I’ve gotten asked now a few times about how I export my videos after editing. Let me first say that I am no video expert by any means… But I have a few friends that are, and in talking with them for far too long (and without getting into a ton of way expensive options) I’ve come up with the following process.
Currently I capture with a Flip Ultra HD and a Samsung NV24HD (update: don’t use either of these anymore). I edit my video using Final Cut Express and when ready I use:
1) File > Export > Quicktime Movie…
– I also make sure the “make movie self-contained” is checked. That saves all the stuff I’ve done to the video and revisions, transitions etc. This .mov is your source – you can always open that up and make changes later and re-export – so always save this version somewhere safe.
I then drag that file into MPEG Streamclip (free) to drop out a clean version for online. I use the following settings.
2) File > Export to Quicktime…
Settings:
– H.264
– frame rate: current
– every: 30 frames (try auto)
– quality: Best
– data rate: auto
Size:
– HD 1280 x 720 16:9
– De-interlace Source Video
Sound:
– Format: AAC
– Rate: 44.100
– Quality: normal
– Bit Rate: 128kbps
3) Upload to Vimeo and YouTube with good titles, descriptions and tags (yeah I know there are others but I focus on those)
May not be the best process but it has worked well and I get compliments on how good the videos look, however I’m always open to suggestions and love learning from the experts.
Let me know in the comments.