Encoding & exporting video advice

Few resources exist addressing the best approach to exporting and encoding video for the web. This post is based on my experience and the expertise of others including Nancie Dodge, webmaster of Arizona State University’s Cronkite Zine, and Dave Cornelius, Stardust High School Journalism Program director. I also cited a resource that Angela Grant pointed to in her blog, News Videographer, related to this topic.

1. It is best to shoot steady quality video because it “reduces the number of pixels that change from frame to frame, giving you better quality at higher compression rates (lower data rates),” according to Adobe.
2. You must choose a media player. It is best to export to a Flash Player because 98% of the population has a Flash plug-in installed on their computer, while 59% have a Windows Media Player and 62% have a QuickTime player. If you have more up-to-date stats, let me know. The simplest route is to upload your video to YouTube and use their player. I have provided a handout on uploading video to YouTube on my teaching page. However, if you do not want the YouTube logo on your screen. Here are your options:

If you choose to export using QuickTime, it is best to export your media as a MPEG4 and select H.264 for HD. Selecting H.264 also helps with the resolution and audio quality. Here are the steps needed in Final Cut Pro (FCP).

1. After your video is edited in FCP, choose File > Export > Using QuickTime conversion
2. File Format > Select MP4
3. Use > Select Broadband – High
4. Ctrl-click your .mp4 movie clip > Open with QuickTime Player

There is a drawback related to exporting to a Flash player, it requires Flash software. And YouTube stopped accepting .flv’s six weeks ago.

1. After your video is edited in FCP, choose File > Export > Using QuickTime conversion
2. File Format > Select QuickTime movie
3. Use > Select Broadband – High
4. Open Adobe Flash CS3 Video Encoder
5. Drag .mov to Encoder window > Settings > Flash High Quality > Start Queue
6. Open your .flv
7. Import video > Continue > Progressive download from a web server > Continue > Select skin and color > Finish
8. Control > Test Movie > Produces a .swf

I also put this information in a handout on my teaching page under Video including information on compressing your media clips using Apple’s Compressor, which is a part of Final Cut Pro. This post was getting too long. Compressor is a media compression and encoding application. I suggest trying these different approaches to see what works for you. And if you have suggestions, please let me know.

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