IMovie 10.0 file sizes/bitrates

Ok - so like many people here I've recently upgraded to Imovie 10.
I am helping to build a website - it currently contains about 12,000 clips all of which are 640x480. Now that particular option is no longer available in the new version, the smallest being 854x480, but I've still 1000's of clips I still need to edit at the correct size.
Uploading to youtube kills the quality, and that's not an option anyway. I need to be able to upload the original edited movie clip directly to the website the same size as all the others.
Any ideas anyone?

I have been creating movies using iMovie for many years now, and realised the size of the movie is often much bigger than what I wanted. Usually the movie resolution and bitrate issues.
To solve that, I have downloaded this http://www.wondershare.com/mac-video-converter-ultimate/ and after exporting using iMovie, I would port it over to this Video Converter which I could set the size and bitrate information, as well as audio and video qualities.
The conversion is very fast and I am very satisfied with the results. You can try this out.
Regards,
MacLover2226

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Hi Bill
You might be better off posting in the iMovie forum http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=141
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I just checked a couple of movies on my TV.
An approximately 5 minute movie in AVCHD stores on the TV as Large (960x540) in h.264 format, and is about 145.5 MB in size. Multiplying by 12 would give you the size for an hour movie, which would be about 1.75GB.
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Request Advice for creating DVDs from 7.5 gig file sizes

Hi,
[using dvdstudio 3]
I’m looking for advice for home DVD project i'm working on. I want to create a DVD from video that has been captured to my computer using iMovieHD, and have completed my wanted edits for two clips. They are about an hour-plus each. When exporting the two clips separately (Sharing, in iMovie terms), the file sizes are about 7.5 Gig each at full quality,and I understand I’m going to have to cut some corners in the process to get both on one DVD and I’m even willing to have two DVDs, but still need to know the best way to decrease the file size for each one. The audio should remain as 16 bit 44.1 Khz, Stereo.
I’m wondering what the best method to achieve an optimum quality DVD is. Again, I realize I’ll have to compress the video at the loss of quality (i.e., “cut corners”) to make the DVDs.
In my previous experiences, I’ve retained the larger file size all the way up through the authoring process in DVD Studio letting it build a 7.5 gig dvd format (VIDEO_TS). Then, I used DVDx2One to compress it down to 4.5. The end result was pretty good and I never had any troubles per say. However, this project is important to me and I want to make the best quality I can. What would you do differently?
Here are my software tools that I use interchangeably for previous projects; copying, authoring, editing, etc:
-> iMovieHD 4x – used to capture the video.
-> DVD Studio 3 - to author and build my dvd session
-> ffmpegx - as a video conversion and compression tool
-> DVDX2one to recompress DVD formatted (VIDEO_TS).
Thanks very much for your tips!
JeffTronics

Hi Jeff - is the iMovie file in QT format?
If so, you need to compress it to MPEG2 - you don't need to suffer too much of a quality loss by doing so - how long (in minutes) is the video?
You should also encode the audio to AC3 - this will save loads of space as AC3 is about a tenth the size of a .aiff.
ffmpeg will create the MPEG for you, but so will DVDSP (as indeed will Quicktime). In your applications folder you should find 'A.Pack' which will handle the audio conversion as well.
The exact encoding parameters you use will depend on the nature of the footage that you have got - it's more than just squeezing it to fit - you need to account for fades, pans, zooms and fast action as well. Some parts can have a lower bitrate applied than others, and this is where a tool such as Compressor comes in handy. DVDSP will encode the footage as you work, or when you build if you want it to - this is also a reasonable option if you have nothing else available, or if you are new to the whole thing.
The best workflow is to go from iMovie to a compression tool to create your MPEG2 file. Take the associated .aiff file and encode to to Dolby Digital (AC3). Import both the MPEG2 and the AC3 file into DVDSP and you should be able to get the entire project to less than 4.37GB (the maximum capacity of a DVD-R).

Reducing video file size - help!

