Upload problems in HD

Hello Inter-Web-Land.

Feeling very frustrated this morning after trying to encode the most suitable format for YouTube and hitting a brick wall every-time. The final edit for episode 85 Data's Day was completed yesterday (Sunday), and because I want these new edits to be HD or as near as dam it. I have fixed the info banner and re-sized it, incorporated it into the latest edit and rendered the lot. Then tried to upload the render to YouTube and the upload time was going crazy, it started off at 6 hours then ended up at 8, so I canceled it and looked at the info help pages.

They recommend re encoding as QuickTime files like this

• Using Quicktime Conversion
• In QuickTime Pro, select File > Export > Export: Movie to QuickTime Movie

Step 2: Next, verify your settings by clicking Options

Video settings

• Compression Type: H.264
• Frame Rate: 30 is preferred. 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 are also acceptable.
• Data Rate: Automatic
• Key Frames: Automatic
• Frame Reordering: Unchecked

Audio/Sound settings

• Format: AAC
• Click Show advanced settings and choose Constant Bit Rate as encoding strategy

Other settings

• Size: Choose the original size of the video
• “Prepare for Internet Streaming”: Fast Start

So I did this and uploaded the episode and the quality to me looks poor, also the text on the banner which looked OK when I re-encoded it, now look choppy and pixelated once uploaded.
So for now this is it, but I will be working on a better way of converting the originals for editing and finding the best way to upload 4x3 aspect ratio HD files to YouTube.
        If anyone knows how I might do this, any ideas please let me know.
All the Best DarMok

Data's Day Re-edit The Wedding Story Blog Exclusive

Hello Inter-Web Land.

So I have completed this 18min version which is just the wedding storyline, cut out the Romulans completely. I have made a 12min final version for broadcast on YouTube but I have to recreate the series banner in HD otherwise the higher detailed larger  screen will make it look silly.

Hope you like this exclusive look at the decisions that have to be made in the editing process, I think it's interesting I hope you do too.

All the Best. DarMok.

Exclusive look for my blog readers of episode 85. before the final edits public upload.

Hello Inter-Web-Land

This is my first offline edit of Data's Day but it is much to long and I will have to cut it down to a more reasonable size. The Romulan storyline will just have to go I think if we are to keep all of the other good stuff. Anyway if you have the time see what you think and any constructive comments would be welcome.

Not sure if YouTube has finished processing it yet but it's up if you want to take a look.
ST Moments 85. Data's Day Offline Edit

All the Best. DarMok.

Data's Day Edit Started

Hello Inter-Web-Land.


Well I have finally started the Data's Day edit, the evidence is below, I'm up to the scene where O'Brien asks Data to speak to Keiko again and try to convince her that the wedding should go ahead. I have decided to create an edit based around Data's narration of the episode, which will also touch upon the secondary storyline of the Vulcan Ambassador. As usual the hardest part of creating these edits is what to cut out while keeping the essence of the storyline. What I find it easier to do is to create the edit trying not to think to much about who long it will be and then when it's finished, treat it like an offline edit, which can be reduced as needed.
But it's that process which can be very difficult when there are so many scenes that fans remember as their own personal favorites. I don't know whether to eventually cut the secondary storyline out completely and just have the wedding and the dancing scene which will be quite long when I get to it. Decisions, decisions, this is why I started this blog to try and get some input of the other fans of the series to help me make these ST Moments (NextGen Edition) as good as possible, which is what I am trying to do. I am also having a few problems with my choice of codex for the HD edits, I am trying to keep the quality good but the file size down, currently using, any suggestions would be welcome.

Codec: H264-MPEG-4 AVC(part 10)(avc1)
Resolution : 960x720
Frame Rate : 23.976023 
Decoded format : Planer 4:2:0
Audio
MPEG AAC Audio (mp4a)
Sample Rate : 48000 Hz
I will keep at it and see if I can get it right, people seem to like the longer edits anyway so we could end up with a 10-15 min version.

 All the Best DarMok

Screen grab of Premiere episode 85 Data's Day HD edit

Data's Dancing Day

Hello  Inter-Web-Land.


This sequence has been created as a experiment to see what would be the best format to upload HD to YouTube. I needed something to try out as a HD version of a ST Moments edit and to be honest I got a little distracted with the process of creating this edit.
            As happens a lot with the compositing I create in Adobe After Effects, because there are so many possibilities of what can be created. I started with a simple idea when watching the Sick Bay scene between Data & Beverley Crusher. An extra walks passed them and hears a little of what they are talking about, Data's wish to learn how to dance. I created a double take of the extra at what he had heard and then thought this needs some music and it continued from there.
       

             In the holodeck scene I wanted to throw a surprise in for the choice of the music, so started with Scott Joplin's "Solace". But as Beverley begins to teach Data his first few tap steps, it tunes into  Disco time with "The Hustle" by Van McCoy,  in the J. J. Abrams tradition, the lights come on and its time to get down. The idea just stroke me as funny, that this would be on the show, Data's Disco Dancing Day.

          This process has helped me in a round about way to work out what format I will be using from now on for producing the series of ST Moments. Now all I need is to reproduce a banner in the new HD size and my mean worry that I have hardly any room left on my hard drives for these large files. But by Huck or by Crock, I will find a way to get them done, so for now all the best and I hope you all enjoy this bit of fun I have created, when I should be hard at work continuing the series, soon very soon.

DarMok.

ST Moment News & New Video.

Hello Inter-Web-Land

                Sorry I haven't been blogging to let everyone know what I've been up too, but just had to much on, for a little time there, family stuff and the likes.
So you will be glad to hear that I have season four of TNG on blue-ray, which means I can start back on Star Trek Moments very soon. To pass the time on the odd occasion I had some spare time to do stuff. I have been working on getting a little better at using Adobe After Effects and some of its plug-in's, one fairly new plug-in in particular.
                This below is my first serious attempt at using Adobe After Effects Elements, a plug-in made by Video Co-Pilot. Great, Brilliant Superb, so much that can be done with it, the possibilities seem endless, so expect more compositing projects in the future.
I also want to try out Video Co-pilot's Metropolis plug-in, which can create a virtual cityscape, which in turn can be used to create backgrounds for whatever I may need to put in them, so Cool.

Be don't panic, Star Trek Moments will be back on the road soon, but now in the much better quality of 720p format. Here's what I have made with Video Co-Pilot's Elements, hope you like it.

All the Best DarMok.

Most popular YouTube hits on the channel.

Hello Inter-web-land.

As I've been putting these blogs, Facebook and Google+ sites together, I have notice how the episodes are viewed a little more. If you can imagine as I've produced this project each episode can only be put up in order of season release. And as each episode after the one before has been up longer, it is hard to judge just how popular that episode is. Looking now at the first episode uploaded 'Encounter at Farpoint', which has been on the channel for 1 year with 11,782 hits, you would think it would have a huge advantage over more recent uploads. And it has to a certain extent, but when 'Q Who' joined the list it soared pass it with now 51,913 hits.
Now isn't it a pity that we can't put them all up at the same time, just to see what would be the definitive most watched episode. Now there's a challenge, what would you say would be the winner and of course I haven't even mentioned  'The Best of Both Worlds' yet. What about 'The Inner Light' or 'Survivors' or 'Hide & Q' or 'The Offspring', way to many to mention and those are only the first 3 seasons.
So what do you have to do.....Yes, let me know what you think would top the list and why.
But for now.

All the Best. DarMok.
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