How to Export a Movie
Using the Export Movie dialog, you can export your animation as a video file. By default, Harmony will export your entire scene in its full resolution. If you prefer, you can choose to export only a specific frame range in your scene, or to export in a smaller resolution, which can be useful if you need to save on time or disk space.
If you have specific requirements for the quality and size of your exported video files, you can use the Movie Options dialog to configure the video and audio compression settings. If you're exporting a QuickTime movie, you have access to all of the codecs and compression settings made available by QuickTime's interface.
- From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export to QuickTime Movie dialog box opens.
- In the Video Format drop-down menu, select the desired format for your movie file:
- Quick Time Movie (*.mov): Available on Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux.
- Windows Media Video (*.wmv): Available on Windows only.
NOTEOn Windows and macOS, Apple QuickTime must be installed in order to export QuickTime movies. On GNU/Linux, Harmony uses a more limited, open source QuickTime-compatible library which does not require additional software.
- Click Browse to select the location and file name of your exported movie file.
- Click OK.
- In the Display Source section, select the Display node to use for rendering your project.
- From the Export Range section, decide whether you want to export the entire scene (All) or a specific frame range. If you decide on the latter, enter the frame range.
- In the Resolution section, select one of the following from the menu:
- A preferred resolution ratio.
- Custom: Enables the Width and Height fields so you can enter a specific size.
- In the Options section, do one of the following to configure your movie's video and sound compression settings:
- If on Windows or macOS and exporting a QuickTime movie, click on Movie Settings to open the QuickTime Movie Settings dialog box—see Configuring Movie Settings for QuickTime Movies on Windows and macOS
- If on Windows and exporting in Windows Media Video format, click on Movie Settings to open the Windows Media Video Settings dialog box—see Configuring Movie Settings for Windows Media Video.
- If your video format is QuickTime Movie and you're on a GNU/Linux machine, click on Video Options to configure the video compression settings for your movie file, or on Sound Options to configure its audio compression settings—see Configuring Movie Settings for QuickTime Movies on GNU/Linux.
- Click OK.
- In the Export to QuickTime Movie dialog box, click OK.
A progress bar appears.
- Browse to the location on your computer where you exported your movie and double-click on it to view it in your video player.
- In the Movie Settings dialog box, select whether you want your movie to include Video and Sound data, as well as if the video should be optimized for Internet streaming.
- In the Video section, click Settings.
The Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box opens.
- From the Compression Type menu, select a codec. The availability of certain compression settings depends on the Compression Type selected. For example, when the Animation compression type is selected, the Data Rate option is greyed out.
- In the Motion section, choose a Frame Rate from the list.
By default, it is set to match the frames-per-second (fps) of your Harmony project. If you choose a lower frame rate, your export playback will be faster than your actual project. The reverse is also true for a higher frame rate.
- If you want keyframes inserted, select the Every option and set the number per frame.
This is the option recommended by QuickTime. For further details, refer to the QuickTime documentation.
- In the Quality section, use the slider to choose a quality setting. Remember that the better the quality of the export, the larger the file.
- From the Data Rate section, either choose to allow the program to automatically select the most optimal bit rate, or enter a Restricted rate to save space and allow for faster downloading at a cost to the quality of the export.
- In the same section, from the Optimized For menu, select the intended viewing method for the export.
- Click OK.
- From the Movie Settings dialog box, click Sound Settings.
The Sound Settings dialog box opens.
- From the Compressor menu, select a compression type. The default setting is None. This exports your audio as is without performing any lossy compression or conversion, preserving its fidelity. Other compressors can be used if you need your movie's audio track to be exported in a specific format, or if disk space or download speed is critical, but they may impact the quality of your movie's soundtrack negatively.
- From the Rate menu, select a rate. It is best to export your audio at a rate that matches the rate of your original sound files. For example, if your file has an audio sample rate of 48 kHz and you choose a conversion rate of 22.05 kHz, the sound will play at the same speed, but higher frequencies will be missing, making it sound muffled. For reference, the standard sound quality is 48 kHz for broadcasting and DVD. Lower rates are liable to impact the quality of your movie's soundtrack negatively, but they can be useful if disk space or download speed is critical.
- Select the Size of your audio's encoding. Also known as Bit Depth, this determines the amount of precision used to record each wavelength in the soundtrack. The standard size is 16-bit. If you choose 8-bit, the amount of disk space your sound track requires is halved, but the audio will sound muffled.
- Select whether to Use the Mono or Stereo channel mode. Stereo sound has a separate sound track for the left and the right speakers, allowing to make the origin of each sound realistically match the origin of their corresponding action. If you choose Mono, your sound track may use less disk space, but both the left and right channels will be merged into a single track.
- In the Video section of the Movie Settings dialog, select Settings.
- In the Standard Video Compression Settings dialog, set the Compression Type to Animation.
- In the Compressor section, set the Depth to Millions of Colors+ .
- Click OK.
- In the Video section, select the desired Variable Bit Rate Quality for your video. A higher setting will ensure a better image quality. A lower setting will create a smaller video file.
- Using the Sound checkbox, select whether or not you want your movie file to have sound.
- Using the Profile drop-down menu, select the preferred compression settings for your movie's soundtrack. Each profile has a combination of audio sample rate, sample size and channel mode, which cover the following options:
- Sample rate: Available sample rates are 8000 Hz, 16000 Hz, 22050 Hz and 44100 Hz. The default setting is 22050 Hz. It is best to export your audio at a rate that matches the rate of your original sound files. For example, if your file has an audio sample rate of 48000 Hz and you choose a sample rate of 22050 Hz, the sound will play at the same speed, but higher frequencies will be missing, making it sound muffled. For reference, the standard sound quality is 44000 kHz for films, and 48000 kHz for DVD. Lower rates are liable to impact the quality of your movie's soundtrack negatively, but they can be useful if disk space or download speed is critical.
- Sample size: Also known as Bit Depth, this determines the amount of precision used to record each wavelength in the soundtrack. The standard size is 16-bit. If you choose 8-bit, the amount of disk space your sound track requires is halved, but the audio will sound muffled.
- Channel mode: Stereo sound has a separate sound track for the left and the right speakers, allowing to make the origin of each sound realistically match the origin of their corresponding action. If you choose Mono, your sound track may use less disk space, but both the left and right channels will be merged into a single track.