\..\Sic\PPixHandleUtilities.cpp-114] error and said that it failed to return a video frame, and was canceling the operation.

Then I tried Adobe Flash Video, which gave me the [..\..\Sic\PPixHandleUtilities.cpp-114] error message and said it failed to return a video frame.

Then I tried Real Media and it stopped on frame 6090, said it encountered a problem and needed to close.

Then I tried Windows Media, and it said it would take 5 hours to render so I stopped it and got an unknown error.

Then I tried to just Export Movie with a .avi and at frame 7757 I got the [..\..\Sic\PPixHandleUtilities.cpp-114] error and a message saying that there was an error compiling movie-unknown error.

I've looked at these two sites, but the solutions don't seem to work for me:

Adobe Forums: [..\..\Src\pp\\PPixHandleUtilities.cpp-114] Error

Premiere Pro running low on system memory - what to do? : Adobe Premiere Pro


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

At the suggestion from another board I removed the Veoh_Giraffic processes by uninstalling them. Then I tried rendering out a Quicktime again with the H.264 codec that has always seemed to work for me in the past. This time it stopped relatively early, and gave me a No Ouput Generated error message.

I also then got a "Adobe Premiere Pro us running very low on system memory" message."

I read that if I "have a red line over the timeline after importing a video and before adding any effects... your project is wrong for your video."

But there's always a red line over the timeline wherever there are existing video assets in the timeline, even when it works. Should this be?


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

double post sorry.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

BadgerBoy said:


> I read that if I "have a red line over the timeline after importing a video and before adding any effects... your project is wrong for your video."
> 
> But there's always a red line over the timeline wherever there are existing video assets in the timeline, even when it works. Should this be?


What this means (red line over timeline) is that your initial project settings don't match the source footage that you have placed on the timeline. It will still work, just means you have to render it before it will play smoothly in the preview monitor.
To ensure your project settings are correct you can check the clip's properties before starting a project, note the fps, pixel dimensions, field order (whether it is progressive or upper field first or lower field first), pixel aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3, square pixel etc). Once you have that info, if all clips are from the same source and have the same properties you can select the correct preset project settings OR make a new preset to suit the clips being used.
This mismatch could have some bearing on your errors trying to export as the computer is working harder to conform the source clips to the new settings you are imposing on it, as well as adding the effects etc.

Edit: just really took note of your version of Premiere Pro - CS3 - it wasn't really designed for the heavy lifting of rendering HD footage and may struggle with some of the formats you are attempting to use.

Edit 2:


> So I'm not sure what all this other stuff is. I have no iPod or Apple mobile devices.


these processes come as part of Quicktime


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Thank you so much for your reply!

These were the Project settings I chose when I created the project:




> General
> Editing mode: HDV 720p
> Timebase: 29.97 fps
> 
> ...


When I open up one of my .mov clips (they should all be the same) and open up the Movie Inspecter it says this:



> Format: Photo - JPEG, 1280 x 720, Millions
> Movie fps: 29.97
> Playing fps: 29.97
> Data Size: 152.56 MB
> ...


It doesn't have any more information than that. Is there another way that I can check the clip's properties to get the field order?


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Okay, I just right clicked on a clip in the timeline and chose properties:




> File Path: C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Films\BSG Comic\Segments\Segment2\2.mov
> Type: QuickTime Movie
> File Size: 597.5 MB
> Image Size: 1280 x 720
> ...


I see that it says the average frame rate is 29.98 fps, not sure how that could happen. When I render out of After Effects I always use 29.97 religiously. Still doesn't have the field order though.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

> Average Data Rate: 19.9 MB / second


this is very high and may be causing problems - data rates usually are more in the order of 5-8MB per second for HD video (.mov clips come off my Canon 60D set to its highest recording quality at an average of 5-6MB per second)
Try converting your clips using a lower bitrate - are you using Blu Ray clips by any chance?



