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Originally published at Internet.comThis tutorial was inspired by the plight of a fellow Jupitermedia editor who put several excellent QuickTime movies in a story recently, but was dismayed that much of his audience couldn't view them. No one's born knowing this stuff, so if you're new to online video, read on.
In part one of our tutorial series, we looked at the different kind of cameras used in online work. Now we're going to jump ahead, to after the filming and editing, when you need to decide how you're going to post your creation.
The format of choice for Web video is Flash Video, written FLV. Uncompressed files look much better, but they're also too large for viewers to download quickly and the bandwidth costs would eat up your budget in no time. FLV is currently the most popular choice because it offers decent quality with small file sizes, and because most browsers can view it out of the box. As our fellow editor found out, not all computers have a QuickTime plug-in pre-installed.
There are several options for converting your video into an FLV file, with Sorenson Squeeze being perhaps the most popular. To make sure we were giving out correct Squeeze advice, we spoke to Randon Morford, senior product manager for Sorenson Media.
New video producers on a budget will appreciate that Sorenson offers a reduced version of Squeeze that only outputs Flash for $249. Higher-priced versions offer more formats. Whichever you choose, the interface is the same. We'll discus the entry-level version, Squeeze for Flash, here. 1. Output Your File
Before you can encode your file, you need to output it from your video editing application. Output at full resolution, says Morford, because you don't want to compress an already compressed file. Doing so will only create artifacts in the final version. 2. Import your File
To move your video into Squeeze, open the application and either press the Import File button in the upper left corner, or drag your video from the desktop to the large preview window. 3. Add a Filter
Sure, your video looked fine in your video editor, but you're compressing the file when you encode it, so some of the information will be lost. Filters help compensate for that loss. Add a filter from the filter list in the left-hand column. Select the one you want and click Apply.
You can easily preview the filter effect before encoding your file. To preview, add a filter and then drag the preview button above the screen to the right. This offers a nifty before-and-after effect, showing you exactly how your movie will look with and without the filter. To preview different parts of your video, drag the playhead below the screen to the right.
Clicking the Preview button lets you view how the video will play-unless you're running Apple OS X 10.5. The preview feature currently doesn't work under Apple's new OS, but Sorenson plans to release a fix early in 2008.
You can adjust the filters setting by double-clicking the name of the filter in the bottom right Settings window. A new window will open showing the settings for that filter. 4. Choose Your Format
Squeeze for Flash can create two kinds of files: SWF and FLV. "SWF" means "Shockwave Flash" and it's a container file offering both the video player and the video itself.
When you create an SWF file, you have the option of making the video embedded or linked. Embedded means the video is bundled into the same file, so you only have one file to worry about. A linked SWF means the video file is linked to the player, but is a separate file. While having an embedded file sounds easier, it's not recommended for files over 30 seconds long. Otherwise, you're likely to see audio synching issues.
If you crreate a linked SWF, Squeeze will assume the player and video will be stored in the same directory unless you input a path for the video file. If you're going to use a separate video directory, input the URL so the player can point to it.
To view these options, choose an SWF setting from the window on the left and click apply. The format will be added to your settings in the lower right window. Double-click Player Options to call up a separate window with SWF output options. You can also set the player to play the video instantly or after a set period of time, or to play once or loop the video
When you create an FLV file, you're creating only the video file, not the player. This is what professionals choose, as they've likely already created a custom player with Flash. If you work for a large organization that already has a Flash player set up, this is the option you'll want.
When you choose a format, you'll also need to think about the bitrate that you want for the streaming file. The typical range, says Morford, is from 384kbps to 768kbps. Before you choose, think about your user and the type of connection they're likely to have. Larger sizes offer bigger pictures and more attractive results, but also need more bandwidth to stream fluidly. If you're not sure what to use, 384kbps is a good safe place to start. 5. Encode Your File
When you have your starting file, filter, and format all set up, you're ready to output. Click Squeeze It in the lower right to create your file.
That's all there is to it. When you've got the hang of it, click over to our article on advanced tips for Squeeze users.
Author: Troy Dreier
Read article at Internet.com site