How To FIX 'Zero Denominator Converting Ratio Denominators' Error In After Effects

Adobe After Effects - Error 'Zero Denominator Converting Ratio Denominators'

This is not a common error at all, but it’s still worth knowing how to fix it if you ever encounter it. The error message says “After Effects Error: Zero Denominator Converting Ratio Denominators”. It means that After Effects cannot calculate the framerate of your footage or your composition correctly. The framerate is the number of frames per second that your video or animation plays. If the framerate is wrong, your video or animation will look choppy, distorted, or out of sync.

This Is What I'll Cover:

• What are the possible causes of this error and how to check them
• How to fix the framerate of your footage by using the Interpret Footage option
• How to fix the framerate of your composition by using the Composition Settings or the Output Module Settings
• How to fix the extreme framerate cases by reducing or increasing the framerate to a more reasonable value

The framerate of your footage and your composition should match, otherwise After Effects will have trouble converting the ratio between them. The ratio is a fraction that shows how many frames of your footage are used for one frame of your composition. For example, if your footage has 30 fps and your composition has 15 fps, the ratio is 2:1, which means that two frames of your footage are used for one frame of your composition.

Sometimes, the footage or the composition has a non-standard or variable framerate, which means that it is not a whole number or it changes over time. For example, some videos have 29.97 fps or 59.94 fps, which are not exact multiples of 24 fps or 30 fps. This can cause After Effects to make a mistake in calculating the ratio, and give you the error message.

‍

Solutions

To fix this error, you need to make sure that your footage and your composition have the same standard framerate, such as 24 fps or 30 fps. Here are some possible ways to do that.

Fixing the Footage Framerate One possible cause of the error is that your footage has a non-standard or variable framerate. To check the framerate of your footage, you can right-click on it in the project panel, and choose Interpret Footage > Main. This will open a window that shows you the information about your footage, including the framerate.

If the framerate is not a standard value, such as 24 fps or 30 fps, you can change it by checking the box that says Conform to frame rate, and entering a standard value in the box below. This will tell After Effects to use the same framerate for your footage as you enter. For example, if your footage has 29.97 fps, you can enter 30 fps in the box, and After Effects will use 30 fps for your footage.

Here are the steps to fix the footage framerate:

• Step 1: Right-click on your footage in the project panel, and choose Interpret Footage > Main.
• Step 2: In the Frame Rate section, check the box that says Conform to frame rate.
• Step 3: Enter a standard framerate, such as 24 fps or 30 fps, in the box below.
• Step 4: Click OK to save the changes.

‍

Framerate Adjustment

Fixing the Composition Framerate Another possible cause of the error is that your composition has a non-standard or variable framerate. To check the framerate of your composition, you can go to Composition > Composition Settings. This will open a window that shows you the settings of your composition, including the framerate.

If the framerate is not a standard value, such as 24 fps or 30 fps, you can change it by entering a standard value in the box next to Frame Rate. This will tell After Effects to use the same framerate for your composition as you enter. For example, if your composition has 59.94 fps, you can enter 60 fps in the box, and After Effects will use 60 fps for your composition.

You can also change the framerate of your composition in the Render Queue panel, which is where you export your final video. To do that, you can click on the Output Module settings, which are the blue text under the Output Module column. This will open a window that shows you the options for exporting your video, including the format and the framerate.

If the format is H.264 or QuickTime, you can choose a standard preset, such as HDTV 1080 24 or HDTV 1080 30, which will automatically set the framerate to 24 fps or 30 fps. If the format is something else, you can click on the Custom button, and choose a standard framerate from the drop-down menu next to Frame Rate. This will tell After Effects to use the same framerate for your output video as you choose. For example, if your output format is AVI, you can choose 30 fps from the menu, and After Effects will use 30 fps for your output video.

Here are the steps to fix the composition framerate:

• Step 1: Go to Composition > Composition Settings, or click on the Output Module settings in the Render Queue panel.
• Step 2: In the Composition Settings window, enter a standard framerate, such as 24 fps or 30 fps, in the box next to Frame Rate. In the Output Module Settings window, choose a standard preset, such as HDTV 1080 24 or HDTV 1080 30, or click on the Custom button and choose a standard framerate from the drop-down menu next to Frame Rate.
• Step 3: Click OK to save the changes.

Fixing the Extreme Framerate A rare cause of the error is that your footage or your composition has a very high or very low framerate, such as 120 fps or 1 fps. This can cause After Effects to overflow or underflow the ratio numerators, which are the numbers on the top of the fraction that represents the framerate. For example, if your footage has 120 fps and your composition has 30 fps, the ratio is 4:1, which means that four frames of your footage are used for one frame of your composition. However, if your footage has 1 fps and your composition has 30 fps, the ratio is 0.033:1, which is too small for After Effects to handle.

To fix this error, you need to reduce or increase the framerate of your footage or your composition to a more reasonable value, such as 24 fps or 30 fps. You can use the same methods as in Fixing the Footage Framerate and Fixing the Composition Framerate, depending on whether the problem is with the footage or the composition.