[0:00] So you put all of this
effort into your edit, right?
[0:02] You hit export, you upload it
to YouTube, and it looks...
[0:04] Well, it doesn't look
how you want it to look.
[0:07] What went wrong?
Who do you blame?
[0:08] Why is it all so hard?
Should you just give up?
[0:11] It's okay.
You're spiraling.
[0:13] We've all been there.
I've got you covered.
[0:15] Take a deep breath.
We'll get this sorted out pronto.
[0:17] Now, exporting video correctly out of
Da Vinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, and
[0:20] pretty much any other editing software
that handles video these days is
[0:24] really simple if you stick to the basics.
[0:26] And nine times out of 10,
the basics is what you need.
[0:28] You only really need to Two options.
[0:30] Two options.
[0:31] Now, for those who are here
for a quick, please help me.
[0:34] The top level info that you are looking
for is option one, Prores Master Copy
[0:38] for a high quality save of your edit.
[0:40] Option two, H264 WebReady Copy, high
bit rate version for uploading to places
[0:45] like YouTube and a low bit rate version
for sending files to clients for review.
[0:48] And sneaky option three, both.
[0:51] For those who want to dive
a little bit deeper, let's do it.
[0:53] So what the heck is Prores?
[0:55] What the heck is H 264?
[0:56] What the heck is a codec?
[0:58] It's rapid fire information time.
[1:00] A codec is a software process that is used
to take a large file or series
[1:03] of files in the case of a video edit
that is then coded down into
[1:07] a smaller, more manageable file
that can be sent to another system.
[1:10] Then that other system can decode it
and read the chunky files inside it.
[1:13] That system could be a different
video editing software or video playback
[1:17] system, such as YouTube, for example.
[1:18] The word in itself is a portmanteau
of coder and decoder.
[1:21] You code your files,
then you send them, and then
[1:24] you decode your files to view codec.
[1:26] H264 and Prores are codecs.
[1:29] Once the compression process
is complete via the codec, the file
[1:33] will then be contained in a wrap up
to be able to be shared.
[1:35] That wrap up will be the file format.
[1:37] Mp4 and MOV are containers,
wrappers, or file formats,
[1:41] whatever helps you best visualize it.
[1:43] H264 is to MP4 and Prores is to MOV.
You're following?
[1:47] If you do need an analogy, picture
a piece of luggage rolling around
[1:51] on a nice flat surface, easily
moving from one place to the next.
[1:54] Now open it up and check
out what's inside.
[1:56] Not as easy to move all these things
around the room.
[1:59] Let it roll in through bustling streets
of Europe in summertime
[2:01] without a suitcase, am I right?
[2:03] Well, in this perfectly
thought out analogy, the clothes
[2:05] and personal items are all the video
files, editing data, assets,
[2:08] and information contained in your edit.
[2:11] The suitcase is the wrap up,
such as MP4 or MOV, and the act
[2:14] of carefully packing that suitcase
is the codec for the most part.
[2:18] Now, there are two types of codecs.
[2:19] You've got lossy and lossless.
[2:21] There's also two types of stock asset
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[2:43] Where was I?
Codex.
[2:45] Right.
There's two types, lossy and lossless.
[2:48] H264 is an example of a lossy codec.
[2:51] During the coding process,
only the key data is retained, which is
[2:55] decided algorithmically, and anything
deemed to be not key is discarded.
[2:59] This doesn't mean that intrinsically is
going to look like garbage,
[3:01] it just means that the compression
algorithm is only going to keep the bare
[3:05] minimum amount of data that will still
retain a sufficiently decent level
[3:09] of quality in your video.
[3:11] This means if you bring that lossy file
back into your NLE and export it again,
[3:14] then you'll be double lossy
and so on and so forth.
[3:17] Marques Brownly actually did a similar
experiment a few years ago,
[3:20] looking more at the compression algorithm
of YouTube, but the theory is the same,
[3:25] and it's a great example of what happens
if you recode, decode, recode, and decode,
[3:29] and recode, and decode,
I've the same file again and again
[3:31] and again, like a thousand times.
[3:33] And I'm certainly not going to do that.
[3:34] So it's really good if you want to go and
check that out if you're interested.
[3:37] It gives a pretty good example
of what I'm talking about.
[3:40] But yeah, it sounds
a little bit dodgy, right?
[3:41] Why would you use this?
[3:42] Well, it's a much smaller, more manageable
a more universally accepted file type.
[3:48] It serves its purpose as a delivery
file type for uploading to the web.
