Hey does anybody remember back when you finished editing a project and you'd actually be done? No, seriously. I'm not even talking about the beginning of time when people used flint to make fires, used fires to communicate and used razor blades to cut film. Try the '90s - when I got started. That wasn't really that long ago. Um...was it? I would get final approval from my client (or myself) lay the project to an archive format, make a VHS dub and that was basically it. What happened? Now after I am done editing the video I have to create a litany of diverse files that have to be play in a plethora of formats, platforms, browsers and devices. If you’re like me then you are in constant need of current and useful advice when it comes to digital distribution. Last year I was lucky enough to be able to take Ben Waggoner's week-long Mastering Video Compression course through the Digital Media Academy that's held at Stanford. It was an intensive brain-expanding course that covered the basics of video compression as well as the advanced white board formula stuff. We spent at least a day on Carbon Coder which is one of Ben's favorite compressors. Carbon Coder is a beast and it definitely is for high volume multi-format shops that need the encoding process automated. We also went over Microsoft Expression Encoder, Apple Compressor, Sorenson Squeeze and others. I primarily use Squeeze and Compressor but I would like to try others. Although much of the advanced concepts went over my head, I was surprised afterwords at how much the class shored up my existing knowledge of video compression. When I got back to work the following week I immediately readjusted the settings in my various compression apps. I instantly got better results. It's surprising that there aren't many other courses in video compression out there, especially considering how important it is nowadays. I love the creative process and storytelling but distribution can be just as interesting. There is often more genuine emotion in sending a file to a client than there is inside the file itself. But I digress. Here are a few useful links that I will quickly expand on in the coming weeks:
COMPRESSION SOFTWARE
Microsoft Expression Encoder 2
Telestream Episode Encoder
Sorenson Squeeze
QuickTime Pro
Compressor 3
Flash Media Encoder
COMPRESSION CALCULATORS
Recipe for DVD
Bitrate & GOP Calculator
ONLINE VIDEO HOSTING
Vimeo compression settings
Youtube compression settings
FREE MULT-FORMAT MEDIA PLAYERS
VLC
Elgato
MISCELLANEOUS:
Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters
The Big List of Video and Audio Converters
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