Can't save to .mov, Large file size.

NekoHikaruChan · Post by **NekoHikaruChan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:23 am

Hi, I'm wondering if I can get help with a problem.
My friend is on a mac and needed episode clips because episodes take forever to import. So I offered to cut clips and send them to her.
But the file type she needs is .mov. I thought it wouldn't be an issue. But when I save to .mov in Vegas, it comes out 1GB or more. I tried lowering quality to 0 even, changing frame size to 100x100, and it still comes out large up to at least 50MB.
She said another friend was able to give her clips once that were small.
Is there something I'm doing wrong? The clip its self was only around 1 minute long.

NekoHikaruChan · Post by **NekoHikaruChan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:24 am

Forgot to add, I'm on Windows Vista.
(Would just edit post, but I don't see option anywhere, sorry for double post >.<)

DeinReich · Post by **DeinReich** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:21 am

What editing system is she using? Because she is on a Mac, she is probably using either iMovie or Final Cut Express/Pro/Studio.

NekoHikaruChan · Post by **NekoHikaruChan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:26 am

imovie. But that's not the problem. I tried to cut clips and save them as .mov for her. And they come out huge. Even when I tweak the settings to have low quality and small frames.

DeinReich · Post by **DeinReich** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:34 am

50mb is not all that big at all for video footage, even for very low quality. Footage as a cohesive whole is a hard drive hog, so seeing a 1GB, 20 minute .mov is not to be unexpected.

Check what codec your .mov is saving as. It should be saved in H.264 for the best quality with small size.

If the size is still a problem, you can compress them into an .avi codec (though the highest quality lossless codecs will still be a giant file size) and iMovie should read it fine.

Vivaldi · Post by **Vivaldi** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:53 am

I'm guesing her friend gave her Xvid or something and it happend to work. But the file sizes don't seems to bad. How much harddrive space does she have left?

NekoHikaruChan · Post by **NekoHikaruChan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:45 am

Vivaldi wrote:I'm guesing her friend gave her Xvid or something and it happend to work. But the file sizes don't seems to bad. How much harddrive space does she have left?

She doesn't have the codec for .avi and can't get it. So it's not an option.
And sure it's not that big of a file size, but to send over instant messenger would take forever. Especially if it's possible to get it lower.

DeinReich · Post by **DeinReich** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:18 pm

Use something like YouSendIt or Sendspace instead of sending anything big like footage instead of IM.

Any way you do this, your files are going to be big. In the end, big is (usually) good, so you are best off trying what we've said, because your options are rather slim here.

NekoHikaruChan · Post by **NekoHikaruChan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:27 pm

DeinReich wrote:Use something like YouSendIt or Sendspace instead of sending anything big like footage instead of IM.

Any way you do this, your files are going to be big. In the end, big is (usually) good, so you are best off trying what we've said, because your options are rather slim here.

For a clip that is only 1 minute long? It doesn't make sense. For .wmv it'd be 2-5mb. But 50mb for .mov seems kinda large for that short of a clip.

DeinReich · Post by **DeinReich** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:32 pm

Uncompressed .mov are big. If you have control over your .mov settings you can set it to compress to H.264. That is your best bet.

Also, .wmv is made for small file size, not quality, and especially not for editing. .mov is great for editing in my experience, mainly because it isn't so drastically compressed.