Best compression type for rendering small files?

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Bob G
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:45 am

Best compression type for rendering small files?

Post by Bob G »

I would like to use Quicktime and a compatible compression type to render smaller files that what I'm currently getting.
BACKGROUND:
I use Anime Pro 8 and have some relatively simple .anme files each with a couple of cartoon characters walking and talking for about 19 sec. When I Export these files, I select Quicktime as the player and "Animation" as the compression type. I get object files that are around 30MB.
The other compression types presented to me by Anime don't seem to be compatible with Quicktime. They include what I think are the 9 default compression types for Anime such as MPEG-4 Video, DV-PAl, H.264.
NOTE: I downloaded Adobe's Flash Player but it didn't work correctly with Anime.
QUESTIONS:
#1: What is the best Quicktime compatible compression type to render much smaller files say in the 5 MB range which I believe is possible for my animations?
#2: What do you have to do to get the current version of Adobe Flash Player working with Anime? I down loaded the latest version Rev. 11.2.202.233
All help is appreciated.
Cheers,
Bob G
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slowtiger
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Post by slowtiger »

- Codec: Small files are generated by h.264 and MPEG-4. I chose the latter when I want to have rich colours, as h.264 tends to fade them a bit. h.264 gives the smallest file sizes though.

- Flash: Did you really export your animation as .swf and then played it in the Flash player? It doesn't play .anme files.
Bob G
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:45 am

Post by Bob G »

slowtiger,
Thanks for the response. Re. your queston...you are correct. The Export of the .swf file didn't produce a viewable file. Since my post, I been trying to get MPEG-4 working so I'm going in the direction you recommend. It is tricky however because I get inconsistent results with the video. The following describes what I've done so far with MPEG-4. If you would, please take a look and let me know if you think my results are typical. Thanks again for your response.

I found the following tip at http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/vid ... /5675.aspx

COPY OF TIP:
To compress your QuickTime file, you want to change it from its current QuickTime format to an MPEG-4 format, which is much smaller and has more versatility. Open the movie then go to File in the QuickTime task bar and select Export. When an export menu comes up give it the correct title then go to the export options and select Movie to MPEG-4. Keep the Use section on Default Settings. Just hit save and the export in the MPEG-4 format will begin. This format should be higher quality than other types of compressed files.

MY EXPERIENCE: To do what the tip suggests, you have to purchase QuickTime Pro in order to get the Export function....easy and only $32 USD. Using QuickTime Pro, I Exported 3 different Anime (.anme) animation files. The source files were 17MB, 23MB, and 29MB. For the first two I got good results with both good audio and adequate video. For the latter I got good audio but distorted video which was unusable. In every case the QuickTime object size was the same, namely 847KB! So I guess MPEG-4 tries to limit all objects to that size. I cut the 29MB source down to 24MB by running in through Anime again then ran QuicTime Export again. That did not correct the video distortion as I thought it might. So MPEG-4, so far, is not looking very good.
Bob G
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:45 am

Post by Bob G »

slowtiger,
I'm getting there :) I just used Anime to render with MPEG4-Video as the compression type and it produced a 4.2MB .mov file for which both audio and video were fine. I was hoping that Anime would not have the 847KB upper limit that I experience with just QuickTime Pro and that turned out to be the case.

RESULTS:
Using Anime to render with the compression type MPEG4-Video* selected, I compressed a 29MB animation file** to 4.2MB and got good quality for audio and video.

* As a first time user, I tried this before purchasing QuickTime Pro and the render by Anime didn't work. The compression type MPEG4-Video appeared in the Anime drop down menu but it didn't work until I had actually downloaded QT Pro.

** My animation files are pretty simple. I have two cartoon characters walking and talking for about 19 sec with no exotic options enable. Just 3 bone layers, 2 audio layers, and 8 image layers.
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