[3:51] Like I said before, it will retain
a sufficiently decent level
[3:53] of quality for your video.
[3:55] Then you have lossless
codex, such as Apple Prores.
[3:58] Now, a lossless file is
the opposite of lossy.
[4:00] Funny about that, right?
[4:01] In the compression process, when that is
happening, it retains 100% of the data.
[4:07] Now, don't quote me on that.
[4:07] It's basically 100%,
but not technically 100%.
[4:09] Look, this is already
getting really technical.
[4:11] Let's not split hairs.
[4:12] Don't come for me down in the comments.
[4:14] Now, a package It manages
all of that up in a nice.
[4:16] Mov file to be viewed
at near enough to full quality.
[4:19] And that sounds great.
But why wouldn't you use this every time?
[4:22] Because they're huge
files, massive, massive files.
[4:25] I ran it in a 10 minute 4K sequence
the other day in Prores 4444, which is
[4:29] a high a bit depth flavor of Prores,
and I think it was like 90 gigabytes.
[4:33] And my rushes for the entire project
were only 30 gigs.
[4:36] Now, I am a Mac user and I cut mostly
in resolve at the moment.
[4:39] I do stand Prores, but I'll caveat this
section by saying that as a recording,
[4:44] Da Vinci resolve on PC does not support
the writing of Prores files natively.
[4:48] It can read them, but it can't
write them or export them.
[4:51] There are, of course, some workarounds,
but it's not a native function
[4:54] due to licensing issues, even
in the paid studio version.
[4:57] Now, Premiere Pro, on the other hand,
does support the reading and writing
[5:00] of Apple Prores on PC and has done so
since about 2018, I think.
[5:04] So there's that caveat.
Again, don't come for me in the comments.
[5:07] If you are on PC, I believe that
the best alternative or equivalent
[5:10] is DnxHD or DnxHR in an Mxf Rapper.
[5:14] Again, we're getting technical.
[5:16] So when do you use them both?
[5:18] Well, if you've finished your project,
completely pitch locked it, and
[5:21] the client is asking for the final files,
then render a master copy in Prores.
[5:25] You can select 422, unless you know it
needs to be 4444 for some specific
[5:29] reason, grading or VFX purposes.
[5:31] But at this point, we're mastering
out a 422 version, and that will suffice.
[5:35] This copy will be your master copy
that you keep safe somewhere,
[5:38] and you can make subsequent Mp4 copies
of this down the line if you need
[5:42] to for any reason,
and you won't be getting that double
[5:43] compression I mentioned a while
back by making copies of H264 files.
[5:48] Next, you'll render a H264 MP4 file,
and this will be the one that you upload
[5:52] to save YouTube for web playback.
[5:53] It'll be light in terms of size.
[5:55] The quality will be sufficient for those
purposes if you tick the right boxes
[5:58] and you won't have a client threadting
about having to download a 50 gig file
[6:01] 2 hours before it's supposed to go live.
Ask me how I know.
[6:05] Depending on your NLE of choice,
you will have a couple of options
[6:08] when it comes to the level
of quality within that H264 render.
[6:11] You can pump the bit rate of the file,
resulting in a higher quality but larger
[6:15] file, but it won't be anywhere near as
large as Pro-res, so go nuts with that.
[6:19] This whole thing is boring.
[6:20] It's tedious, but it's very important.
[6:22] And I hope this rapid fire technical
information and my suitcase analogy
[6:26] has helped demonstrate the points
that I'm trying to get across.
[6:29] So let's recap together.
Say it with me.
[6:31] Master in Prores, web ready in H 264.
[6:34] And this is actually
a whole topic for another time.
[6:36] But if you're having trouble
playing your footage back in Premiere Pro
[6:39] or Da Vinci Resolve and you're banging
your head against the wall thinking,
[6:42] but my CPU and my GPU are the best
money can buy and it's 2025?
[6:45] And why is this happening to me
again and again and again?
[6:48] What am I doing wrong?
[6:49] Well, the answer again is take a breath.
It's fine.
[6:51] It's likely codec related.
[6:53] In short, if you're working
with H264 files and that's happening,
[6:56] then try transcribing them to Prores
and editing with that footage.
[6:59] You'll a much better time, or maybe even
look into a proxy workflow.
[7:03] If you do want me to dive deeper
into either of those topics, then
[7:06] let me know down in the comments
and I'll make you that video.
[7:08] Now, I hope that has helped
to clear up some complexity
[7:10] in this relatively complex topic.
[7:13] So thank you for watching.
[7:14] And until next time, stay lossless.