Video compression (1 min tent set up)

[Franco]

A customer wanted to know how to reduce the file size of a movie clip from his still camera to post on the net, his camera captures in AVI. So since I needed a 1 minute clip and for some time I wondered if I could set up my Contrail in less than a minute, I gave it a go. My previous best time was about 1 min 10sec . It takes me two to four minutes in the bush depending on the weather and how I feel.
From memory I put the tent up six or seven times , going over a minute only once.
To transcode the file from AVI to Mpeg I used RAD tools (convert a file button) , free from the Net. To reduce it I think that I used Windows Movie Maker ( Capture Video-import video then Finish Movie-send to the Net) , but RAD tools has Smack it!
This was done 14 months ago with the 06 Contrail, the 08 is a bit different but the set up is the same. No one has challenged my time as yet ... ( not about to challenge that myself today at 43-44c)
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1430969/4921727
BTW the weird noise is from the pump in my pond and a plane goig by.
Franco

[Tony]

Hi Franco,

Well done, are you issuing a challenge to us Contrail owner/users.

How come your lawn is green, mine is dead and rock hard

Tony

[frank_in_oz]

How come your lawn is green, mine is dead and rock hard
Tony

Great video Franco,
Reckon the lawn is green because it was filmed in 2007. Might be a brown flat bit of dirt now!

[Franco]

Frank wins
Compare my lawn 10 min ago with 13 days ago. It was still green on Monday. I never water it ( we are under restrictions anyway)
Franco

[Clownfish]

To transcode the file from AVI to Mpeg I used RAD tools (convert a file button) , free from the Net. To reduce it I think that I used Windows Movie Maker ( Capture Video-import video then Finish Movie-send to the Net)

I use Premiere & AfterEffects CS4 for everything - but I'm lucky, my boss pays for it all!

[Franco]

Yes, I have used Premiere to about 0.5% of its capacity, about my level with Photoshop too.
I have Vegas and played with Video Studio, Movie Factory, Scala (I had an Amiga) , Canopus Storm, but the only one that I could use efficiently was Pinnacle Studio, also known as Editing for Dummies.

The point there was that it can be done for free and with very little know how.
When computer video- editing came about, I was one of the first in Melbourne to sell a non dedicated system using a capture card (analogue to digital) ,133MHZ processor and a RAID Hard Drive System (Megabytes not Gigabytes) . That was about 10 weeks average wage at the time. As we progressed I got to know more and more about less and less and now I know everything about nothing.
Franco
Trivia
During a presentation for a new version of Premiere a few years ago , Adobe had a door prize (for attending) of both Premiere and After Effects. My mate won the prize. Trouble was that he had already left because he was bored. Another number was picked. I could have killed him.

[Clownfish]

The point there was that it can be done for free and with very little know how.

A good point, too. For professional work, you realise that products like Adobe's are worth it, but for home use, there's an amazing array of free stuff out there.

Yes, I have used Premiere to about 0.5% of its capacity, about my level with Photoshop too.

I'm the same with sound editing software like Soundbooth or the (far superior) Audition. Still, I know enough to record my old vinyl and clean the audio properly. I'd regard myself as reasonably expert in Photoshop, fairly proficient in Premiere, and still finding my feet in After Effects.

The problem is keeping up with everything! I mean, I regard a day where I haven't learnt something new as a day wasted, but these damn software companies don't make it easy. I'm particularly peeved with the latest versions of Flash - suddenly they've turned into some sort of ultra-nerd, programming software, where even something as supposedly simple as tweening has become a major effort.

*** Shakes fist at the sky *** Damn you, software developers! Damn you all to hell!

</rant>