Hi there-
I am creating a library of custom media content to have on hand for use in future designs. Some of it is stuff that i've created solely in Photoshop/After Effects, and some of it is based on live footage i've taken with my camera.
Although i've been using media servers for a good few years now, i'm a little new to the content creation side and would love to get some advice on the best export settings to maximise compatibility with different systems, keep file sizes reasonable, and make crisp, great looking final output.
I know that in a perfect world you'd want to have pixel to pixel content sized for the screen you're using, but as this is just a general use library of my own stock content, i want to make it as universal as possible for use on Catalyst and other media servers. I shot some of the camera stuff in 1280 x 720 (60fps) and some in 1920 x 1080 (30fps) and use the film and video preset for HDTV 1080p/29.97 in photoshop for the animated stuff. Since a lot of what i've been making is pretty simple and will likely be played back on LED screens, i was wondering if there's an advantage to keeping it all in the highest HD form or not really- the files are large!
The second part of the question is what is the best Output Module or encoder to use. Using the Quicktime Lossless module in After Effects or exporting as an uncompressed Quicktime file in Final Cut looks great but the files are gigantic. I've been experimenting with different settings and encoders - mainly H.264 and MPEG-4 trying to find the optimal balance between file size and crisp good looking video, but it seems like when it looks good it's always a pretty big file (200-300 MB for 15 seconds of not too complicated animation for example). Also i have a fear of making a whole bunch of videos that then turn out to be incompatible with programs i might want to use them with in the future, so i'm saving lots and lots of versions of things in after effects and it's all starting to take up a lot of room. Is anyone aware of any compatibility issues with stuff that's encoded as MPEG-4 vs. H.264? Or do you have any other ideas of settings i should try? It's hard to find info out there on this as the creation software just says "check the documentation for the program you will be using the file with for the correct settings," and the Catalyst manual just says something like "Catalyst plays .mov files."
I also appreciate any other pearls of wisdom anyone might have about video content creation- stuff i should pay attention to or avoid, problems you've run into before with file formats, etc. Some of that stuff is still pretty mysterious to me- like why Quicktime plays some .mov files and not others... weird.
Thanks very much,
-Michelle
I am creating a library of custom media content to have on hand for use in future designs. Some of it is stuff that i've created solely in Photoshop/After Effects, and some of it is based on live footage i've taken with my camera.
Although i've been using media servers for a good few years now, i'm a little new to the content creation side and would love to get some advice on the best export settings to maximise compatibility with different systems, keep file sizes reasonable, and make crisp, great looking final output.
I know that in a perfect world you'd want to have pixel to pixel content sized for the screen you're using, but as this is just a general use library of my own stock content, i want to make it as universal as possible for use on Catalyst and other media servers. I shot some of the camera stuff in 1280 x 720 (60fps) and some in 1920 x 1080 (30fps) and use the film and video preset for HDTV 1080p/29.97 in photoshop for the animated stuff. Since a lot of what i've been making is pretty simple and will likely be played back on LED screens, i was wondering if there's an advantage to keeping it all in the highest HD form or not really- the files are large!
The second part of the question is what is the best Output Module or encoder to use. Using the Quicktime Lossless module in After Effects or exporting as an uncompressed Quicktime file in Final Cut looks great but the files are gigantic. I've been experimenting with different settings and encoders - mainly H.264 and MPEG-4 trying to find the optimal balance between file size and crisp good looking video, but it seems like when it looks good it's always a pretty big file (200-300 MB for 15 seconds of not too complicated animation for example). Also i have a fear of making a whole bunch of videos that then turn out to be incompatible with programs i might want to use them with in the future, so i'm saving lots and lots of versions of things in after effects and it's all starting to take up a lot of room. Is anyone aware of any compatibility issues with stuff that's encoded as MPEG-4 vs. H.264? Or do you have any other ideas of settings i should try? It's hard to find info out there on this as the creation software just says "check the documentation for the program you will be using the file with for the correct settings," and the Catalyst manual just says something like "Catalyst plays .mov files."
I also appreciate any other pearls of wisdom anyone might have about video content creation- stuff i should pay attention to or avoid, problems you've run into before with file formats, etc. Some of that stuff is still pretty mysterious to me- like why Quicktime plays some .mov files and not others... weird.
Thanks very much,
-Michelle