Render Time Calculator
Whether the grade finishes before the client review or after it. The calculator above takes runtime, resolution, effects load and machine class and returns estimated render hours and deadline feasibility — computed in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing leaving your device.
Render Time Calculator
- Render time
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- Per runtime minute
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Runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, nothing transmitted.
What the number actually depends on
Noise reduction and optical flow retiming are the 2 effects that move render time by an order of magnitude — a 3-minute UHD grade can go from 20 minutes to over 6 hours.
A conform pass costs render time twice: once for the offline check, once for the final. Budget 2 full passes, not 1.
The gap between a number that goes into a quote and one that holds on the day is rarely the formula — it is whether the constraints were entered honestly. That is why the inputs are spelled out below.
Common mistakes
The places where the arithmetic is right and the day still falls over:
- Promising a delivery slot that assumes zero re-renders
- Forgetting upload time for a 4K master on a site connection
In day-to-day production
Rendering overnight only helps if someone checks the result before the review call — a failed 8-hour render discovered at 09:00 costs the whole day.
The number belongs in post and review — the point where a decision is still free to change. Working it out on the shoot day is no longer calculating; it is finding out.
In TillyGen this is not a separate step: the result sits inside the plan itself, alongside the shot list, schedule and call sheet. Change a constraint and the dependent values move with it — the affected parts of the plan are flagged rather than quietly left behind.
Frequently asked
How accurate is the Render Time Calculator?
The maths is exact; the inputs rarely are. Treat the result as a solid floor and add your buffer deliberately rather than smuggling it into the inputs — a flattered input hides the buffer from everyone who plans with it later.
Is the calculator free?
No. It runs entirely in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing transmitted. There is no usage limit and no account.
Where does this fit in production planning?
In post and review. There it is a basis for deciding; later it is only a finding.
Can I export the result?
The calculator itself only displays the value. In TillyGen it lands directly in the shot list, schedule and call sheet, and goes out as PDF, CSV or through the API to everyone working from it.
What does the calculator return?
Estimated render hours and deadline feasibility. The first value is the one you carry into the plan; the rest show how sensitively it reacts to the inputs.
What should I watch for in the result?
Mainly this: promising a delivery slot that assumes zero re-renders. That is the mistake that most often turns a correctly calculated number into one that does not hold.