My animation is stuttering and controls slow to respond

[fusskee]

I have a project that is about 1300 frames. Not long. At frame 800 I added a few more layers and now the entire animation is choppy and lacking it's smoothness. The controls have slowed as well and I am fighting the machine. Is this a processing issue with the computer's available memory? I even split the animation up into two parts and still the second part is behaving choppy and stuttering. I have a number of layers moving across the screen in this second part, could this be slowing the movie and program down? Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

[Imago]

What you added to the animation? Maybe it are too heavy for your pc, like an HD movie or a 3D object.

[slowtiger]

Of course the rule of thumb is: the more elments, the more the program slows down. Usually this isn't a problem if your machine is strong enough, I only experience this at about 100+ layers heavy with big images. At one point AS can't play everything in preview in real time, that's normal behaviour for any animation program.

Things you can do:
- zoom out while previewing.
- set layers you don't need to se right now to invisible, either temporarily, or via the layer tabs, to have them only visible when really needed (this will also greatly speed up rendering)

[fusskee]

Of course the rule of thumb is: the more elments, the more the program slows down. Usually this isn't a problem if your machine is strong enough, I only experience this at about 100+ layers heavy with big images. At one point AS can't play everything in preview in real time, that's normal behaviour for any animation program.

Things you can do:
- zoom out while previewing.
- set layers you don't need to se right now to invisible, either temporarily, or via the layer tabs, to have them only visible when really needed (this will also greatly speed up rendering)

Thanks for the advice. I will try these suggestions.

[heyvern]

My experience with "slowness" of AS files can be the number of points on a vector layer. A file with a bazillion points can slow to a crawl. Importing AI, eps or SVG files into AS produces way more points than needed. I can remember huge files I use to create in the olden days when my computer was a piece of junk, and could barely do anything.

Huge gigantic high res image layers, or a whole pile of image layers, can also cause slowness. Make sure imported images aren't bigger than you need.

Another issue that may "appear" to be "choppiness" is frame skipping. When you play back with frame skipping on with even a simple file, the play back will appear to "stutter" and not play smooth. There really isn't anything to do about that. I have a powerful freaking fast computer and frame skipping realtime playback stutters a bit with moderately complex files.

With the power and speed of newer computers, I have not experienced any of the "old" slowness I use to see. Earlier versions of AS on my older computers use to slow things down. It might help to know the specs of your computer or at least the age.

I do a lot of really crazy complex over the top stuff with AS, especially with physics (I have physics files with hundreds of layers) and bones (hundreds of bones) and haven't seen slow downs in ages. There may be something specific about your file that is causing the slow down.

[fusskee]

My experience with "slowness" of AS files can be the number of points on a vector layer. A file with a bazillion points can slow to a crawl. Importing AI, eps or SVG files into AS produces way more points than needed. I can remember huge files I use to create in the olden days when my computer was a piece of junk, and could barely do anything.

Huge gigantic high res image layers, or a whole pile of image layers, can also cause slowness. Make sure imported images aren't bigger than you need.

Another issue that may "appear" to be "choppiness" is frame skipping. When you play back with frame skipping on with even a simple file, the play back will appear to "stutter" and not play smooth. There really isn't anything to do about that. I have a powerful freaking fast computer and frame skipping realtime playback stutters a bit with moderately complex files.

With the power and speed of newer computers, I have not experienced any of the "old" slowness I use to see. Earlier versions of AS on my older computers use to slow things down. It might help to know the specs of your computer or at least the age.

I do a lot of really crazy complex over the top stuff with AS, especially with physics (I have physics files with hundreds of layers) and bones (hundreds of bones) and haven't seen slow downs in ages. There may be something specific about your file that is causing the slow down.

This is great information! Thank you. I think the problem is the bazillion points in a layer. I will try to reduce the number of points in the layer and see what happens. I am pretty sure my 2006 mac laptop might be part of the problem as well. Your post will be good evidence to present to the budget committee (my wife) to support the purchase of a new computer!

[heyvern]

Oh my yes, 2006... hmm... I think that might be part of the issue. I am not an expert on technology advancements but I think there has been a lot of improvement since 2006.

Keep in mind a new computer (PC) can be quite affordable these days and the speed is most likely exponentially faster than anything as old as 2006.
Running AS on a shiny new computer is a DREAM! Especially with multi processors enabled for rendering. I love watching all 4 processor bars cranking away on my renders. Zippy fast! I can't believe how much faster I can crank out HD quality animations now.

Of course, I am a Mac guy and I am willing to shell out a bit of a premium for my equipment... but it's worth it. Plus I have Win 7 running on my Mac to test stuff out. 2 machines in one.