Hi all,
I've produced an 11min film for my company which has come out at 150mb when converted from F4V to WMV format (which is the format our SharePoint system prefers). However, it's too bit!
So the question is, what can I do when exporting the video from Premiere Pro to ensure it's as small as possible? Adjust the format? Bit rates? etc etc. The frame width has already been reduced to 640 x 340 pixels. I've looked at other posts, but each question is so different.
Apologies, I'm stil so new to all this and I'm sure I'm asking the most basic questions.
Thanks all
Ashley

There are only two things that effect file size, bitrate and duration. Format, resolution, frame rate, etc. won't have any effect.
And this makes sense if you think about it. Files are measured in bits, so...bits per second x number of seconds = file size. Whether 1920 x 1080 or 640 x 360, it's still bits per second x number of seconds.

I imported an hour of video into iMovie HD and cut it down to a 33 sec clip, and emptied the trash. When I save the project, the file size is 20Gb. How can I save just the 33 sec clip?

I imported an hour of video into iMovie HD and cut it down to a 33 sec clip, and emptied the trash. When I save the project, the file size is 20Gb. How can I save just the 33 sec clip?

Non-destructive editing is an important feature of iMovie HD 6.
iMovie preserves the entire copy of every clip you place into your movie in case you change your mind at a later stage.
So, if you have cut out one minute from a 45 minute clip, iMovie will have stored two complete copies of that clip. This is why is helps to set import as 3-5 minute clips rather than one huge chunk. As DV runs at 13GB per hour your project files can get very big.
One workaround is to complete the editing of a section of the movie, then export that to Quicktime: highlight the clip/s, choose Share-Quicktime, turn on Share selected clips only, and choose Full Quality from the pop-ip menu.
Once you have saved the stand-alone clip to your hard drive, you can re-import it into your project using the File/Import command, and delete the original long clip/s from the project.

Huge HD file sizes in iMovie when importing AVCHD files from HD Camcorder

Although several answers have been given on different ways to import HD files from a AVCHD camcorder, in this case a Sony one, the issue is what to do with the HUGE files it creates. I recorded 2 hours of HD content in about 30GB on the camcorder. I can burn those native HVCHD files on DVD's, took 6 of them, and play them on a Blue Ray player in HD. To edit, I tested a sample 50MB file that was about 3 minutes in length. It convered to quicktime file in the same 1920x1080 quality resulted in a file that was about 800MB, looked great, but how do I store or play a 20 minute version of it? iMovie is inadequate to do anything other than produce smaller size files for an iPod or lower quality, unless it is going to be a very short HD movie if doing true HD quality. One of the reasons I took the MAC plunge was the better multimedia capabilities. In this case, Apple (iMove and Final Cut) is behind.
I ended up shifting my HD editing back to a PC with $100 Sony Vegas software that can edit the AVCHD files and author in it. I can produce a DVD with about 25 minutes of edited HD in AVCDH file format and play it. I can also store the finished product in a much smaller space using AVCHD files. I have a 1 TB drive on my Mac that would be consumed if I worked in iMovie with converting all these AVCDH files and kept them in HD quality since it looks like it needs to expand them 12-16 times the AVCHD file size.
Yes, I know I could lower the quality to better work with them in iMovie, but that makes no sense to me. I want to record and edit in the HD format. Seems like these AVCHD cameras are becoming a standard since they are so efficient at storing HD content, iMovie needs to figure out how to edit and store them the same way. Very disappointed in how iMovie handles HD, to me it is NOT very good at handling HD, no good way to store or distribute it.
Am I missing soomething here? I have spent hours looking for a different answer, but have not found one yet? Maybe the next version of iMovie will be better. I like using it for SD DVD authoring, but for HD, did not work at all for me.
Jon

Interesting you say it is not meant for editing, but there are about a half dozen editor's for windows that will work on these exact files. I know with Sony Vegas that I have the same level of control with frame precision as I do with iMovie so I think there must be more to the story why Apple has not been able to support it like other software manufacturers who support windows. Don't get me wrong, i would love to do the work in iMovie and not have to learn something new. I don't have the storage space to use the HD apple format, that 2 hr of HD in AVCHD would turn into about 500GB then what do I put it on to play it. If the BlueRay standard calls for 25 or 50G disc's and we can get full two hour movies on them today, then they must be using a file format similar to AVCHD to fit on a disc, they cannot be using anything close to what Apple uses for HD files, it is just simple logic and math. So why doesn't Apple finure it out before everyone who starts working in HD comes to the same conclusion that the Apple QT file formats for HD is going to be an issue with space, you can create content, but cannot afford the disc space to store it or play it.

