Compressing for email at DVinfo.net

Richard Siberry · September 23rd, 2009, 05:30 AM

I want to email a 3 minute HDV sequence to a client for approval. I have exported the sequence through both Compressor and Quicktime to the best of my abilities (I'm no expert on this) but the smallest resulting file (Mpeg4) is still 90Mb, too big to email easily. Am I missing something?
Thanks as always for your help.
Rich

Andy Wilkinson · September 23rd, 2009, 07:01 AM

There are several possible solutions for you.... but compressing it for e-mail is definitely not one on my list - at all! 5Mb is typical max size limit for many e-mail systems...so you'll never ever get there.

I'd suggest you upload it (in good quality of course) to, for example, a Vimeo account (and password protect it). Then check it plays OK then just e-mail your client the link and password. Simple. Well, not always......see below...I actually do these things by uploading corporate video drafts to private areas of own website, one for each client, as I then have total control of everything. Then I give my corporate client the access info needed - but my guess is you don't have that stuff in place yet. (Note, even then it's not always simple as some corporate firewalls block Flash video anyway).

There are apparently some cool new solutions in Apple's new version of FCS which may or may not help with this client/scenario too.

Also, this thread may interest you.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/flash-we...to-emails.html

Robert Lane · September 23rd, 2009, 08:39 AM

Andy's recommendation is spot-on however I'd avoid creating an embedded HTML video in email as most email clients - and ISP's today - will filter out these emails as spam, some simply won't even process the incoming message.

Richard Siberry · September 23rd, 2009, 09:36 AM

Thanks for the feedback. I expected that posting it privately on Vimeo or YouTube would be the best solution.
In this case I ended up reducing the file size to 19Mb by exporting as an iPhone file and then "sending" it to the client using yousendit.com. That seems to have worked quite well.
Thanks again for your help.
Rich.

Shaun Roemich · September 23rd, 2009, 10:01 AM

I too use YouSendIt for client evals, assuming the material is short enough. I use QuickTime for AppleTV as my encoder as most of my clients either have iTunes or QuickTime Player.

Mitchell Lewis · September 23rd, 2009, 04:22 PM

We use YouSentIt for sending finished commercials to the local broadcasters. Those files are normally between 140 and 250mb in size. Never had a problem yet.

When we're sending to a client we use Telestream Flip4Mac Studio Pro HD to convert the file to WMV. It's extremely rare that someone is not able to play a WMV file.

If the email totals more than 10mb in size, we send a link to the file stored on the web someplace (our company internet site for example).

Daniel Bates · September 23rd, 2009, 05:37 PM

I use Flip4Mac to compress every one of my (usually 30 seconds to 3 minutes long) videos into email size. The quality sucks, but I've always been able to get file sizes under 10 Mb.

September 23rd, 2009, 05:30 AM	#1
Richard Siberry Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: New York, NY Posts: 30	Compressing for email I want to email a 3 minute HDV sequence to a client for approval. I have exported the sequence through both Compressor and Quicktime to the best of my abilities (I'm no expert on this) but the smallest resulting file (Mpeg4) is still 90Mb, too big to email easily. Am I missing something? Thanks as always for your help. Rich

September 23rd, 2009, 07:01 AM	#2
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	There are several possible solutions for you.... but compressing it for e-mail is definitely not one on my list - at all! 5Mb is typical max size limit for many e-mail systems...so you'll never ever get there. I'd suggest you upload it (in good quality of course) to, for example, a Vimeo account (and password protect it). Then check it plays OK then just e-mail your client the link and password. Simple. Well, not always......see below...I actually do these things by uploading corporate video drafts to private areas of own website, one for each client, as I then have total control of everything. Then I give my corporate client the access info needed - but my guess is you don't have that stuff in place yet. (Note, even then it's not always simple as some corporate firewalls block Flash video anyway). There are apparently some cool new solutions in Apple's new version of FCS which may or may not help with this client/scenario too. Also, this thread may interest you. http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/flash-we...to-emails.html __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production

September 23rd, 2009, 08:39 AM	#3
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,788 Images: 15	Andy's recommendation is spot-on however I'd avoid creating an embedded HTML video in email as most email clients - and ISP's today - will filter out these emails as spam, some simply won't even process the incoming message. __________________ Robert Lane Producer/Creator - Bike Pilots TV

September 23rd, 2009, 10:01 AM	#5
Shaun Roemich Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (formerly Winnipeg, Manitoba) Canada Posts: 4,088	I too use YouSendIt for client evals, assuming the material is short enough. I use QuickTime for AppleTV as my encoder as most of my clients either have iTunes or QuickTime Player. __________________ Shaun C. Roemich Road Dog Media - Vancouver, BC - Videographer - Webcaster www.roaddogmedia.ca Blog: http://roaddogmedia.wordpress.com/

September 23rd, 2009, 04:22 PM	#6
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	We use YouSentIt for sending finished commercials to the local broadcasters. Those files are normally between 140 and 250mb in size. Never had a problem yet. When we're sending to a client we use Telestream Flip4Mac Studio Pro HD to convert the file to WMV. It's extremely rare that someone is not able to play a WMV file. If the email totals more than 10mb in size, we send a link to the file stored on the web someplace (our company internet site for example). __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

September 23rd, 2009, 09:36 AM	#4
Richard Siberry Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: New York, NY Posts: 30	Thanks for the feedback. I expected that posting it privately on Vimeo or YouTube would be the best solution. In this case I ended up reducing the file size to 19Mb by exporting as an iPhone file and then "sending" it to the client using yousendit.com. That seems to have worked quite well. Thanks again for your help. Rich.

September 23rd, 2009, 05:37 PM	#7
Daniel Bates Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Daegu, Korea Posts: 180	I use Flip4Mac to compress every one of my (usually 30 seconds to 3 minutes long) videos into email size. The quality sucks, but I've always been able to get file sizes under 10 Mb.