HELP ME GET "Diner for Two" TO THE SCREENING!

[armisiano]

My arch nemesis in the entire filmmaking process had reared it's ugly head again: EXPORTING!

I SUCK at exporting. It is what I am consistantly by FAR the worst at. Remember the mess "STUPENDOUS: THE MOVIE" was? And before that "SIXTY SECONDS"? It never ends.

So, here's the thing: I need to export "Diner for Two" at full res, burn the file to a disc, and mail it in. So, I've exported it as an avi, and the file is 23 gigs. Way too large to fit onto a DVD-R.

What do I need to do? What format? How do I go about it? I am using Adobe Premiere CS3. Please help, quickly. Today (July 16th) is my birthday. Your present to me: helping me get this film on the big screen for the 2nd Annual DVXFest.

[Mark Harris]

Put it on a HDD and mail that.

[armisiano]

Put it on a HDD and mail that.

I haven't much money to spare to purchase one.

[Brian P. McQuilkin]

Do you have Encore?

[armisiano]

Do you have Encore?

Yes. Go on.

[Jeff Anderson]

I've had good luck with high bit rate h264's out of Media Encoder. I get the same audio shift as you do, but have just been duplicating the final timeline shifting all the audio 4 frames and calling that my "h264 version". You'll have to play with the bitrates to get it too look nice, but that shouldnt be too hard.

Used to use this method with HD convention playback off of a ps3. H264's played right off the hard drive, no need to burn blu-rays or anything.

[Brian P. McQuilkin]

Check your PM.

[armisiano]

...heading out, have a gig from now to noon. Please everyone keep throwing ideas and solutions up on this thread and I will check it out once I get back. Thank you all so much, really. What would dvxuser be without its members?

[Brandon Rice]

I am not very familiar with Adobe Premiere. Can you export any kind of reference file? I do most of my HD encoding within Quicktime Pro and it works like a champ :) (As long as you watch your gamma levels and correct accordingly)

[jeremytuttle]

Tony,

You won't be able to do full res obviously. They said you could encode it in DVCPRO. So you could export it as a quicktime using the DVCPRO HD codec. This should look pretty dang good. (I'm not sure of the exact naming but it's something like that)

[Brandon Rice]

If you can output from Premiere directly to that codec, that would be the best option.

[armisiano]

So I've exported as an .mov using the h.264 codec, it's full resolution, looks good (in my opinion) and is only 1.09 gigs. That's using the highest possible bitrate setting possible.

Does this sound like a wise decision? A good quality method?

What are the other finalists doing?

Feedback, please.

[Mike Manning]

No h.264 is a web-ready compression.... do it like this...

- Export to QuickTime (.MOV)
- Settings: DVCProHD 720p60
- Size: Compressor Native (Leave "Maintain Aspect Ratio" UNCHECKED if your video's 16x9... if it's something different, check that box!)
- Uncheck the box that says "Prepare for Internet Streaming"
- Leave the Sound Settings at they're default

With that you should get a file between 1 and 2 gigs and you'll be good to go!

[armisiano]

No h.264 is a web-ready compression.... do it like this...

- Export to QuickTime (.MOV)
- Settings: DVCProHD 720p60

I don't have that compressor option. Can I download it somewhere or something?

[armisiano]

Here are my compressor options as I see them:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/3728619770_383dc9a165_o.jpg

[Mike Manning]

What format did you edit in?

[abalex]

use quick time conversion if using fcp, then go to options and use hdv 1080/24p select best quality, size i think it's going to be 1980x1280 or just the last one in the list, then let it cook...

g.

[abalex]

blindbusta's settings are also good.

[armisiano]

use quick time conversion if using fcp, then go to options and use hdv 1080/24p select best quality, size i think it's going to be 1980x1280 or just the last one in the list, then let it cook...

g.

blindbusta's settings are also good.


I feel bad saying this, but you havn't read any of my posts in this thread, have you? I'm using adobe premiere cs3, not fcp, and I can't do what blindbusta said because I don't have that option, as I showed in an above post that even included a picture.

[armisiano]

What format did you edit in?

I'm not sure what you mean. I didn't know I could edit in different formats. I captured the footage from the p2 cards into premiere and edited the movie. NTSC, 24p, 720p, 16x9. I dunno what else to say.

[Mike Manning]

Okay do this.. when you captured the footage... it should have saved and logged the files into whatever folder you designated the capture scratch. Open one of those files in to QuickTime, and then click "Command + i" to get info on the video file. Screen shot that window so I can see what your settings are.