I am using a Mac Mini. I want to change the file size in iMovie to MPEG so I can burn the move to a disc. There is no "save As" that I can find . What do i do?

I am using a mac mini. I want to change the file size in iMovie to MPEG so I can burn the movie to a disc. There is no "Save As" that I can find. What do I do?

Stanley Fayer wrote:
... to MPEG so I can burn the movie to a disc. ...
to create standard-conform DVDs = playable on any DVDplayer, there's much more to do than just converting to mpeg(2)...-
you need a DVD-authoring app, as iDVD, Burn, Toast ........... drag any iMovie export into it, 'burn'.

Is it best to upload HD movies from a camcorder to iMovie or iPhoto. iMovie gives the option for very large file sizes - presumably it is best to use this file size because the HD movie is then at its best quality?

Is it best to upload hd movie to iPhoto or iMovie? iMovie seems to store the movie in much larger files - presumably this is preferable as a larger file is better quality?

Generally it is if you're comparing identical compressors & resolutions but there's something else happening here. If you're worried about quality degrading; check the original file details on the camera (or card) either with Get Info or by opening in QuickTime and showing info. You should find the iPhoto version (reveal in a Finder) is a straight copy. You can't really increase image quality of a movie (barring a few tricks) by increasing file size but Apple editing products create a more "scrub-able" intermediate file which is quite large.
Good luck and happy editing.

Huge iMovie file size.

I made 3 movies in Quicktime from Keynote presentations, sizes 4, 24 and 48 MB, but when I import them into iMovie, the project file grows up to 7+ GB. Could somebody tell me why this happens, and is there a way to make it smaller or am I doing something wrong. That takes up almost all my free hard drive space, and taht is only 1 of three project I want to create.
David

Hi David
Karsten is 100% on this I just want to speculate around how I would do.
Easiest way:
is to get an external hard disk BUT THIS SHOULD be:
- a FireWire disk - no USB/USB2 - will not behave if one stores video material on it and tries to work with is here
- has to be Mac OS Extended or Mac OS Extended (journaled) - DOS/UNIX/Mac OS Exchange will not work
There should be at least 10Gb free space on internal hard disk (thumb-role
is 10% free space). at less than 5Gb the Mac OS gets problems due to that it
really is UNIX with a Mac interface. = lots of temp-files (invisible) and virtual
memory management.
Worse way:
Tidy up the internal hard disk so that it has about 10 - 25Gb free space by
storing old documents elsewhere - eg DVD disks, ext hard disks etc.
Yours Bengt W

How to achieve smaller file size in iMovie after cutting or cropping

iMovie saves unused material, so that even if I remove (crop or cut) unwanted footage, I am left with the same large file size for the project.
The same seems to be true if I split a clip, and delete the unwanted portion and empty the trash.
I have saved selected portions to Quicktime and then set up another iMovie project using the smaller trimmed file. Is there a better way to do this - entirely within the iMovie environment?
Thanks,
K. Allen
G-5, dual 2.0 PowerPC Mac OS X (10.4.7) iLife6, 2.5 G of RAM, 40 G of free disk space

saved selected portions to Quicktime and then set up another iMovie project using the smaller trimmed file
You should export as .dv (not .mov) and import it back.
Or export to tape and import it back.
Or downgrade to iMovie 4 and make very good backups (emptying the trash while trimming the clips sometimes corrupts the project in iMovie 1-4!!).

With iMovie 10 how do I change the movie file size and type.

I have recently upgraded to iMovie 10. It takes some getting used to but I think I will like the new product. After creating my first few movies and trying to upload them to dropbox, it is taking a long time. Comparing the files to ones created in the previous version they are larger, and I need to know how we adjust the file size to the device the movies will be used for. I don't need high resolution files. It looks like you can change the size in file for share but still a large file and only compatible with Mac and PC others are greyed out. Files are much larger than the files generated in the old version.
Thanks any help will be appreciated.

