Video Compression Tips

If you’re going to be recording video for your website, a podcast or for submitting to video sharing sites it’s important to understand how video works on the web. When you upload your video to the internet it will have to be compressed from its original form. Video is typically looked at in individual pixels.

When computers compress video they look at video in blocks of pixels and try to simplify everything in that particular block. To help your computer compress your video ready for the web you should be aware of and consider the following ideas for better results.

Keep it simple

With video compression always in mind, the simpler you can make your video the better. The less your video changes from frame to frame then the easier it will be for your computer to compress the video. Very important is your location and background. Select a static background like a white wall or a colored sheet rather than filming it outside where you may have trees, shrubs moving in the background. Okay this might be a little boring for you viewers but it will help the compression and you will still get your message across, possibly more so as you will get more of your viewers attention. Capturing background movement in your video will increase the size of your video file.

Keep it short

Normal internet viewers want to watch short and to the point videos. Not many people will want to watch a 15-20 minute podcast, and not many websites will allow you to upload one due to the videos large file size. A good podcast length to keep your viewers attention should be between one and five minutes, no more. If you have a lot to say you may want to break your video into several shorter ones with specific titles so that your viewers can select the ones that interest them.

Use a tripod

Movement in your video such as the general shaking that occurs when someone is holding a video camera will make it harder for your computer to compress the video and harder to watch. A tripod is always a good idea, infact it is a necessity in any video recording situation, and none more so than for website videos.

Get an external microphone

An external microphone is a must for any web video or podcast. When you use the built in microphone on your camcorder the audio quality in your podcast will poor with more background noise and even camcorder generated noise. A cheap lavaliere microphone can be a great investment for your videos podcast and will dramatically improve its quality. It is not an expensive investment either as good lavaliere microphones can be had for less than $40

Background and unwanted noise.

Take care before shooting to eliminate unwanted background noise. Passing traffic, AC units, local construction work etc. This noise could spoil your video quality and add to the file size.

Keep it tight

Tight shots mean less information on the screen and likewise video that is easier to compress. If you are recording a ‘talking head’ video about a new product then you do not want to distract your viewers or increase you file size by having unecessary movement or loud backgrounds that add nothing to the message of the video. Zoom in on your subject, possibly you, for smaller file size.

Consider your video player size

If you’re recording video to upload to a video sharing website or your own personal web site think about the size of the player window when you’re shooting. Typically this will be 425 x 350. At this size, small items in the scene that you are shooting will look really small in the video and might even confuse the viewer. Try watching a football match in a video player screen that size to realise what I mean.

Overexpose

Computers tend to make video a little darker than it should appear. Therefore you may want to record your video a little overexposed than you would usually. Overexposure will also eliminate some details in your video that will make it easier to compress. It depends on the amount of control that you have over your camcorder. Cheaper camcorders are typically more automatic with less manual control. Refer to your user manual on how to control the exposure and then experiment with a few different exposure settings on your computer to find one that works best for your still produce a good quality video.

Following these tips should help keep the size of your compressed video as small as possible for using on your own site and submitting to [tag-tec]video sharing sites[/tag-tec].