SHOOTING FOR
SUCCESS
Getting the best
quality out of online video
by Benjamin Wayne, CEO
of Fliqz
With Americans
watching more than 12 billion videos a month
online, at a whopping four hours for the
average user, the web represents a vast and
hungry audience, making it a key
distribution channel for filmmakers and
videographers. The challenges of internet
video delivery, however, constrained by
end-user connection speeds and the cost of
bandwidth, can reduce even the sharpest
video quality to a muddy blur. The following
tips will help you ensure your masterpiece
looks its best when posted online:
1.
Think small
Although some
sites support full-screen viewing, most
users will watch your video at the default
player size, which is about the equivalent
of a seven-inch screen. At that size, many
of the details that would be visible on a
standard television screen are lost, making
for a very different user experience. To
compensate, avoid wide shots where the
detail may be lost, and focus on tighter
shots which will optimize the viewing
experience for the small screen. Also
realize that fast motion and quick
transitions from dark to light are highly
artifact-prone when videos are converted for
online viewing, and avoid them whenever
possible. Avoid zooms and pans, which tend
to translate poorly to the small screen.
2.
Pick the best file format for maximum
quality
When
submitting video files to an online
destination, they will be encoded from their
native format into Flash for cross-platform
compatibility. Not all file formats are
created equal when it comes to encoding
success and quality. Avoid .mov files,
especially those created by Final Cut or
similar editing programs, which tend to be
problematic for encoders to handle. Also
avoid Flash files, as Flash-to-Flash
encoding often causes significant
degradation in quality. Mpeg files are often
the best choice, as they maximize both the
encoding success probability as well as
output file quality.
3.
Match your source file to the output
Another aspect
of the encoding process is compression,
which can often lead to artifacts or other
quality problems in the final Flash output.
Most encoding processes create an output
file which is roughly 400 by 300 pixels.
Files with larger dimensions will be
compressed down, resulting in noticeable
deterioration in quality. Matching your
source files dimensions to the final output
dimensions will guarantee the least
compression possible. Many sites post their
target encoding dimension in their FAQ. If
in doubt, contact the site. You can
typically ignore audio sampling rates and
frame rate, as most encoders will accept the
values in the original source files.
Following the above
guidelines will help to maximize the viewing
experience for your audience, and will
ensure your video looks as good on the small
screen as it does on the large screen.
Benjamin
Wayne is the CEO of Fliqz, the leader in
full-service, plug-and-play video solutions.
For more information, visit www.fliqz.com
