I don't know iMovie all too well, but this might help anyways. I'll post my post from the other thread here so all of you non-Movie Maker Crew members can see it... but really, join the cult. It's a goldmine of information.
So anyway, here goes.
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After you're done editing, you'll need to render the video. Click on
the timeline so it is selected, and then click SEQUENCE > RENDER
ONLY > PREVIEW (green). Repeat this process for not only PREVIEW,
but for any other aspects of video that need rendering. This will be
indicated by color- above the video clips in your timeline, where the
actual timeframe is displayed. Render until the only colors are
variations of grey.
Now that your video is rendered, you have to export. You'll want to go
to FILE > EXPORT > USING QUICKTIME CONVERSION. This will take
you to the save settings. Name your project, but do not click save yet.
There is a box within the save box with some options:
Format- Choose QUICKTIME MOVIE
Use- Choose MOST RECENT SETTINGS
These should be the defaults, and you likely won't have to do anything.
Now, next to FORMAT, there should be a button that says OPTIONS. Click on it.
This will open a new window titled MOVIE SETTINGS. Within it are two
boxes: one for video, one for audio. In the video box are three
buttons and some stats.
The buttons are:
SETINGS...
FILTER...
SIZE...
Ignore the Filter button, you will be very unlikely to have a need for
any of its options unless you already know you need them. If you don't
know what the options under FILTER do, you don't need them.
First click on SETTINGS. This will open a window called STANDARD VIDEO COMPRESSION SETTINGS.
Within it are many options. Your settings should look like this:
MOTION
FRAMERATE = 30
KEYFRAMES = Every 30 frames
FRAME REORDERING = checked
DATA RATE- this is where you specify how high quality you want
your video to be. Generally, bigger numbers = better quality. Here
are some good settings that will give you good looking video:
DATA RATE = This depends. 2000 is ok. It will fit under most
website's limits for most videos, but that depends on the length.
Better quality, for websites like Vimeo, will be around 5000. If you
are burning to a DVD, go crazy. set it to 10 or 15 thousand, and go
nuts. Just know that it will take a long time.
OPTIMIZED FOR = DOWNLOAD
COMPRESSOR
Pick BEST, and use MULTI-PASS. It will take long, but it will look better.
You are done with this window. Click OK.
Now pick SIZE.
DIMENSIONS = HD 1280 x 720 16:9 [[this is a good size, but for even
better quality, choose bigger numbers. You want to make sure it is
16:9, though, which is the aspect ratio for widescreen.]]
PRESERVE ASPECT RATIO = UNCHECKED. If you're on 16:9, you don't want this. It'll screw with the sizing of your video.
DEINTERLACE SOURCE VIDEO = CHECKED. This will get rid of those annoying horizontal lines you might otherwise have.
You are done with this window. Click OK.
After you have done this, you should be pretty much ready. The Audio
compression settings are usually fine as they are. You can check them,
the audio should be about 48000 htz or so. Since it doesn't take up
much space, you can make it really high quality without much worry.
I hope that helps you. If there are any more questions you have, feel free to ask.
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You might get some helpful info out of that, but it DEFINITELY will not be exactly how it is in iMovie... or it might be. I don't know. But good luck anyway
