Why is my render "Incomplete"?

Sometimes you'll see a render land on an "Incomplete" status. What happened? How to fix it?

First, check your inbox

If you're the person who requested the render, please check your email inbox.

Whenever the render engine can't finish assembling your credits, it will send out a nice, tidy explainer of what specifically happened.

The email will describe one of these 6 errors:

1. Duration Unattainable - TRT too short
2. Duration Unattainable - TRT too long
3. Vertical Title Safe Violation
4. Couldn't Load Resources
5. Tolerance Error
6. Incompatible Resolution

1. Duration Unattainable — TRT too short

This is the most common render issue by far. It means you have a lot of credits and you're trying to scroll them in an aggressively short period of time. Possible solutions:

Reduce Font Sizes

Often, it's as simple as bumping down your largest font size (typically NAMES). If your TRT is right on the edge, a small font size tweak can make a big difference.

More info: Working with Fonts.

Tighten Up the Layout

The more compact your layout, the shorter your minimum TRT will be. Specifically, you can:

• Use multi-column in larger groups blocks like Special Thanks. More info.
• Double up blocks using a Side-by-Side layout. More info.
• Reduce the space between blocks. More info.

Reduce Minimum Line Height

Depending on fonts and other factors, you might be able to reduce the vertical space between lines. More info.

Increase the Scroll Speed

This is the easiest solution, but not always the best one.

We strongly advise targeting a render speed of 3. Scroll speeds above 4 tend to start looking jumpy, especially if you're working in 23.98 or 24.00 fps.

Give your credits a more generous TRT

This one might not be your call. But if your director wants a highly aggressive credits TRT, here are some basic numbers:

• The average indie film has a roughly 4-minute roller.
• Ultra low-budget features with small crews still roll credits between 2-3 minutes.
• Marvel movies have armies of rotoscope artists, but indie films have their own armies of Special Thanks and crowdfunders to acknowlege.

If your credits TRT is unrealistically aggressive, please consider giving it more time.

If that's simply not possible, you can also:

Switch to Cards

If your TRT is both aggressive and non-negotiable, consider switching to cards. Since cards don't scroll, they also never stutter. This is why most TV shows use cards.

It's a creative choice, for sure. But the Endcrawl support team can help convert your project from scroll to cards, or vice versa.

More info on Endcrawl Cards.

Make a temp render with unlocked (variable) TRT

If you just need a non-final render and TRT isn't 100% settled, you can also set your TRT to "Variable".

2. Duration Unattainable — TRT too long

This issue is less common, but you may sometimes have a  smaller number of credits that you're trying to stretch across a very long TRT. Possible solutions:

Reduce the Scroll Speed

Once you get to a speed of 2 or lower, the scroll might look unnaturally slow. But the slower, the smoother, so this isn't a bad option.

Bump up the Sizes

You can increase your font sizes using the app's font controls.

Spread out the Layout

Stretch your credits out by using more 1-column layouts. Add more generous space in between blocks.

Increase Maximum Line Height

Depending on fonts and other factors, you might be able to increase the vertical space between lines. More info.

Shorten the credits TRT

If your crew was small, shorter credits are fine! Just don't leave anyone out.

3. Vertical Title Safe Violation

Scrolling projects don't have to worry about vertical title safe ... but cards do.

At render time, the render engine will inspect each individual card for title safe violations. If even one pixel strays out of bounds, you will see this error. Possible solutions:

Split the card into 2 cards

If there's too much info to fit on a single card, split it in two. More info.

The cards timing tool will even re-do all of the math for you, automatically.

Tighten Up Your Layout

The more compact your layout, the more you can fit on a single card:

• Use multi-column in larger groups blocks like Special Thanks. More info.
• Double up blocks using a Side-by-Side layout. More info.
• Reduce the space between blocks. More info.

Reduce Font Sizes

You can try reducing font sizes on styles like NAMES in order to fit more on a single card.

4. Couldn't Load Resources

This is another rare error. It typically happens when a project Writer or Owner deletes an underlying asset (like an uploaded logo).

If you get this error, please reach out to the support team. 

5. Tolerance Error

This one is quite rare.

The Endcrawl render engine aims to hit your TRT on the nose, but if necessary will under-shoot by several frames. If this under-shoot is one second or greater, however, you'll see this Tolerance Error. Usually, adding or removing a line or two of Bottom Margin somewhere will fix this.

If that doesn't solve it, please contact Endcrawl Support to investigate further.

6. Incompatible Resolution

Some compression formats only support certain resolutions.

For example, if your codec has the word "HD" in it, there's a good chance that it only supports renders at 1920x1080 HD. If you try to combine a resolution and video format that are incompatible, you'll get this message.