video (montage) quality to be displayed

[Exhaust]

Hi all, i am doing a montage for my friend and when i exported the file (using FCPX) the size is 5.8gb, more than what a DVD-R can hold. I am exporting to 1080p btw.

My qns is... how do i reduce the size by not:
1. removing images from my montage
2. degrade video quality

Wil converting it to MP4 instead of MOV work?

Thanks!

 

[Rashkae]

How long is the montage? Did you resize all images first?

 

[Exhaust]

How long is the montage? Did you resize all images first?

I didn't resize the images because I'm worried that when it is blown up thru the projector, the images will become very poor in quality/clarity

 

[silvermoon1407]

I didn't resize the images because I'm worried that when it is blown up thru the projector, the images will become very poor in quality/clarity

Not sure about a video workflow, but I believe if your end product is a 1080p video, technically your stills do not need to be more than 3 megapixels....

 

[Rashkae]

Not sure about a video workflow, but I believe if your end product is a 1080p video, technically your stills do not need to be more than 3 megapixels....

Correct. The images don't need to be more than 1920x1080

 

[derrickder]

Yup, shooting stills at any resolution above 1980x1080 on camera then exporting them will save you a lot on processing time.

 

[alternus]

Happen to see this thread. I'm a videographer. Can share some advice here.

Outputting at 1080P in MP4 file format (with a H.264 codec), a 1 min clip will most likely take up about 40-80Mb (depending on the bit-rate you set when you render it out). This is akin to outputting photos in JPG at quality settings ranging from level 6 to level 12. Hence try not to re-edit from this MP4 file. Its like editing jpg photos. Quality will suffer slightly when you re-output again.


I guess most likely you had output your earlier clip in Mov file format with a lossless codec. I.e. minimum compression. That will be akin to saving in 16-bit color bitmap images in photo terms. Hence the large file size.


On the pt about shooting photos for 1080 video, I feel that you can shoot in the highest resolution that your camera can give. This will allow you to re-crop easily to get a better composition. A photo from a full-frame DSLR nowadays is easily more than 4 X HD resolution (twice the length and twice the width). Hence you can afford to zoom in 200% to crop.
But do remember to resize your photos to just about slightly bigger than 1980X1080 jpg before you import them into your video editing software. This will allow your software to run easier (less RAM hungry). Why slightly bigger than 1980X1080? Coz you may want to execute some slow zoom-ins in your slideshow.

Last notes...
1) importing high res 15mb photos will not make your video clip any bigger than importing HD resolution 2mb jpgs. Only the type of codec and video duration will affect your video file size.
2) If you output in HD quality, try to play it on a HD quality screen so as not to waste the quality you intended. In other words, if your slideshow will be screened in a hotel ballroom whose projector is not HD resolution (which most hotels do not have), you might be putting undue stress on the notebook that is handling the playback. Then again, if your notebook is good for the playback, the images will definitely look great (but still limited to the resolution of the projector).

 

[allenleonhart]

Last notes...
1) importing high res 15mb photos will not make your video clip any bigger than importing HD resolution 2mb jpgs. Only the type of codec and video duration will affect your video file size.
2) If you output in HD quality, try to play it on a HD quality screen so as not to waste the quality you intended. In other words, if your slideshow will be screened in a hotel ballroom whose projector is not HD resolution (which most hotels do not have), you might be putting undue stress on the notebook that is handling the playback. Then again, if your notebook is good for the playback, the images will definitely look great (but still limited to the resolution of the projector).

here is all you need

any good codec to recommend? see here
http://www.larryjordan.biz/technique-choosing-the-best-videocodec/