compressor help

ok, so here's my problem.

The director I'm working for wants audio (mp3) versions of interviews from our 250+ tape db. now I can use compressor to convert them to aiff's, but do to size constraints and what not, mp3's are the choice audio format.

is there a way to brute force compressor to go to mp3's

right now my workflow is like this

take quicktimes>compressor droplet create aiff's>go into itunes reset my itunes folder, convert to mp3's>place back on hd.

id like to cut out the second conversion

any help is much apreciated



Amateur Teacher

Stright out of FCP you can do this.

Highlight all the clips you want to export as AIFFs in the browser.

Go to File > Batch Export. This will bring up a new window with all your selected clips in it. At the bottom of this window, click on the Settings button, and choose the appropriate AIFF settings and set the destination. Then press the Export button.

This should result in all of your selected clips being converted to AIFFs in a destination folder of your choice. Then you can use iTunes to convert to MP3s.

ok, well here's the issue, A i Want mp3's and B im working with selected quicktimes and setting up computers that may or maynot have fcp, and/or I don't want to set up projects for this, with this all I dois go through find the clips I want of one of 8 hd. drag them into the droplet and say "GO" and bam it runs and does all it's fun things.



Amateur Teacher

Uh. I'm not really sure what you're asking for then. You have quicktime movies, yes? You have a 250 clip i/v library. As far as I can see the easiest thing to do would be to import them into FCP - one click - then select them all in the browser - one drag - then batch export as AIFFs to a single folder - a couple of clicks.

Then use iTunes to batch *that* folder into MP3s. If your settings are already done in here this is also just one or two clicks and the entire thing could be done.

If it didn't have to be MP3s you could batch straight out of FCP.

Maybe what you're asking is if there is an application that will batch strip the audio off 250 quicktimes and convert to MP3s in one click? I don't know of one, if there is any.

Oh, wait, I see - I thought you wanted to get out of using Compressor. I thought you were capturing in FCP - then going to Compressor.

AFAIK compressor doesn't do MP3.

What about AACs? They are the next gen of MP3 - very small and great quality.

What's your director trying to do? If s/he's trying to listen to the interviews using iPod, I'm pretty sure iPods play AIFFs. Have you guys considered giving him smaller, lower-quality AIFFs? That would save you a lot of work.

But I agree with both you and Jude -- it's a massive bummer that neither FCP nor Compressor can export in MP3 format, and iTunes can't import video movie files.

Personally I reckon AACs are better - there is even a 'ipod voice' low quality setting these days that make the files tiny.

i wish it was on an ipod, as it it nows were making data cd's and he's doing what ever he wants with them. All i was told to do is make them into mp3's. Can compressor do aac?



Amateur Teacher

Yep, Compressor does AACs - they're also called MP4s.

If you don't have a standard preset - I seem to have presets, but I may have made them at some stage - just make a MP4 preset and disable the video.

I just did a test with a 338 MB quicktime, droped it on an AAC compressor droplet and it came out as a 828kb MP4. Plays pefectly in QuickTime.

Maybe if you can prove to your director that these files are just as useful, you can save yourself some intermediate steps.

sounds awsome i'll see what i can do

thanks again



Amateur Teacher