Let's say we want to upload our 45-second movie trailer to YouTube using a .mov file. We'll compress that file down as follows:

1. Click on File / Export / Adobe Media Encoder. (fig.A)
2. In the "Format" dropdown menu, select "QuickTime." (fig.B)
3. In the "Preset" dropdown menu, select "QT 256 streaming NTSC." (fig.C)
4. Click on "Video."
5. In the "Codec" dropdown menu, select "H.264 Encoder."
6. Set the "Pixel Aspect Ratio" to "Square Pixels (1.0)."
7. Set the resolution to 640x480.
8. Click the "Set Bitrate" option and set the bitrate to "2000" kbps. (fig.D)
9. Click "OK."
10. Click on "Audio." (fig.E)
11. In the "Codec" dropdown menu, select "32-bit integer."
12. In the "Frequency" dropdown menu, select "44 KHz."
13. Click "OK."
14. Type in a file name and click "Save."

The video will now compress.

The time it takes to compress the file varies from machine to machine depending upon processing power. A good rule of thumb is that the compression will take roughly five to six times the length of the source video. Example: If you have an eight-minute video, the compression process should take 40 to 48 minutes (8 x 6 = 40).

The key points to remember from this compression technique are:

• Use the H.264 encoder.
• Keep your pixel aspect ratio square.
• Set your resolution to 640x480.
• Set your bitrate to 2000kbps.