Exporting to QT movie

I'm trying to get my head wrapped around all these different formats, but for now, I need an instant answer.

I have 50 minutes in my DV NTSC 48K time line and I need to export it to a QuickTime movie that will fit on a data DVD.

What menus and settings would would I use to accomplish this?


Thanks in advance for any help!

M2V is the format that most DVD's use. It should compress your quicktime to a couple GB. If you want to be really safe, and the quality doesn't matter as much, you may want to export to Quicktime Conversion and choose Option in the save window Broadband High or Cable High (depending on your version of FCP). This will make a smaller image, but will definitely be small enough of a file for a Data DVD. Unfortunately either method requires at least a 3-4 hours I would guess to export a file the size of your entire timeline. Could take all night if you have a slow computer....

Hope that helps,
Ty

Since this is going on a data dvd I would instead opt for something like H.264.

50 minutes of DV NTSC is about 14GB. A DVD holds around 4 GB. So you need to compress the file. You do this by exporting, as Ty says, out of FCP using the Export > Quicktime Conversion method. In this menu there are a LOT of options, and you will need to mess with them yourself in order to get what you need for your particular project.

I did put a simple formula in the FAQ here : How Do I Compress For The Web? which will give you a start.

A couple of gotchas.

1. This is going to compress your footage (which is why it's called compression, obviously) and that means you will lose quality. This is not a good method for archiving for future editing.

2. If you use H.264 the person who plays it will need QuickTime 7. If the DVD is going to someone on an old pc, you will have to rethink your method.

Thanks for all your feed back.

The 50 minutes became regular QuickTime movie at 10.7 GBs.

I spent all night trying different settings, but waiting 3 to 4 hours to find out that it still wouldn't fit was not an option - the reason I came here.

Fortunately, the post house was able to accept my mobile drive and pulled the 10.7 QT movie into their IQ for the online the next day.

> The 50 minutes became regular QuickTime movie at 10.7 GBs.

I think you're probably missing some settings. Make sure you use the "Limit data rate" option (try anywhere between 1000 and 3000kbps -- should fit onto a data DVD). Make the sound mono at 44.1kHz. And if it's acceptable for viewing purposes, try 320x240 instead of the DV frame size 720x480. But a data DVD should be able to hold 50 minutes without resorting to that.


www.derekmok.com

>>I spent all night trying different settings, but waiting 3 to 4 hours to find out that it still wouldn't fit was not an option - the reason I came here.<<

The thing about compression is that we just can't give a cut and dried answer for what will work. Every single situation is different, depending on factors like what the end product will be used for, who will be using it, how it will be transported, and even how many colours and details your individual shots contain.

It's a bit like saying "I have a child. I would like it to be educated. What should I teach it?" It really depends on a lot of factors.