Is FCE an ok choice for creating video for the web?
 

I keep reading about Flash this and Flash that for the web as far as video is concerned. Final Cut doesn't allow any Flash compression, is that true? Am I going to wind up spending more $$ on 3rd party software to create any Flash versions of video for the web? Is this something to be concerned about or am I overanalyzing?

I edit in FCP and use Sorenson Squeeze to convert to Flash, although I have also had good results with Visual Hub: http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/

It's only like $24 or something.

It depends upon what level of quality and control you are trying to achieve in your final result. I have both the Sorenson Squeeze Suite as well as the On2 Flix system, and I am really happy with the results I have gotten in my Flash, but there is certainly an investment involved in using those applications.

For a very rudimentary approach (meaning text plus some basic objects, etc) I think it is theoretically possible to build something in Keynote (since you are on a Mac) which can then export as a Flash swf file - but I don't think this would be effective if your projects uses real video or animation. Keynote can play them back in a presentation or export them as quicktime, but I don't know much about its swf export limitations.

Otherwise, there are several free online services that now allow you to upload your video to their site for free conversion to a variety of formats, and then you simply wait for the conversion to take place and then download the results to use where you need them. (This is a step up from the traditional free method of uploading to YouTube, letting YouTube convert it, and then extracting the file from the page and figuring out how to put their proprietary file to use.)

Here is a rundown on several of those free services. I haven't tried any of them so I couldn't tell you which I'd recommend trying. If free, you have nothing to lose (except image quality, i guess)

http://www.cultcase.com/2008/02/get-...ine-video.html

Hope this helps.

-Jon

Greetings Mike! I just recently moved back to Canada after living in Philly for a time (S 49th and Baltimore Ave)...

When discussing Flash and FCE, we are talking about two different things... almost three.

Final Cut Express/Pro is a video editor.

Flash is an animation authoring tool used to create animation and (since 2002 or so) video suitable for online viewing.

The files Flash creates upon compiling (akin to compressing) are .swf and .flv respectively (other output formats are possible), which are generically referred to as Flash.

If you are editing video footage from a camera and intend it for the web, Final Cut is the tool you need, Flash is not made for that. You will also need a 3rd party tool to convert your edited sequence to the Flash video format.

so i would be editing video in FCE after exporting from my camera. i guess my real question should have been, how do i create a web-ready flash video file from a source video that was editing in FCE, which would be a .mov file or .avi file?

looks like on2 FLix standard would be a good place to start...sorry for the confusing questions!

Outputing to a QT movie (.mov) file rather than AVI is your best bet, then going through a third party app to convert to .flv

Actually, you need to be kind of careful here. You generally DON'T want to output a .mov file and then convert the .mov file to .flv, because you have now introduced an extra compression step. As I understand it, you want to output a Final Cut Movie (instead of quicktime movie) from the final cut timeline....you don't even have to check 'make movie self contained'......and then take THAT file into the third party app to convert to .flv. Of course I'm on FCP not FCE so I can't say for certain that what I just said applies to FCE.

That is what I meant, I just wasn't being explicit about it. When you export from the timeline you are exporting a QuickTime movie. I was refering to the .mov extension for clarity of which file i was talking about.

Compression comes from your choice of compression from within the settings. As long as the sequence settings are correct and nothing is changed in the export options, then there is no (added) compression.

And FWIW, a .mov file can be anything (video), and that includes the "Final Cut Movie" from the timeline. .mov is just a wrapper format. You can save that output from the timeline with a .mov extension and it would be perfectly fine, with no (added) compression.

I also know that I can export/convert my QT files as Flash Video directly from either FCP 5.1.4 and/or QTPro 7.4.1, however I don't know if this is built in to QTPro, FCPro, or if I have this option by virtue of having Adobe Flash CS3 (and Adobe Flash CS3 Video Encoder) installed as well.

Ya, you are right, but when you save a FCP movie from the timeline it doesn't attach the .mov extension....so I was just trying to clarify, I've seen a lot of people get confused at this and go to 'use quicktime conversion' instead. Anyways, hopefully he has the idea now.

got it, thanks!