Having completed the final edit of your documentary, you will need to export it in a suitable format for uploading to the FourDocs site. If you are using Apple's Final Cut Pro, then you should export a QuickTime movie, using the MPEG-4 codec. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you.
Once you have saved your film, open a new folder on the desktop, call it something like Exports. This is where you are going to save all your trial exports to, as you will probably need to experiment a bit to get the best possible quality.
Make sure that you mark the first frame of your film as the in-point (go to the first frame of the timeline and MARK IN – press i) and the last frame of the film as the out-point (go to the last frame of the timeline and MARK OUT – press o). This makes sure that you have selected the full duration of the film.
To start the compression process, choose Quicktime conversion file from the menu bar. File>Export>Using QuickTime Conversion.
Name your movie Test1.mov and place it in the Exports folder on your desktop. Ensure the format option is set to QuickTime Movie, and then select the Options button.
Make sure both the video and sound boxes are ticked, and then click the video settings button. This will open the Standard Video Compression Settings window.
Choose MPEG-4 Video as the compression type. Set frame rate to 25fps from the dropdown list (NB you must specify this as the frame rate, don't assume it's 25fps!), and key frames to automatic, and set the data rate to 3000 kbits/sec (ie 3mega bits per second). Then move down to compressor quality. This is where you will fine-tune your films compression. Set it to best for your first test, and press OK. This will bring you back to the Movie Settings dialogue box.
Your Films should be 720 pixels wide and 576 pixels high. To do this you need to use the default DV size, so don’t make any changes to the size during the export. The size of your film should be set in the sequence presets of the Audio/Video settings of the editing software.
If your film is 4:3 aspect ratio, then your finished compression will play at 720 by 576 pixels and the aspect ratio should look about right (It is actually slightly squashed as 720 by 576 is actually 5:4 aspect ratio).
However, if your film is 16:9 aspect ratio, then the finished compression still needs to be 720 by 576 pixels (ie 5:4 aspect ratio), so what you need to do is letterbox your 16:9 film so that effectively your film is 4:3 with bars around the 16:9 image. YOU CANNOT CURRENTLY UPLOAD AN ANAMORPHIC (i.e. TRUE) 16:9 FILM TO FOURDOCS
If your sound settings are not by default set to compressor MPEG-4, rate 48.000 KHz, size 16 bit, stereo, then change them by selecting the sound settings button.Once you have selected these settings, click OK to get back to the Movie Settings dialogue box.
Once you are happy with all your movie settings select OK, and then click Save on the Save dialogue screen, which will complete the process and create a compressed film.
Once this is complete, check the quality of your movie by watching the compressed video file using QuickTime player. To do this just double click the file that you just created. If the quality of the video is poor, you should repeat the whole process from the beginning, checking your settings carefully.
If the problem persists consult your software help menu and manual for troubleshooting. Soon there will be extra help available in the moderated Clinic area of FourDocs for specific technical questions.
NB Don’t forget that the aspect ratio will not look right in the compressed files that you create – this is normal. The aspect ratio is corrected by FourDocs to either 16:9 or 4:3, depending on how you shot and edited your film, but you must tell us whether your film is 16:9 or 4:3.
Once you are happy with the compressed video, check the file size of the movie, if it is not about 80mb for a 4 minute film; you may have done something wrong. In this case try again checking your settings carefully as you go. Video compression is all about a compromise between making a small size file and getting a high quality video. At FourDocs, we want a high quality video, which is why we ask you to set the compressor quality setting to best, and a high data-rate (3000 kbits per second). This should ensure excellent quality output from Final Cut Pro.
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