Joining multiple mov files = LARGE final product

[Nic Paquette]

I am trying to edit together a number of videos that one of my friends took at my wedding. It total there are about 25 files that range from 30-65MB each, for a total of about 650MB. All the files are quicktime movie (mov) files.

I added all the files to Premiere Pro 3, added in transitions and text etc. When I attempt to export the movie however I end up with a file that is 4+ GB! I see that there are a LOT of settings in the various configuration menus, an honestly I'm not sure which ones to use. I realize that although all the individual files are 650MB, the final version will be a little larger but 4+GB seems like too much. I have tried MPEG4, and a number of other video compressions but nothing seems to give a smaller file.

Any advice on how to export the movie at a more reasonable file size, while not sacrificing the quality too much? Ultimately I would like to put this, along with a photo slide show onto a DVD for the relatives.

Thanks for the help!

[Steven Gotz]

If the final output is to DVD, then export to MPEG2-DVD in Adobe Media Encoder.

If the footage totals an hour or less, just export CBR at about 7MB and you should be fine in Encore. If it is over an hour, you might be happier exporting to DV AVI and then let Encore compress it to fit.

[Nic Paquette]

Thanks Steve!

Your suggestions worked. I had to end up using about 5.5MB CBR to get a decent file size but because the video wasn't exactly great quality to begin with it worked fine. I appreciate the help.

On a side note, I really like how the media encoder will give you estimated file sizes for most of the file types. Any idea why it can't do it for mov files?

[Steven Gotz]

Sorry, I never noticed, and I don't have an answer. Uless the work is being done using some of the Quicktime engine you must have on your PC, and maybe Quicktime does not provide the information back to Premiere Pro.