[Layne Russell]

I just exported as a MOV H.264 and the quality is okay, however, the size is extremely small, not much bigger than the WMV that sucked, and I just played it back. It was just okay in VLC Player. The quality is slightly better than the WMV, but it’s taken a huge hit and is nowhere as clear as the AVI.

I’m wondering why Kickstarter is rejecting the AVI file. After uploading and getting the “Processing” message, it just says “File will not upload.” I tried in both Firefox and Chrome. The file size of the AVI is far under the Kickstarter limit of 5GB, so that is clearly not the issue.

So, if I change export format to MOV or MPEG4, or WMV for that matter, how do I get the highest quality encoding possible with source AVI file of SD 16:9 720×480?

I am so stuck. I’ll just keep trying things. If anyone has any ideas, I’m all ears!

[Layne Russell]

My video was mistakenly shot in SD 16:9. So I’m stuck in SD, and I’ve made my peace with that. Several kind people here told me not to worry about it, just proceed. 🙂

Also, I am actually exporting right now as a MOV / H.264 with the sub settings listed above. I tried to make intelligent guesses on what I was not sure of.

[Layne Russell]

I am now trying MPEG-4, H.264, bit rate 2000, audio ACC, fps 29.97, 720×480, stereo….

There are other settings I don’t know. Field order? (Currently “lower first.”) Aspect? And the square pixel or DV1/DV NTSC Widescreen? I know it is in the latter natively. I remember reading something about pixel shapes and can’t remember if that info is needed now, in my situation of exporting….

[Layne Russell]

No, they do not support embedded videos. You have to upload to them. Unfortunately, some of the info on the web is outdated, and Kickstarter doesn’t get specific about many parameters, just file formats, size, bit rate. That’s it. But clearly, people have so many issues with this!

I’m now reading about using MOV or MPEG-4 with H.264.

There are so many sub settings. I am lost and I’m way behind schedule because of this issue.

[Layne Russell]

I called the friend who helped me maneuver through Premiere Pro and we went through the Windows Media settings. I’ve exported and will be trying the upload again and will update here. It could help someone in the future!

I saw that the average bitrate listed in the WMV settings was 1500, so perhaps this will do the trick. Now I’m concerned about the quality of the music snippets on the audio tracks. We’ll see.

Update: not working, even in WMV and using Chrome instead of Firefox. I will start a new thread.

Thanks.

[Layne Russell]

I am now at the point of uploading the video to Kickstarter. It turned out pretty nice, even in SD. With some color correction and a little shadow/highlight adjustments, it was improved greatly.

I was uploading the AVI file to Kickstarter, one of the formats listed as acceptable, and it did not take it. I am way under the size limit, so it’s not that. I’m thinking it’s the bit rate. I have just read that the bit rate needs to be 1500 kbps and they do strongly suggest WMV. In Premiere Pro in the Exporting window it lists “Windows Media” – good. But I don’t know how to set anything else.

My native audio bit rate is 1536 kbps. Two other bit rates are listed for my video. “Total bit rate: 30319 kbps” and “Data: 28783 kbps.” My video is now in AVI, DV NTSC, widescreen.

How do I get this file uploadable to Kickstarter? What settings within WMV should I use?

I’m actually late getting this up today, so thank you so much for your help!!!

Layne

[Layne Russell]

Thank you so much, Richard! I will check out this tool as soon as I get my edits. I’m still learning how to do that. I apologize for being such a newbie. This is just an area I have never dealt with. I can see how what you have shown me here will be very helpful. And I understand the value of the adjustment layers; I will follow your advice!

Layne, still struggling in North California

[Layne Russell]

Thanks for the confirmation, Steve!

I’m now making my selections for the video…. Then I’ll do adjustments and then add photos and music. I’ll muddle through this somehow! You wonderful people here at Creative COW are helping!

[Layne Russell]

Thank you, Daniel and Richard!

I will try to do the exposure/color correcting in PPro. A Facebook friend suggested I use adjustment layers when I do the adjustments. That sounds like a good idea … as long as it isn’t too difficult to figure out. Since I use Photoshop I am thinking I will be okay on that. Do you use adjustment layers as a rule? This man also suggested Proc Amp. What do you think?

First I’m selecting my footage to include. Then I’m adjusting. Then I am adding photos. Then I am adding a text frame for closing. Then I’m adding music. Right?

When I add photos and the text…how do you set how long the still is viewed – and what is standard for stills? Three or four seconds?

[Layne Russell]

Daniel,

Does it need to be highly compressed? Kickstarter allows 5 Gb for videos and it will be around 3 minutes. I don’t think it will be very close to 5. My .avi is 58 minutes and is 12 Gb. The video will only be on the Kickstarter page and not shown anywhere else. One person told me to go .mov an another told me to use .avi. Any other feedback on that?

Regarding color correction, these jump cuts were done in, truly, not enough light. I worked on applying color correction last night, and it is far better, but in my opinion, it’s still looking kind of gray. Also, one side of the face is darker than the other…which could be okay…but I was hoping to bring it out a little more. I have done a lot of Photoshop photo restoration and also photo prep for websites, magazines, a music book cover, etc., and so comparing this to that work is pretty hard to swallow! In addition to After Effects or even Photoshop, I was wondering about using the Imagenomic Portraiture plugin for video. Have you heard about it?

Here is another related question. Should I concentrate first on just doing the selections for the timeline and then do the corrections? And then add the music photos and text frames (some closing words), then the music? Since I have never done this before, I would like to know the best sequence of actions. I also have a couple cute out takes, one will go at the beginning somewhere and maybe one or two at the very end.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am to receive so much help in this one thread. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. I’m really pressed for time and this is helping me on my way to completing this vital part of the Kickstarter.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Layne