We know just enough to be dangerous about most video export software. Here’s our tips and tricks to using them - a guide to exporting from video editors

If you’re looking for free video transcoding software, we recommend Handbrake.

There are three ways to export video for use on Wistia from Final Cut Pro:

To make things even easier, we’ve also put together an awesome Wistia preset for you to download. We know. You’re welcome. :)

Exporting videos for Wistia from Final Cut Pro is pretty straightforward.

First, select a clip or sequence in the Browser, or open a sequence in the Timeline. From there choose File > Share > Export File.

If Export File isn’t in the Share list, you’ll have to add it as a destination. Go to File > Share > Add Destination. Once here, double click Export File in the list of options and close the window.

In the Export File menu, under Settings, change the format from Video & Audio to Computer. This will change the codec to an H.264 MP4 file. (AKA, Wistia’s favorite setting.)

Next, make sure the resolution is set to the same resolution as your source material, and that the Video Codec is set to Better Quality and not Faster Encode.

Then, click Next, and choose where you want this file to export to. After it’s done exporting, you’re good to upload it to Wistia. Look at you go!

To use Compressor as a standalone application, you must first create a QuickTime movie file to submit to Compressor. Since this will only be a temporary intermediate file, we recommend creating a QuickTime reference movie. These can be created quicker and takes up less space than a standard QuickTime movie. This is because the video refers to your sequence’s original media files when possible, instead of storing all of the media in the file itself. However, since this file simply references other media stored on your computer, it will not work on other computers that don’t have all the required media.

To create a QuickTime reference movie, select the sequence or clip in the Browser that you want to export and choose File > Export > QuickTime Movie.

Choose a name and location for the file. Choose Current Settings and include both Audio and Video. Make sure the Make Movie Self-Contained box is unchecked and click Save. Then follow the directions for exporting video from Compressor.

You can also send a video to Compressor by exporting a Browser clip or sequence directly from Final Cut Pro to Compressor. Exporting a video from Final Cut Pro to Compressor works nearly the same as using Compressor as a standalone application, but you can skip the intermediate step of creating a QuickTime movie.

To send a sequence or clip from Final Cut Pro to Compressor, select the sequence or clip in the Browser and choose File > Send To > Compressor.

Compressor will open and you will see the sequence (or clip) appear in a Compressor Batch window. Create a new custom setting, and under File Format, choose Quicktime Export Components.

Set the destination of your file, and then change the Encoder Type to MP4.

Then, under Advanced Settings, head into Configure (this launches a modal). Choose MP4 as the file format and change the video format to H.264.

Bump the image size up to 1080p, update the data range to 15,000 kbps, and keep the frame rate at current. In the Audio section, change the Data Rate to 256 kbps, and the sample rate to 48k.

Save these settings, and drag your new Custom Preset to the queued video.

Then click Start Batch. This will be encoded as an MP4 file that looks great and is ready to upload to Wistia.

If you haven’t already, download The Wistia Preset for Compressor. It’s a custom preset we’ve made for exporting 1080p videos, that look and upload great to Wistia.

Once it’s downloaded, in drag the preset into the Compressor settings window. This will add the preset to your list of custom presets. Then just drag the Wistia Preset setting to the job in the Batch window, and click submit. The video will be encoded as an MP4 file which you can then easily upload to Wistia. Hooray!

To export a file from Adobe Captivate, select Publish from under the File menu. In the Publish dialogue box, select Media.

Select H.264 or MP4 as the format for export.

If prompted to enter a title, enter one without the full file extension (this will be added automatically).

Camtasia comes with preset production options to make export easier, but sometimes these settings aren’t always ideal. Have no fear! We’re here to help.

First, you’ll want to click Export in the top right corner select and then Local File. Confirm that the File Type is set to MP4 and then click Advanced Settings.

Set your desired dimensions making sure that they are a 16:9 aspect ratio. You’ll also want to make sure that the aspect ratio is preserved by checking Keep Aspect Ratio. Under Encoding, change the quality to 70%.

Export that file and the video will be rendered as an MP4 file which you can then easily upload to Wistia. Woo!

To export a perfect MP4 for Wistia from Camtasia, you’ll want to first head to Export and then Local File. Confirm that the File Format is set to Export to MP4 and then click Options.

Set your desired dimensions making sure that they are a 16:9 aspect ratio. You’ll also want to make sure that the aspect ratio is preserved by checking Preserve Aspect Ratio.

Change the Data Rate to custom, and bump up to 15,000 kbps. Click okay and choose a destination.

Export that file and you’re good to go!

If you are adding your After Effects export back into an editor like Avid or Premiere (our normal workflow), match the native sequence settings you are using in your edit. Make sure you match codec (ProRes, ProRes LT, HDV), frame size (1920x1080, 1440x1080), and frame rate (24, 23.98, 29.97).

If you are exporting out of After Effects for upload to Wistia, use h.264 Quicktime settings and 1920x1080 frame size.

To export your iMovie video project, select the project you wish to export from the iMovie Project Library and choose File > Share > File.

Set the Format to Video & Audio, and make sure the resolution is set to 1080p. Then change the quality from High to Custom, and set the Bitrate to 15 mbps.

Click Next, and choose a filename and location, and then Save. Your video will be saved to your computer as an MP4 file which you can then easily upload to your Wistia account.

To easily export a video from QuickTime Pro, open the movie you wish to export and choose File > Export > 1080p. In the Export pop-up menu, choose a filename and location, and click Save. Your video will be saved to your computer as a .mov file which you can then easily upload to Wistia.

Wistia has an awesome integration with ScreenFlow 5 that allows you to publish a video right from ScreenFlow to Wistia. In the editor, head up to File > Publish to > Wistia.

Here, you can choose 720p for HD or 1080p. If you want to keep a copy of the file, just click Save Copy To Disk and choose the destination.

After you click Sign In, it will launch a modal that looks like your Wistia login page.

Enter your username and password, Authorize ScreenFlow to post to your account, and then choose which folder you’d like to upload to. You can even create a new “Untitled Folder” to upload into.

Once you hit Publish, it will begin the exporting and uploading process.

Then, hop into your Wistia account, and you’ll see the ScreenFlow video is in a new folder ready to be customized. Hot dog!

Handbrake is a great, free solution for smoothing out problems with weird video files. To export a video for Wistia from Handbrake, click Source in the top right corner and select the file that you’d like to convert. Some of the fields will auto-populate. We recommend making sure that:

Then, click “Start” at the top right and your video will begin encoding to the Destination folder you chose!