Anyway around iMovie's compression of footage?

Original file: 2.78GB

Exported from iMovie '11 with an image stabilizer added:

iMovie HD 1080 x 1920: 487GB

iMovie QT: 831.9

How can I export my file at its original size for editing in FinalCut Express? I bought iLife'11 only for the image stabilizer in iMovie since FCE lacks one.

Help! My final videos, because of iMovie's compression, are grainy, not as beautifully rendered as would be without using iMovie.

Thanks for any help with this issue,
Brenda

Tom, I tried that, except maybe the frame rate, I'll check. Also, I set the audio to ACC, best, 320kbph. It took nearly an hour and came in at half the size and a discernable loss of resolution.

Does your response mean there is no way to export a stabilized clip from iMovie at its original size?

I only purchased iMovie'11 for the image stabilization. Perhaps it'll work to edit the clips in FCE & then use iMovie? And upload to YouTube or wherever from there?

I am dismayed to find that Apple automatically resizes any exported video from iMovie, and even to save the file as an .xml for FinalCut doesn't work because none of the filters travel with it - meaning no image stabilization, which is what I most want.

Really feeling frustrated with the whole process of impossibilities right now. No way I can purchase Final Cut Pro, and don't need it for my purposes, and yet there is no image stabilization in FCE. iMovie's excessive compression makes working in it nearly impossible too.

I'll let you know if tweaking the frame rate does anything beyond what I've already tried.

Thanks.

We're up to *896.9 MB* now, with a QT file using the settings you recommended.

The original .mov file is *2.78 GB*.

YouTube accepts up to a *2 GB* video file. Also I need the better resolution for making DVDs.

To my eye, the original video is much better quality than the stabilized QT file provided by iMovie.

*Please tell me there is a way to put a 2.78GB clip in, stabilize a few segements here & there, and export it as a 2.78GB file?*

What's happening is making me cry.

Is there a way *to bypass* iMovie's automatic video compression?

The clip is 3.08;19 min long. Other than downloading it from my video camera, I haven't edited the file.

The original file is *2.78 GB*.

Of iMovie's exports:

i) HD 1080 x 1920 (computer resolution acc'd to the chart): *487 MB*
ii) iMovie QT export with automatic frame rates: *831.9 MB*
iii) iMovie QT export with the frame rate settings you recommended: *869.9 GB*

My last videopoem (footage stabilized in iMovie) was well under the normal size I upload to YouTube and the quality is nowhere near what I am used to.

I am truly sorry to hear that there is no way to maintain the size and resolution of the original footage when you are exporting it from iMovie.

It seems that this is a serious problem with the software and I am wondering why an Apple salesman recommended I purchase it for the image stabilization in iMovie. Wouldn't he have known about this issue?

Tonight I am very sad with how iMovie is not what I thought it was. Oh, so sad!

When you "Share" a video using iMovie's "Export Movie..." [or Command E] if you look at the screen that opens there is a chart. Take a look - you'll see only the computer icon in the list for HD video.

I downloaded all the video on my Canon VixiaS100 in both iMovie and Final Cut Express.

*iMovie saved the test file, a 3 minute HD file, at 2.78 GB*, so did FCE. It's the same file. Both programs saved it at the same size.

I guess square brackets makes a live link out of the text it is enclosing? Sorry. *s make bold text. 🙂

Opening the clip in QT, the Inspector says:

Format: Apple Intermediate Codec, 1020 x 1080, Million
16-bit Integer (Little Endian), Stereo (L R), 48.000 kHz
FPS: 29.97
Data Size: 2.78 GB
Data Rate: 118.23 Mbit/s

Wow, that sounds like the beginning of possibility. However, I can't find "None" in the drop-down menu under Compression Type in the Settings window when you Share to a QT movie file.

I had it set on H.264, not Apple Intermediate Codec. Is AIC worth trying?

At the bottom of the drop-down menu are:

Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2
Uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2

Are either of those the setting you are talking about?

Mostly I'm just a videopoet who makes experimental flicks around 5 minutes in length. Any waiting time for rendering or saving isn't a problem, but losing substantial resolution is since I layer footage, sometimes use text, and add various filters.

Thanks for your cogent reply - hopefully this is a good lead to how to export an uncompressed file to FCE for editing.

Oh, oops. It's way too late and I'm falling over tired. Almost 2:30am. I suddenly 'see' "None" in the drop-down menu. Thank you so much! Will try tomorrow.