Rending wmv in after effects???

[L***@adobeforums.com]

I created 3 animations in After Effects 5.5 for a client. They want to use these in Powerpoint 2003. They have a PC and use Windows XP. I assume the best export option is WMV but I don't seem to have that option. Can anyone guide me on how to export this so that it is small, clean and universal? Right now it is 140 mb quicktime movie. They have requested a wmv. If I should be exporting the quicktime and then using COmpressor, please explain in detail how. This is due in the morning and I would appreciate as much detail as possible.

Thanks so much!

[R***@adobeforums.com]

You can't export WMV files directly out of AE 5.5 (if I remember correctly), but you should be able to export an AVI then bring that into the Windows Media Encoder.

The best quality will be with a third party app like Squeeze, but that will cost you a bit.

Good luck.

[L***@adobeforums.com]

Thanks. This is due in the morning unfortunately so I can't purchase any new software. Does anyone know what I should export it or render it out of After Effects and then possibly Compressor to give them something that will work in Powerpoint 2003? I don't have Windows Media Encoder either. Just the FCP studio.

[R***@adobeforums.com]

Try taking a look at this Power Point <http://pptideas.blogspot.com/2008/06/powerpoint-tip-playing-quicktime-videos.html> blog. You can create an AVI directly out of QT Pro. by selecting AVI. You'll end up with Cinepack compression which isn't great. You can also link to an external file which will play your QT if you have QT installed on the machine playing the powerpoint.

OTT, You might look for some compression software with a trial period. You might also try downloading windows media player from Microsoft. I can't remember if it will open and then save QT files.

[L***@adobeforums.com]

Great. I will try those things. I have a couple questions. DO you know what file size it should be for it to play properly in Powerpoint (whether it's embed or linked)? Right now it's 140 meg and I tried inserting that as an object and it just froze on me.

Also, if I rendered or exported it as an MPEG2 do you think that would work in Powerpoint2003? Do they need to have a certain software installed on their computer for it to work (or is wmv the only way)??

[R***@adobeforums.com]

I'm not a powerpoint guy. I'd try google. I have heard that MPEG 2 files can be problematic but don't know for sure.

I'd keep the data rate down as much as you can and still maintain quality.

[M***@adobeforums.com]

PowerPoint does not play MPEG-II without deeper hacking or isntalling a third-party CoDec. It's the restrictions built into Windows Media Player that prevent it. I'd also advise against using a referenced Quicktime. Depending on the system, this may not work at all, even if QT is installed on the given PC. As it stands, finding a Windows PC and converting an uncompressed AVI to WMV using the free version of Windows Media Encoder is your best option. On a Mac, you may wish to look into Flip4Mac.

Mylenium