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Extreme Compression on a Mac
I have been working on an animation and the final file size of the video is going to be large.
What I would like to find out is how I can get this file as small as possible without compromising quality or resolution.
I have seen from colleagues ripped TV programs, which have all been compressed down to a size that was under 700MB. In the instances I have seen these the quality has been perfect and the sizes small.
Is it possible to gain such good compression/exporting from After Effects, or would it be better for me to use a different program?
I am trying to export a comp of about 14 mins, and resolution of 3072 x 768.
Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Martin -
5 Replies
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I’ll have a look at Sorenson Squeeze and Apple’s Compressor.
Although the resolution is better than HD, I would still hope to shrink it in size significantly from what it is at the moment.
The file will be projected using three projectors linked together as a single signal using Matrox’s TripleHead2Go box as part of a live dance film and animation installation.
It contains a dancer, with the background chroma keyed out, moving around animated still objects. So the actual content of the video contains less information to compress than a movie file I would imagine?
The need to get the file size smaller is so that if can be played of a laptop with out any dropped frames.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions, if you have any others they are always welcomed.
Thanks again,
Martin -
That’s only about 15% bigger than HD (it’s much wider, but quite a bit shorter).
Rather than targeting a specific file size, I’d target a specific bit rate — maybe around 20Mbps for MPEG2 or 8-10Mbps for h264. You’ll need to run tests with the production computer, too, to make sure the disk system and the processor can keep up.
Also, when we do computer playback, we always run a live backup system, just in case.
Good luck,
Walter Soyka
Keen Live, Inc.
Digital Media Design & Technology -
Thanks for your suggestions, I have had some positive results this evening from my own tinkering, and I’ll give your suggestions a go overnight, so I am feeling better that it will be possible.
Forgive my lack of knowledge, but what do you mean by a live backup system?
Thanks again!
Martin -
Hi Martin,
I mean a complete second system — another computer and another TripleHead running the same content, with switchers or a router in between the computers and the projectors. Computers crash, and we always run a backup system to switch to in case the primary fails so we don’t jeopardize the event.
Best,
Walter Soyka
Keen Live, Inc.
Digital Media Design & Technology -
Ah of course! How could I forget! I used to run second systems like that doing live visuals with vision mixers and the like. I think I’ve been stuck in this animation so long I think I’ve lost the ability to think outside adjusting keyframes!
Thanks again!
Martin
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