> Pixel Depth: 1280


this is also very high - pixel depths usually refer to colour depths and are usually 8, 16, 24 or 32 (again pixel depth for .movs from Canon 60D - 32)

both these values are very high & may be causing your problems

let's get back to basics (starting to not be able to see the forest for the trees :smile to see if we can't get to where you want to be - tell me: 

A) what your *original* source clips are before you have attempted to transcode them:

format:
pixel dimensions:
frame rate:
codec (compressor):
duration:
file size:

B) what you want the end product to be - DVD, Blu Ray, mp4 etc.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Thanks so much for your response! 



> are you using Blu Ray clips by any chance?


No. What I'm essentially doing is creating a motion comic. So each clip consists of images I've scanned from a comic book, edited in Photoshop, and animated in After Effects. So they are essentially wholly created in After Effects.



> what your original source clips are before you have attempted to transcode them:


Format: QuickTime Movie
Pixel Dimensions: 1280 x 720, Millions
Movie fps: 29.97
Playing fps: 29.97
Codec: Photo - JPEG

Duration: each clip averages 10 to 15 seconds each. There are one or two that are 30 seconds, out of the 55 clips that comprise this 5 minute stretch I've completed.

File Size: the 30 second clip says that it's 597.5 MB, so I'd imagine that the remainder can't be more than that, but I don't have access to my home computer right now to be sure on that. I'll be back on Monday though.



> what you want the end product to be - DVD, Blu Ray, mp4 etc.


Well I'd like to have a .mov that I can upload a 5 minute clip to YouTube, but I'd also like to make a DVD, when I finish the project it should be roughly an hour long.

Thanks again!


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

OK - if your project is essentially made in AE you can export it using the render queue direct to the format you want:

for uploading to Youtube: see their suggested specifications here

This is how I would go about satisfying them:

With your composition selected go to Composition in top menu bar and select Add to Render Queue, then in Render Settings tab at bottom of screen:
* click on Best Settings link to bring up dialogue box - make sure frame rate matches source frame rate (29.97 I think you said), Quality should be Best, Resolution should be Full, all others can be left to their defaults - click OK
* click on Lossless link to bring up dialogue box - this is where you will pick your codec etc.
Under Main Options tab go to Format, select H264 (this will give you an mp4 file), click on Format Options button which brings up the dialogue box for the options: 
check that you have selected NTSC, Frame rate = 29.97, Field Order = None (Progressive), Pixel Aspect Ratio = Square Pixels, Profile = Main, Level = 4.1

Bitrate settings: VBR, Target Bitrate = 8, Maximum Bitrate = 10 (if you find this produces too large a file lower the range to target 6 max 8) This is the area that will have the biggest impact (other than using a lossless codec) on the finished file size - it is a juggling act between quality and file size, higher the bitrate, higher the quality but higher the file size also.

On Audio tab select the settings to reflect Youtube's suggestions

Select where you want to save to then hit render, go make a cuppa of your favourite beverage, read a book, do some gardening, clean the house or do something other than sit watching the progress bar slowly creep up to 100% :smile:

I'll make another post with DVD settings later


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

thanks so much again for your post!



> OK - if your project is essentially made in AE you can export it using the render queue direct to the format you want:


Well, essentially I'm creating each shot in After Effects, then using Premiere to edit the shots together. I'm doing this mainly because After Effects doesn't handle sound well during the editing process, and I'm editing all the shots together to correspond with a .wav file.



> With your composition selected go to Composition in top menu bar and select Add to Render Queue, then in Render Settings tab at bottom of screen:


So I have 55 separate shots that I've created in After Effects using the Photo - JPEG codec for Quicktime format.

Are you suggesting that I go ahead and re-render all 55 shots with the H264 format, then take these H264 shots and try editing these together in Premiere?

If you are, that's okay, I'm just trying to be certain that I'm doing the right thing.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

I tried rendering out the first clip with the recommendations you've given above, with the exception that I didn't output any sound, because the clips I've made in After Effects don't have sound. The sound won't be added until they've been imported into Premiere and edited to accompany a .wave file.

