getting your film off the computer

Once you're happy with your film, the next step is to get your film off the computer, and show it to the world.

Think about how you want to show it, as this will affect how you "output" it. The main options are:

  • Make a miniDV tape (highest quality)
  • Burn a DVD (pretty high quality)
  • Show it on your computer (usually medium quality)
  • Distribute it by CD-Rom (medium quality)
  • Put it in an email or on a website (medium to low)

If you are going to have a screening, or show it on a television, you want to keep the best quality you can. This means putting it onto miniDV tape or DVD.

We recommend backing up to tape (miniDV) even if you intend to go down one of the other routes : then you know you have a good quality back-up. All other outputs (even DVD) mean compressing the film. Consider two or more tape masters

output to tape

To put the film onto tape, you need a camera with DV in (as well as DV out) : simply play it out of the computer and onto a DV tape via firewire, using 'export>to tape'. On some programs the computer switches on 'record' for you, so make sure you have the right tape in. In advanced packages you may have to select in and out points to decide what is output.

Your tape is now your Master, from which you can make copies from.

Some cameras don't have 'DV in', find someone whose does and borrow it for making backups and your final master. Your camera is still good for everything else: using at screenings, putting your film back into the computer for a showreel, and of course shooting your next epic

DVD is pretty good, but don't let anyone convince you it is better than miniDV quality

output to dvd

If you have a DVD burner, this is another way of getting a good quality version. It is still compressed, but you won't notice too much, even if you project it. Some edit packages come with sister packages to do the dvd work creation for you like iDVD on the mac and there are various packages for the PC. Choose high quality settings for your 'encoding' - and then burn it onto DVD. It might take a few experiments to see what plays back best, then test it in more than one domestic dvd player before you are fully satisfied or make further duplications.

If you don't have a DVD burner built in to your computer, you have a few options:

  • Put it onto tape and use a duplication company
  • Invest in a recordable dvd deck
  • Take a miniDV tape to a friend that does have a dvd writer and load the film from the tape into their computer

Like cdr's, dvds you burn yourself are not that robust, make sure you keep a dv tape back-up as well

A long programme can take a few hours to encode and burn to dvd

Not to confuse you - but a DVD can also be used very successfully as a data disk and in this format it could archive a miniDV film 'uncompressed' of around 20 minutes, though you could not play this back on a domestic dvd deck

output to cd-rom and web

To make the film small enough to fit on a CD or to be downloaded over the web, you have to seriously squeeze it down. For CDs, the file has to be fairly small, for the web it has to be pretty small, and for e-mail extraordinarily small. In fact, you probably shouldn't e-mail it to anyone, unless you check with them first and tell them how huge it is. Instead, why not output a couple of still image .jpgs from the film and send these instead?

Depending on your program, select the function 'Export Movie' or 'Make Movie' or similar, and you will be asked to choose the size and quality parameters for your movie. Often in simple programs will be given presets for you, and these settings make all the compression choices for you. Remember to save it somewhere sensible, like on the desktop, so you can find it. Some packages like iMovie have an upload straight to YouTube all ready to go.

Now it's time for your Premiere!