Preparing your videos for internet uploads can be a pain for some. Some video sharing websites treat the files differently, leaving many to export multiple copies of their videos for each site they wish to share their video with. However, with the appropriate settings in iMovie or QuickTime, you can easily export one high-quality file that can be used on any video sharing website to give viewers the best possible quality.
>> iMovie '09 or newer
>> Existing iMovie Project
>> YouTube, Vimeo, or other online video sharing account
iMovie has many built in settings, but we’ll be creating our own export settings in QuickTime.
The first step to exporting your video is to loading your iMovie project. After you have your project loaded, click Share > Export using QuickTime. We’ll use this over the built-in export settings because of the ability to tweak some export settings to create a single file that can be used on multiple sites and still provide the best possible quality.
Don’t click Save just yet… we’re going to make some export tweaks.
A save dialog will open; specify the filename and save location where your exported video will be saved, and then click on the Options button beside the “Export” drop-down.
Ensure you only change the specified settings.
From the resulting “Movie Settings” dialog that pops up, click the Settings button under the Video heading. In the resulting dialog, ensure that H.264 is selected as the Compression Type, and that the Frame Rate (under the Motion heading) is specified as “current” fps. Next, under the Data Rate, click “Restrict” box, and then type 5000 in the kbits/sec field. Under the Compressor heading, ensure that “Best quality (Multi-pass)” is selected. When you have finished with this dialog, click the OK button.
This setting will make some “fuzzy” videos a bit sharper.
Back in the Movie Settings dialog, click the Filter button under the Video heading. In the resulting dialog, select the Sharpen filter, and ensure that the “Amount of sharpening” is set to “1 – least.” When you have finished apply this setting, click OK to go back to the Movie Settings dialog.
Check the deinterlace box if you are using a non-HD video source.
Next, click the Size button to bring up the Export Size Settings dialog. At a minimum, you’ll want to select the “HD 1280 x 720” setting from the drop-down menu to export a 720 HD video. This setting will work well with most online services, and it will look great, too. Obviously, if you wish to export a higher quality video, you can increase the size here. After selecting the video size, ensure the checkbox labeled “Preserve Aspect Ratio” is checked, and that it is using the “Crop” method. If you are exporting a video source that is not in native HD, you can check the box labeled “Deinterlace Source Video”; otherwise, leave the deinterlace box unchecked. Click OK.
Ensure the Show Advanced Settings box is checked to view the other options.
Click the Settings button underneath the Sound heading to begin tweaking the video’s sound settings. Ensure that the Format is specified as “AAC,” the channels as “Stereo (L R),” and the rate as “48.000 kHz.” Then, check the “Show Advanced Settings” box. Under the Render Settings, set the Quality as Best; under the Encoding Strategy, set it as “Average Bit Rate,” and set the Target Bit Rate to “320 kbps.” These settings will give your video the best possible audio. When you’re finished, click OK.
You can review your settings before clicking OK. Your settings will be saved for future use.
Back on the Movie Settings dialog, ensure that the box labeled “Prepare for Internet Streaming” is left unchecked. When you have finished, click OK. Your settings will be saved for you to use during your next iMovie video export session. To begin exporting, click the Save button on the export dialog. Your video will be exported as a single file that can be uploaded to many different video sharing sites.
Depending on the length of your video, this export process may take a while.
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