So when I tried to render out the first clip using the specs you recommended, I got the following error message:



> AfterEffects: AEGP Plugin Media IO Plugin:
> There is a mismatch between Output Module settings and Transcode Settings. Please verify your settings and try again.
> MediaIO2 error 0x5
> (5027::12)


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

ah - I wasn't fully aware of your workflow, the instructions were for a final export render of a finished item, not an export of an intermediate clip 

If you are making clips in AE then importing them to Premiere can you not use the Import then browse for the AE project file? or does your version of Premiere have Dynamic Link? If so you should be able to go File> Dynamic Link> Import After Effects Composition and search for your comps, bring them in and edit away. That way there is no intermediate compression and then final compression and so retains better quality.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Thanks for your reply!

I've gone ahead and tried rendering the clip several times with pretty much the same results. For whatever reason I've never had much success rendering anything out with the H264 format out of After Effects, I always get error codes.

I am able to import the After Effects composition into Premiere. However I have concerns that the same thing is going to happen.

With the original timeline consisting of .mov files, I seem to be able to render out cuts consisting of 10 or so clips. When I go over 10 clips, I start getting these error messages.

When I import the AE Composition into Premiere, one clip renders out fine, just as one .mov rendered out fine. But I suspect that when I start putting the other 54 compositions into place, I'll be getting the same error messages.

The reason I suspect this is that the .mov files play pretty smoothly in the Program window, the AE Composition does not play smoothly at all. If I was having memory error messages before with the .mov files, and the AE Compositions seem to be using quite a bit more memory than the .mov's did, would it stand to reason that I'll end up with the same issue again? Or are my suspicions unfounded?

In any case, it'll take me some time to re-edit the 55 clips in the sequence with AE Compositions.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

It may well be that with that number of .mov clips being conformed to your premiere pro timeline's settings your system is starting to fail in terms of memory

My workflow in Premiere Pro CS5 is sometimes to do my cutting and placing then export an intermediate, low compression file which I then bring in on a new timeline within the same project to add audio and colour grade. For the intermediate file I use an .avi compressed with Matrox MPEG-2 I-frame HD codec which is good for editing having smooth playback, good colour latitude, large file sizes but still works well for me.

This article has the process and the links for codecs and Prism converter.

You could try converting your exported .mov's and see if that helps

Another workaround would be to break the project up into smaller bites, editing visuals in the timelines with audio, ditch the audio and then exporting intermediate files using the process above (matrox) with no audio then make a new project, import all your exports, add the audio and make any minor adjustments to the edit and export as finished video using H264 codec - long way around but it may be the only way to evade your error message :smile:


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Well, I went ahead and split up the 55 clips and rendered out 5 seperate sections with the Quicktime format and H264 Video Codec through Media Encoder. They each rendered okay.

I then imported those 5 .mov sections into a new project, with the .wav file, and rendered out the complete movie and it rendered out okay. 

So I guess it's just the sheer number of cuts, or assets in the project panel, that was taxing the memory so much?


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

quite possibly - I know before I upgraded my PC (more RAM, better graphics card, Windows 7) I sometimes had to do longer videos in pieces then put them together in a separate project file - PIA but works :smile:
Most video editors (including AE in this) are hugely taxing on computer resources CPU, RAM especially. It is even more so with larger numbers of clips and even more again if these clips have multiple effects and even more if there are multiple tracks in the project. 
That's why I have my workflow as I posted above for larger projects - even though the file sizes are larger after transcoding to avi using the Matrox codec, the fewer tracks and fewer effects don't seem to bother my computer as much.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

Well thanks for all of your help! I really appreciate it.

Here's the project I was working on if you're interested:

Motion Comics - YouTube


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

:4-clap::4-clap::4-clap: nice work! 

I rarely use AE - most of my work with video is done in Premiere Pro - I haven't done much with particle emitters in AE but used to play around with Particle Illusion 3 a while back when teaching digital media courses in secondary schools - made a few fun claymations set against a space background using Celestia generated avi's and Terragen generated avi's for driving/flythroughs on land based scenes.


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## BadgerBoy (Feb 12, 2006)

I've played around with Terragen a little bit, but I could never figure out how to use it in tandem with 3DS Max, which is what the bulk of my training is in.


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