[armisiano]

Okay do this.. when you captured the footage... it should have saved and logged the files into whatever folder you designated the capture scratch. Open one of those files in to QuickTime, and then click "Command + i" to get info on the video file. Screen shot that window so I can see what your settings are.

Quick Time won't recognize the MXF file. Can't open it.

[Mike Manning]

ah... so you edited natively. okay, so export using DVCPro NTSC and make sure your quality settings are at the highest and the resolution is at the 1280x720 and you should be good to go.

[Noel Evans]

Not sure if this helps but....

Is there a setting to export same as timeline? For example Im on FCP, and I can just export my DVCProHD timeline as DVCProHD. My TRT is about 5:30 and the export was 2.3 GB, as you would expect for 720P, and I dont have to fiddle with any settings.

[armisiano]

ah... so you edited natively. okay, so export using DVCPro NTSC and make sure your quality settings are at the highest and the resolution is at the 1280x720 and you should be good to go.

And export as what? Are you referring to when I export it as a mov and see the following window
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/3728619770_383dc9a165_o.jpg

Because when I go that route and choose the option "Apple DV/DVCPRO - NTSC" it won't allow me to take the resolution any higher than 720x480.

Honestly it seems that the h.264 codec is the only option that'll work. Is there a problem with that codec? Also, I'd like to complain that the mods never mentioned any sort of format for these to be, avi, mov, whatever. This is so frustrating.

[Brian P. McQuilkin]

The h.264 codec, from what i understand, is designed for web compression, so the resolution of the picture blown up to any large scale will likely suffer.

I'd try to encode with MPEG2-DVD and adjust the bitrate to the highest setting that will still allow the file to fit on the disc -- the length of the movie will determine what rate you'd use, so you'll have to employ some math to figure it out.

Unless there's an easier way -- which I'm sure there is. Anyone?

[Brandon Rice]

And export as what? Are you referring to when I export it as a mov and see the following window
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2642/3728619770_383dc9a165_o.jpg

Because when I go that route and choose the option "Apple DV/DVCPRO - NTSC" it won't allow me to take the resolution any higher than 720x480.

Honestly it seems that the h.264 codec is the only option that'll work. Is there a problem with that codec? Also, I'd like to complain that the mods never mentioned any sort of format for these to be, avi, mov, whatever. This is so frustrating.

That same thing happens to me when I export in DV/DVCPRO so I know your pain. Though H264 is a web HD setting I've projected it many times on a 720P projector, and it has looked excellent. For what it's worth. Just make sure your gamma settings are accurate, etc.

[Mike Manning]

Damn! Do you have QuickTime Pro? That might be why you don't have more options available...

[Brandon Rice]

Damn! Do you have QuickTime Pro? That might be why you don't have more options available...

That's what I have, and the options are limited to that as well.

[Rodney V. Smith]

Dude, Zak says they also take MXF files, so you can export to the P2 Format. I'm exporting tonight and will let you know my settings.

Were you editing in 960x720 or 720x480? You might have had so scale down if it was 720 NTSC.

[Zak Forsman]

Also, I'd like to complain that the mods never mentioned any sort of format for these to be, avi, mov, whatever. This is so frustrating.

it's there in plain english...

We are accepting media up to and including 1080p HD in the native framerate (preferably 24p) and mastering codec of your choice: ProRes, DVCPRO HD, XDCAM, etc.

you also missed this part...

Send any QUESTIONS to Zak Forsman (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/private.php?do=newpm&u=641).

I will gladly advise and guide you thru exporting this. As stated in the official thread, it's your choice. I can handle just about anything you throw at me. even uncompressed if you have no other option. DNxHD is the only one that would be a problem but you're not on an Avid. I've given you a huge variety of options. you can more or less send anything you want. The image and sound quality of your screening is entirely in your hands. Own it.

[armisiano]

Alright. It's done.

I've exported as a mov, full resolution, yes I used the H.264 codec, but the bit rate is at it's highest setting 144,000 kbps and it looks and sounds rather good, and thefile is only about 1.4 gigs. I think that'll be fine. If I had an external hard drive to ship out I would a big uncompressed 23 gig avi, but that's not gonna happen.

I am satisfied with the results, let us allow this thread to now die.

Thank you all for your help. I greatly appreciate it. Heck, that's why we're here. Take care, I look forward to seeing many of you at the screening.