Emailing video from iMovie?

[gotlax24]

For school, we had to create a movie. I have the movie uploaded to iMovie and I am going to edit it. Now, my macbook does not have a superdrive so I can not burn it to a DVD but would it be possible after I am done editing it to simply email the video to my friend with an iMac who could burn it to a DVD? And if this is not possible, is there any other way I could get it to my friend via zip drive, etc. for her to burn it?

Just wanted to ask before I take a long time to edit it, and then I have no way to get it off my computer and burn it to a DVD.

 

[Courtaj]

Almost any video file is going to be too large to email, but it's a difficult question to answer definitively unless you can tell us how large a file we're talking about (perhaps you haven't exported it yet). For example, if we're talking a few gigs, then perhaps a memory stick would do the trick. In short, once you've exported, you'll need to find a portable medium with enough free space for your exported video file, and drag 'n' drop.

 

[gotlax24]

Well I do know that the movie will be at least 15 minutes but no more than 20. Is that too large of a file to send? And would it be too large to put on a flash drive?

 

[r.j.s]

Well I do know that the movie will be at least 15 minutes but no more than 20. Is that too large of a file to send? And would it be too large to put on a flash drive?

Yes, a 15 to 20 minute video will be too large to send. What about burning it to CD?

I'd recommend that, or a thumb drive.

 

[holidaypf]

You can send the file by uploading it to a server and then having your friend download it. MobileMe now offers this service. You can upload a file to your iDisk and then click on a button to send an email to your friend. The email will contain a link that your friend can click on and download the file. There are also third-party services that offer this. I believe the limit is 2 GB.

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/02/13/mobile-me-debuts-large-file-sharing-with-idisk/

 

[gotlax24]

Yes, a 15 to 20 minute video will be too large to send. What about burning it to CD?

I'd recommend that, or a thumb drive.

That's what I thought. But I can just burn the file to a CD? Will the video files still transfer over to my friend's iMac when she puts the CD into her computer to get the video. Also, I have to see how big my flash drive is, how many gigs would be necessary to hold 15-20 minute video?

Thank's everyone for the help! I really appreciate it 🙂

 

[r.j.s]

That's what I thought. But I can just burn the file to a CD? Will the video files still transfer over to my friend's iMac when she puts the CD into her computer to get the video. Also, I have to see how big my flash drive is, how many gigs would be necessary to hold 15-20 minute video?

Thank's everyone for the help! I really appreciate it 🙂

Yes, you can burn just the finished video file to CD, and it will open just fine on the other machine.

A 15-20 minute video will take up about 4.3 GB uncompressed, but you really should export it as a .mov or .mp4 if you will not be editing it again. It will take up less space that way.

 

[arjen92]

You can export the movie and burn it to a cd. Then you'll have to open the cd with a pc to play the file. (some windows pc's can really nag about other formats). I don't think it's possible to make a dvd with your cd (so that you burn to your cd, and the dvd player will read it) with what you now have.

p.s. you can also finish the project in iDVD, and instead of burning the thing, make an image of it. Then get the image to your friend (on cd or stick, I have one with 8GB for only 20 dollars).

Then with disk utilities on the imac you can burn the image to a dvd.

 

[Courtaj]

I'll wager that you're not going to fit a 15-20 minute movie on a CD. A large memory stick / USB flash drive / thumb drive / whatever you want to call it is probably your best bet, given that you don't have a DVD burner. A portable external hard drive is also a possibility.

 

[jdavtz]

... but would it be possible after I am done editing it ...

If you're done editing it, and simply want to transfer it to another computer to burn to DVD, and it's only 15-20 minutes long, I think it SHOULD fit onto a CD. A DVD holds maybe 2 hours of video (as MPEG2)? And is about 4GB? Your video is a tenth of that, so should only be about 400MB-ish.

Someone please correct me if my maths is way out!

If you're happy to lose some (probably not much, but some) quality you could export as MPEG4 (H.264) to get a smaller file size, then (assuming your friend's PC has the software) re-convert that back to MPEG2 to burn to DVD.

 

[Courtaj]

A DVD holds maybe 2 hours of video (as MPEG2)? And is about 4GB? Your video is a tenth of that, so should only be about 400MB-ish. Someone please correct me if my maths is way out!

Okay. There's no way of making even a rough calculation because the OP hasn't advised us what kind of video is being edited, and that the codec or resolution for output will be. 2 minutes of H.264 at 1280x720, for argument's sake, could potentially amount to around 400MB. Go figure.