Screening Reels For Clients

Howdy,

I'm looking to made a screening reel of footage
shot on the HVX200.

We shot about 3 hours of footage on location
and I need to make a screening reel for the client.

(for DVD or emailable)

My idea was to slap all the clips together in a
long (3 hours) time line and then compress the hell out of it...

Has anybody come up with a workflow solution
for this? I'm shooting in 720 24 pn mode.

Anton

>My idea was to slap all the clips together in a
>long (3 hours) time line and then compress the hell out of it...

That sounds like a workflow. If quality was an issue, then you're better off compressing to no more than 90 minutes per disc. If quality wasn't an issue, you can encode in mpeg1 for DVD in Compressor and that allows you to store quite a few hours of video (think it's 4 or 5 hours). Audio has to be ac3, though, else it won't fit.



www.strypesinpost.com

I'd disagree with that a bit -- one three-hour timeline will force you to compress it very, very heavily to make it internet-friendly. I'd consider chopping it into at least one-hour chunks. If it's an option, I'd go with 30 minutes per clip. Also, smaller clips will allow you to upload them at the same time as prepping the next one.


www.derekmok.com

Ahh. I meant for a DVD. The total downloading time on the end of the client may take quite a while, depending on how fast the connection is, so sending them a DVD may be a lot better.



www.strypesinpost.com

True, but I'd hold to my argument. Three hours means you'd be going for a data DVD. And even with QuickTime Player's more sensitive browsing and scrubbing abilities, trying to peruse a three-hour movie file is a major pain in the butt. Unless they specifically forbid it, I'd break it down.


www.derekmok.com

>Three hours means you'd be going for a data DVD.

Nope. Mpeg1-DVD is an extremely space efficient format. Think the frame size is subsampled at 320x240 and it only encodes progressive at a CBR. I think your maximum limit for the Mpeg1-DVD preset in Compressor is up to 4 or 5 hours on a DVD, compliant with DVD specs (mpeg1), and encodes hell faster than mpeg2. I used to send these for transcriptions. But like I said, only if quality wasn't an issue. Else, go for no longer than 90 minutes on a DVD.



www.strypesinpost.com

I would use the H.264 codec 320x240 QVGA in QT conversion. Reduce the audio from 48Khz to 24Khz 16 bit. Uncheck the prepare for fast start for internet. Choose a notch below medium quality. Choose ''Faster encode single pass''

Of course if you want a really good quality, the encoding and delivering structure of Derek is better (Multiple DVD)

For clarification, the frame size of mpeg-1 is subsampled at 352x240 for the NTSC version. It was used on VCDs (which is also one of the reason why they look so crummy). But yea, you can store an hour of mpeg-1 video on a VCD which can store only 700MBs per CD, which will equate to why you can store up to 5 hours on a DVD. It's a preset in Compressor, which you can encode in DVDSP. And most DVD players play Mpeg-1/VCD formats for backward compatibility.

I've used this mpeg-1 DVD once to send out 8 hour long interviews for transcription on an almost bi-weekly basis, timecoded and all when I was cutting a doc series. I'm not sure if it can take FHA formats though, so you may run a short test, or just drop that in an SD 4:3 sequence and encode it in Compressor.

If you're sending it via the internet, the cons are, firstly, long uploading and downloading time (3 hours of video is still a mean feat over the net), and, secondly, compatibility. Not all machines can play .mp4/avc or a .mov with a H.264 codec. The flash 9 player can decode .mpg4 and h.264, but you'll need to encode the video for web.

So you're down to these 3 options:
1- Sending it via the net
2- Sending a few DVDs (mpeg2) at pretty good resolution
3- Sending 1 DVD (mpeg1) at not so good (VCD) resolution



www.strypesinpost.com