Planning for playback on computer monitors and mobile devices

When you create a movie for playback on a personal computer—whether downloaded from the Web or played from a CD-ROM—specify composition settings, render settings, and output module settings that keep file size low. Consider that a movie with a high data rate may not play well from an older CD-ROM drive that cannot read data from the disc fast enough. Similarly, a large movie may take a long time to download over a dial-up network connection.

When rendering your final movie, choose a file type and encoder appropriate for the final media. The corresponding decoder must be available on the system used by your intended audience; otherwise they will not be able to play the movie. Common codecs (encoders/decoders) include the codecs installed with media players such as Flash Player, Windows Media Player, and QuickTime Player.

Aharon Rabinowitz provides an article on the Creative COW website about planning your project with the final delivery specifications in mind.

Trish and Chris Meyer provide an article on the Artbeats website that describes some of the considerations for creating video for the Web.

Mobile devices

Many of the considerations for creating movies for playback on mobile devices, such as mobile phones and the Apple iPod, are similar to the considerations for creating movies for playback on personal computers—but the limitations are even more extreme. Because the amount of storage (disk space) and processor power are less for mobile phones than for personal computers, file size and data rate for movies must be even more tightly controlled.

Screen dimensions, video frame rates, and color gamuts vary greatly from one mobile device to another. Adobe Device Central contains device profiles that provide information about these characteristics. You can create a set of After Effects compositions tailored for a selected set of devices by using the File > New Document In > After Effects command in Adobe Device Central. (See Create compositions for playback on mobile devices.)

Use these tips when shooting video for mobile devices:

  • Tight shots are better. It’s hard to see a face on a tiny screen unless it’s shot in relative close-up.

  • Light your subjects well, and keep them separated from the background; the colors and brightness values between background and subject should not be too similar.

  • Avoid excessive zooming and rolling, which hinder temporal compression schemes.

  • Because stable (non-shaky) video is easier to compress, shoot video with a tripod to minimize the shaking of the camera.

  • Avoid using auto-focus and auto-exposure features. When these features engage, they change the appearance of all of the pixels in an image from one frame to the next, making compression using interframe encoding schemes less efficient.

Use these tips when working in After Effects:

  • Use a lower frame rate (15-22 fps) for mobile devices.

  • Use motion-stabilization tools and noise-reduction or blur effects before rendering to final output, to aid the compressor in reducing file size.

  • Match the color palette to the mobile devices that you are targeting. Mobile devices, in general, have a limited color gamut. Previewing in Adobe Device Central can help determine if the colors used are optimal for an individual device or range of devices.

  • Use Format Options presets available through the output module in the Render Queue panel. Presets are available for 3GPP mobile devices, iPod video, and PlayStation Portable.

  • Consider using cuts and other fast transitions instead of zooming in and out or using fades and dissolves. Fast cuts also make compression easier.

After you’ve rendered your movie, you can view it exactly as it will appear on any of a large variety of mobile devices, using Adobe Device Central.