Post-Production : Reels by Daniel Dambroff

Hi Daniel, I'm in a similar situation, and according to my software's descriptions of all options, it appears that .mov is the best format, with mp4 being a close second. I did a 5 minute clip that I finished just yesterday and used mov, it turned out "reel" nice :-) Good luck! Melissa

Thanks for your insight Melissa!

Melissa and Daniel, .mov and .mp4 are just video file containers. Quality depends on what video encoder you use. Quick Time .mov files are Apple based and aren't as universal as an .mp4. H.264 is a high quality encoder that will yield small file size and great quality. The bit rate (data rate) set in the encoder will be determine the quality and the output file size. Hope this helps a bit...

I was wondering the same thing. I haven't been able to completely do my reel, didn't even take into consideration that all the files are probably encoded differently. Eventually, when I get all my footage, I'll edit and make it happen. Good luck all around!

As most of your source material will likely be in different formats, I would suggest transcoding all of it into Prores (if you're working on a mac, that is). If you're on PC...throw it away and buy a mac ;) Then, start a new prores sequence (720p or similar) in your edit software (NLE), and away you go! There are, of course, many ways to skin a cat, but this way, you'll retain a certain quality control.

I prefer qt h264 over all, and find that a lot of folks/sites can accept this. However, working in media, I'm surprised by how many tv stations want mpeg4 and even mpeg2. Hope this helps.

Thanks all, for your input. A lot of great information. I have so much to learn about editing, and it can be so tedious and frustrating for someone so green. I have a lot of stuff recorded on a Canon 60D, and I try to convert everything else to the same formatting style. For editing I'm using Director's Cut (I have a pc, not a mac) and I'm really trying to learn it but sometimes I have to walk away from it for a while (or I might end up throwing it out the window lol) I'll take any and all advice anyone can give :-)

That's good Greg....I do that too :-) I use YouTube how-to's for just about everything! That's how I learned Photoshop in fact! lol

Thanks so much for all the comments. Glad we got a discussion out that ultimately benefitted others, rather than just myself. Have some great tips moving forward!!

David, if you're uploading the reel to a website where it will be seen, I think the format doesn;t matter. It's what requirements that partucular website has for video. If you're SENDING a video file in email, then MP4 will work on Mac and Pc's

I would do it as a .MOV then down-convert it as needed.

If you're working primarily with 60d material, you have a few options. Some editing software will allow you to work with that material straight out of the camera (like Premiere), and others wont. In the latter case, you will have to use a program (not sure on PC) to TRANSCODE your source material to something more useable (like h.264 or MPEG4) as others have suggested. Then, when you're ready, you will need to export your finished masterpiece as a HI-RES MASTER (same settings you worked with), then a WEB MASTER ( a lower res, smaller version more suitable for upload. Generally, you wouldn't want to upload a 2 minute file that's over 1gb in size...so don't be afraid to export a few versions until you get it right...H264 is a great compression standard, very suitable for youtube etc, and you can generate great looking files that are much smaller than other codecs. Hope this helps, jimi

It's ok in MP4 format if your going to upload online but for clients presentation you can have it in .MOV Photo-JPEG compression.Cheers!

Thank you everyone for your help! I got around to editing and here's my new reel!: https://vimeo.com/67698636