jamespconklin
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Efficient compression workflow of iPhone 6+ videos

Photos for Mac + iCloud Photos has significantly improved my photography workflow: It is now much easier to keep all of my family photos and videos organized (side bar: favorite smart album is album = none). With 140GB in my photo library already though (on the 200GB plan), I try to save space where I can. Compressing my iPhone 6+ videos is one area that I hope to improve upon. I usually record in 30fps on the phone and use Compressor's Apple Device (Best Quality) export/transcode option to convert the videos. The process is slightly cumbersome though: (1) export the video from Photos for Mac; (2) compress the video with Compressor; (3) add it back to Photos for Mac; and (4) finally correct the EXIF date/time manually. Does anyone have a more efficient workflow to accomplish this objective (possibly using Automator)? Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks, ~Jim.

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 8.1.3, 128MB

Posted on May 4, 2015 7:53 AM

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jamespconklin

Q: Efficient compression workflow of iPhone 6+ videos

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  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H May 4, 2015 8:00 AM in response to jamespconklin
    Level 7 (21,905 points)
    Quicktime
    May 4, 2015 8:00 AM in response to jamespconklin

    Sorry; I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to achieve.Are you using iCloud to archive your videos or store them until you edit them? (Do you edit them or use them unedited? If you edit, what do you use?

     

    Or do you want to have a catalog that you can access to play on your computer to TV?

     

    FWIW, I ordinarily don't keep video files in iPhoto or Photos. Rather, I keep them in media folders, Family videos are edited in Final Cut and exported to my iTunes library where they can be accessed. All completed video projects are archived elsewhere.

     

    Russ

  • by jamespconklin,

    jamespconklin jamespconklin May 4, 2015 8:19 AM in response to Russ H
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 4, 2015 8:19 AM in response to Russ H

    Russ,

     

    I store all of my videos in iCloud and then sync across my various Apple devices. If / when I edit a specific event (e.g. multiple video segments of my son's birthday party), I use either iMovie on an iOS device or iMovie on my desktop (haven't purchased FCP yet). Once the movie is published and stored in iCloud, I go back and delete the various video segments that were used to create the final movie. Does that make sense?

     

    In a nutshell, everything is stored in iCloud and synced across my iOS devices and Photos for Mac. I'm sure, eventually I'll run out of online space and be forced to store various videos offline (I'll likely continue using Photos for Mac and simply keep the videos as reference files outside the library)...the goal is to manage the size of the videos efficiently in order to keep all of my photos and videos in iCloud for as long as possible. I manage the size of the videos my using Apple's Compressor. I just wish there was a nose streamlined method of exporting the video from Photos to Mac to Compressor and then back again.

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H May 4, 2015 8:40 AM in response to jamespconklin
    Level 7 (21,905 points)
    Quicktime
    May 4, 2015 8:40 AM in response to jamespconklin

    Hopefully, someone else who uses Photos that way will weigh in here with some ideas.

     

    AFAIK, you're saving about 50% of the file size by running it through Compressor and using the Apple Device preset. (Wondering whether iMovie has a similar export preset so you could avoid going to Compressor altogether.

     

    Alternatively, I suppose you could Airdrop the video (edited, if done in iOS)  (or unedited if you're going to first go to iMovie for the Mac) to your computer. Then bring that finished video into Compressor ad import into Photos. Not sure whether that's an improvement or not.

     

    As I said, hopefully others will comment.

     

    Russ

  • by elixss,

    elixss elixss Jul 4, 2015 12:49 PM in response to jamespconklin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 4, 2015 12:49 PM in response to jamespconklin

    Hi jamespconklin, I am trying to achieve the same. Did you find a more efficient workflow.

     

    iCloud photos does simplify photo management quite a bit. If apple adds more mature functions to it like being able to comment and tag photos (so i am able to easily search though my photo library), also integrated ability to edit/compress videos would be nice (or possibly integration with other apps or extensions).

     

    Btw, what tool do you use to edit EXIF data?

  • by jamespconklin,

    jamespconklin jamespconklin Jul 7, 2015 7:19 AM in response to elixss
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 7, 2015 7:19 AM in response to elixss

    The best workflow I found was to simply export the video file (either 4K or 1080p) and then re-import the video. The OS X Photos app does a decent job of compressing the video all by itself - Compressor not needed. Resolution and FPS are maintained, with a reduction in Mbit/s. After I re-import the video, I manually update the Date/Time information. Lat/Long are preserved through the process. This seems to work well.