Compressing Video Well

With FCP 5.1.2 and Apple's new H264 codec, outputting to QT is a breeze – once you have all those settings down. I shoot all HDV these days, which is in 16:9. A nice size for Web video is 480x270. These dimensions are in the 16:9 format. Our goal is a large-size, clean sharp video with a small file size for faster viewing. We should come in at about 3-5MB per minute which is perfect for broadband enjoyment.

The Digital Journalist has a quick tutorial on compressing video with Quicktime so it looks really slick. I just tried this with my old HD source of the Dustrunners trailer (no I won't let you watch it, it's embarrassing to everyone involved) and it really does work. Magique, as they say. The French people, anyway.

The sad thing is I used to know all these tricks myself, and actually got work because of it. Now I only have a passing familiarity with the things I employ in my day-to-day work. Eventually I will just become a consultant, and stop doing anything productive myself.

p.s. I realize a cardinal sin of Better Blogging™ is to post too often at the start of the process, but I'm waiting on content for a website so I've got time to burn. Trust me, I won't be nearly as chatty tomorrow.