This is one of the areas where the options have been reduced compared to iMovie 9. If you share to File, you should have Large (540p) and SD (480p) options in addition to the HD ones.
I'm not sure exactly which menu it is where you are finding greyed-out options.
What is the native format of the movie you are saving?
If you can't share directly into the format you want you should be able to post-process the shared file with a third-party app.
Geoff.

Target file size and Bitrates help

I am trying to make my 2minute 40 second video become a file size of no larger than 100MB. Right now it's 470MB and that was after I converted it with MPEG Streamclip to a smaller version that I could upload. Is there an easy way to calculate the maximum bitrate to make your existing video the right size? I noticed some bitrate calculators but none of them are for web video's and I don't see any that have a target file size. Short of taking an encoding class for this project I could use some suggestions.

Export from fcp with current settings and bring that into compressor. Use one of the apple: otherworkflows: web: quicktime 7 compatible.. When you apply them they'll give you an estimate (just an estimate) of the file size in the summary window. It's a good place to start. If you're going to be resizing, I'd strongly recommend that you turn on frame controls in the frame controls panel and set the resizing filter to best.
Once you've found your ideal settings, you can save this customized preset and apply it to other files.

Imove hd file size 30+gb

I just bought my new macbook and i love it. i installed windows on it to play games and stuff so that took away from my hard drive space. My brother and i were fooling around making a movie and stuff. Im using scenes from a movie i ripped and im also shooting scenes with the isight. i dont really know why the file size is 30+gb. Can you guys help me a little or give me some advice. I am kind of lost. If you need more info for any reason I'd be glad to post again.

Hi p
< AND - don't empty the Trash-basket in iMovie - especially if You included >
< photos in Your movie project !!! You'll get troubles. >
< The Trash-basket on Your desk-top is OK to empty. >
iMovie Trash bin has been a problem since version 1.0
in version 6.0.0 - 6.0.3 there still is problems. These are most obvious if
You include photos in Your movie project (from iPhoto) and if You apply
Ken-Burns effect to them.
If You now empty Trash bin. Your photos will start to behave strangely
- if You now apply any transitions or text to them they will render and
result in black picturs.
- and Your photos imported to iMovie are lost
You will have to re-do the photo process.
My paranoia makes me not to tuch this Trash bin AT ALL.
even if it worked OK - it will not save space by emptying it.
a non-destructive editor doesn't work like that
It will only save space when 100% of a Capture is deleted and this
is rather rare. If You keep just one frame - all of it will stay.
Hopfully this has enlighted and not only confused !
Another function that gives Grey-hair due to mal-function is
Share/Export to iDVD - especially if there is photos in the movie
Result is harmed two folded:
- file sent to iDVD will be severely pixelated - destroyed
- original iMovie project - also affected - You have to re-do the photos
I do: Close iMovie
Open iDVD
Drop the movie icon (with a Star on it) into iDVD theme window.
Yours Bengt W

Imovie file sizes

I imported a full tape (video file) from my camcorder which shows around 12 Gb. I have deleted clips and resaved the file to create 3 different files to import in to idvd but all three files are still 12Gb when they are alot shorter then the original. The problem now is I have no more room to create any more movie files so what do I need to do to reduce these files - thanks
PS I have borrowed a copy of Final Cut Express but find this to complicated to use, but would this help with this problem - even to reduce the file sizes so I can go back to i movie again to finish of the movies.

Hi TLP,
Due to the "non-destructive" feature of iMovie HD, the trimmed clips are not really removed from the project. This is why you see the same file size for all 3 files. Use File > Share, select QuickTime, and Full Quality in pop-up menu, this will allow you to export a new QuickTime file containing only the clips on the timeline/clip viewer. (note: if you have chapter markers put in, the markers are not exported). You can directly import the QT file into iDVD, or you can re-import it into a new iMovie project for furhter editing, e.g. add chapter markers, etc.

IMovie 10.0 file sizes/bitrates

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