Exporting .avi using Premiere 6.0

[rhinotwo]

I have had Premiere 6.0 for some time, but now I have a bit of spare time I'd like to transfer a bundle of tapes to DVD. (I do have Nero Platinum for the actual burning.) I've made up a 28 minute movie, even managed to add a crawling title, and was feeling quite pleased with my efforts. Now reality has struck! I have trawled back to last November but haven't found the answer yet.

With the project open in Premiere I have 2 files, the .avi file (8.2Gb)and the .ptl file (1.1Kb). In the File Menu > "Export Clip" is grayed out. "Export Timeline" offers a choice of which "Movie" seems the obvious choice. However, after exporting I end up with an .avi file of only 2.5Mb. Not quite enough I fancy! I can open the original 8.2Gb file in Nero Video, but that wouldn't then have the title included. It would seem that I need to "flatten" the movie and title into a single file and then opening that in Nero, like flattening an image in Photoshop, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Any enlightenment much appreciated.

David

 

[Akribie]

Premiere is the application in which you compose your movie, including titles.

The movie that you export from Premiere will have all the effects, titles etc embedded, so you do not need access to the component files further downstream.

If your Nero will open the exported AVI file, then you should be able to use Nero to transcode into the MPEG format required for a DVD that will play in a domestic DVD player (or computer).

You don't say what else you have to go with your Premiere 6. If you have a proprietary capture card, it is possible that the accompanying software will give you a way to generate the input MPEG file for Nero directly from the timeline, thus saving the time and effort of making an intermediate AVI file.

 

[rhinotwo]

Thank you very much for your reply. It's been so long since I bought this stuff, I guess it was a rush of blood to the head, that I'd completely forgotten about the capture card. A Canopus Raptor, I'm pretty sure that was the name. I have no problem getting the DV tape on to the hard disk, but cannot understand why the 8.2Gb .avi file when exported using File > Export Timeline > Movie > produces a 250Mb file. If I simply dragged the .avi file into Nero Video would it include my prized title? If so then I'm all set.

David

 

[Akribie]

DV video takes up disk space at 13Gb per hour.

When you use Export Movie from Premiere, you have a number of options as to format, frame size etc (depending on which CODEC you select). The export settings are not dependent on the project settings, so you should check to see what format you are using for the export by clicking on the Settings button on the export screen that asks for a filename.

I don't use Nero in this way, but it would certainly be worth trying a drag and drop of the AVI. If it fails, then try opening it inside Nero's DV-generation module.

 

[rhinotwo]

Thanks, I'll try Nero first, if that doesn't work I'll come back to your post.

David

 

[rhinotwo]

I do believe I've worked it out!!! In File > Export Movie > Settings I discovered that Export Work Area was ticked, and as it happens the Work Area only covered a small part of the project. Premiere is working away at it even as I write, will post a FAQ if this turns out to be the answer to a maiden's prayer.

David

 

[Akribie]

Ah ! That would explain a lot. Always worth checking the settings when you export !!

 

[rhinotwo]

Yes that worked, Nero opened the .avi file, and I actually made a playable DVD! Can't honestly say I'm thrilled by the quality, (seems a bit jittery to use a technical term) when there is a lot of movement. The original tape was shot using a PAL, Panasonic EZ30, 3 CCD camera, and is superb quality. The movie is of Balinese dancing, there are scenes with barely any movement, just finger tips fluttering, and these look good on the DVD. But then the dancers flash around the stage and during this time is when the jitteryness is visible. This I imagine is something to do with the MPG4 compression. Would this be improved by using a different Codec?

David

 

[Akribie]

If you are viewing on a DVD, I would expect you to be using MPEG2 compression.

Motion artifacts are a feature of MPEG compression. By increasing data rate (but being careful to keeping inside the DVD limits) and using 2-pass VBR encoding it may be possible to improve quality.

You may also find it illuminating to compare Premiere's MPEG encoding (if you have that option with your version) and that from Nero.

I use Canopus Pro Coder for DVD encoding since the Mastering Quality option beats other applications I have tried. Sadly this software is now well out of date and seems not to be one of Canopus' priorities nowadays. The cheaper Xpress version doesn't include Mastering Quality, but is otherwise a very capable transcoding program.

An alternative is TMPGenc from

http://www.pegasys-inc.com/en/index.html,

which seems still top be a live product although I haven't updated recently. You can feed TMPGenc direct from the Premiere timeline using a frameserver, of which my choice is the free one from Debugmode at

http://www.debugmode.com/frameserver/.

 

[rhinotwo]

My Lord but I'm beginning to wonder about this can of worms! Foolishly I just read what it says on the box, "Make you own moviews with a click pf a mouse button!!!!" I'm not trying to create a professional masterpiece, it''s just a home movie so I'll try both programs you suggest, if they have trial periods that is.

Many thanks for your amazingly swift responses to a rank amateur!

David