Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 1351)

564 Part III Output
Reducing Render Time
Here are some tips for reducing the amount of time it takes to render your sequence:
 Lower the frame rate and resolution of effects that are rendered in the Render
Control tab of the Sequence Settings window. This lowers the playback quality of
those effects, but allows them to render substantially faster.
 Disable certain render-intensive effects in your sequence, including filters, frame
blending, and motion blur. Using the options in the Render Control tab of the
Sequence Settings window, you can turn on and off all such effects in your sequence
without having to enable and disable each effect individually.
 Test-render short sections to evaluate an effect, rather than the entire clip or
sequence. You can always begin rendering a clip, and then stop the render midway.
Final Cut Pro preserves what was rendered, so you can see how it looks without
having to rerender the entire clip.
 Render sequences while you take a break or do other work by turning on Auto
Rendering in the General tab of the User Preferences window.
In this case, rendering time isn’t actually reduced, but you can make efficient use of your
time by turning your attention to other things as the computer renders your media. For
more information about the Auto Rendering option in the General tab of the User
Preferences window, see Volume IV, Chapter 22, “Choosing Settings and Preferences.”