COMPRESSION METHODS

There are many ways to compress video and audio for the web to transmit efficiently.
This page is intended to provide you with a basic means of compressing movies to send
for reviews, reference, or samples of your work.

This page is NOT meant to indicate a means for sending completed work for final delivery and is intended only as a basic guide to help you make decisions about compressing movies when there are no other established methods.

Please make suggestions and/or use provided links for other methods.

It is recommended that you use a program such as Sorenson Squeeze or Media Cleaner.

These programs can be expensive and as an alternative, it is suggested that you at least
use some basic compression techniques with Quicktime Pro.

Instructions For Using QUICKTIME PRO EXPORT

You must have QUICKTIME PRO installed to use this method.
Try a test with a short movie before spending a lot of time with any method.

COMPRESSOR TYPE: Sorenson Video 3 or H.264
MOTION: Frame Rate: Current, should be 29.97 or 30 frames per second for U.S. viewing
KEY FRAMES: Multiply the current frame rate by 5. (30 X 5 = Key Frame Every 150)
If using H264, then also select YES for Frame Reordering
DATA RATE: Automatic
COMPRESSOR: Quality: 65% or half way between MEDIUM/HIGH
No Filter Necessary.
Size of the image should be discussed but 320 X 240 is a minimum size
640 X 480 should be maximum size
Preserve the aspect ratio by using FIT WITHIN DIMENSIONS
SOUND SETTINGS:
Format: (for Sorenson, use) IMA 4:1 then click OK
Format: (for H264, use) AAC
then click Show Advanced Settings
AAC Encoder Advanced Settings
Bit Rate Format: Variable Bit Rate
Target Bit Rate: 128 - 146
Precedence: None
Quality: Best
then click OK
MOVIE SETTINGS: Verify that settings are correct

SAVE EXPORTED FILE AS: Browse the location where you would like to save the file and name it CLEARLY with a version number at the end of the name, such as MotionTest_01.mov

One tip is to export to a different disk to increase the encoding speedCompressing movies takes time.

Start early and be prepared to wait for the computer to
do the work. Then check the file size and watch it to ensure it plays properly.

The above instructions were taken directly from a WIKI instructional web page.
If you want to refer to it for the most recent information posted (WIKI allows for continual editing by the world at large), the original WIKI page is located HERE

On a Mac there is an Archiving option if you right-click on any file.

It will create a zipped version of your file but for Quicktime movies we have found this does very little to reduce the file size. However, if you find it makes a significant reduction or you are sending other file types, use this additional as well.

If you have any additional questions, here are some links to other sites that may have some good info

Tutorial Links

Video Compression Tutorial

Every Link You Could Possibly Need