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Check the picture, choose the format and export an MP4.

How to read the scopes, choose a codec, colour output, frame rate and range in Deliver, export a file or several versions, and render from the command line.

Check the picture with scopes

Choose Window > Scopes. The panel measures the preview image and can sample the camera output, the scene or the selected layer's source.

Histogram
How many pixels sit at each brightness. A pile against either edge means clipped shadows or highlights.
Waveform
Brightness plotted across the width of the frame, so you can see which part of the picture is too bright or too dark.
RGB parade
The red, green and blue channels side by side. Matching levels on a white or grey area suggest a neutral balance.

Scopes measure the preview in 0 to 255 values and ignore fully transparent pixels.

Choose the export settings

Switch to Deliver (Alt+4) and choose the composition to export. Composition settings… beside it changes the composition's frame size, frame rate and name.

Codec
H.264 · MP4 plays on nearly every device and platform. HEVC · MP4 is the newer codec, and the one HDR export uses.
Output color
SDR · BT.709 for ordinary delivery, or HDR · PQ or HDR · HLG in BT.2020 at 1000 nits.
Frame rate
The composition's rate, or a different rate for this export.
Range
Entire composition, the Working range, or a Custom range with an In and an Out. The Out frame is not included.

When the composition has sound, the export includes its audio mix as AAC.

Export and find the file

  1. Choose Export and pick a file name and folder. File > Export Video… does the same from anywhere in the app.
  2. Keep working while it renders, or choose File > Cancel Export to stop.
  3. When the export finishes, choose Open folder, or find it in the Exports panel.
  4. Play the file in the player or on the platform it is meant for, especially for HDR.

Keep the project folder alongside the exported file. A new title or a shorter ending starts from the project, not from the MP4.

Export several versions

Each export renders one composition. For a vertical or square version, make a composition at that size; Ape can nest the main cut inside it for you to reposition. Export each composition in turn.

Deliver HDR

Choose HEVC · MP4, then HDR · PQ or HDR · HLG, whichever the platform or client specifies. HDR export uses 10-bit HEVC. The desktop preview is SDR, so check the exported file on an HDR display before you send it.

Export from the command line

The package includes bin\grapple-cli.exe, which exports without opening the editor. Point it at a project folder to export the composition the project uses as its output:

grapple-cli --open-package "C:\Users\you\Documents\Grapple\Night walk" --export "C:\Exports\night-walk.mp4"

Add --codec h264 or --codec hevc, and --color-output sdr, pq or hlg:

grapple-cli --open-package "C:\Users\you\Documents\Grapple\Night walk" --export "C:\Exports\night-walk-hlg.mp4" --codec hevc --color-output hlg

To render a media file straight through without a project, use --import-media in place of --open-package. Run grapple-cli --help for the full list of options.

If an export fails

Read the message in Deliver or the Exports panel. Check that the composition has a range to export, that the output folder can be written to, and that HDR is paired with HEVC. If the problem persists, see troubleshooting.