Compressing your iMovies?

P

Peter King

Registered
I just finished my first iMovie which ended up being about 6 minutes long, and a whopping 1.1 GB big! (In QT format) Is there a way to make this file any less space-consuming? I have Stuffit Deluxe, can I use that?
 
Video compression is a black art. There are many, many, did I say many, factors you can adjust.

File->Export...
To Quicktime.
Expert Settings
Export
Options...

Applying normal file compression usually doesn't do much. Video compressors know they are compressing video and understand that much information remains the same between frames.

If you selected DV output then there is no compression going on. DV is frame for frame the same quality that is on your video camera. Its about 15MB for 4 seconds.

The email, web, and CD options usually are good about getting the size right for what you want. To preserve the high quality, exporting to Camera tape is usually the best. I don't have a superdrive so I have no experience with the iDVD quality. I usually end up with about three exports per movie, depending on the varying audiences.

Good luck.
 
Sorenson Squeeze is another option if you are going to stream it on the web. I converted a 58 Mb movie to just 1.2 Mb. You can check it out at copelan.net. Sorenson also allows you to do some filtering, darkness/lightness etc. I highly recommend it.
 
If you want to retain most of your quality but significantly reduce file size, try converting to MPEG-2. There is an MPEG-2 export plugin for QT if you have DVD SP or you could use a freeware tool like fmpegX to convert your DV footage to MPEG-2 (or MPEG-1 or DivX).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top