1) Starting with Handbrake

Download and install Handbrake. It’s free.

Next, open Handbrake and drag a movie file into it. A preview of the video should show up and it should default to the SUMMARY tab. We recommend compressing it as an .mp4 file but feel free to explore other formats!

3) Bitrate and Compression Values

Now we go to the VIDEO tab where we can set the RATE FACTOR (RF) which determines how much the video will be compressed. The higher the RF the more compressed your video. For a really glitched out effect you can set it to all the way to 51 but for the sake of this we will set it to 32. This can vary depending on the video so it may take a few attempts to dial it in to that 1.44 Mb a minute sweet spot.

You can also reduce the framerate, which can also reduce the video size and give it a cool old film-camera effect. For now, we will set the frame rate to SAME AS SOURCE.

5) Export

Now it's time to render! RENAME the file, hit the big green PLAY button, and sit back as your video compresses.

2) Dimensions

First, we will move to the DIMENSIONS section and change the video quality from 1080p HD to a lower 480p standard definition. To do this, just adjust the RESOLUTION LIMIT to 480p and the dimensions will adjust automatically. If you are compressing a vertical (or portrait) video, set the resolution limit to "None" and set the scaling to 854X480 (this is for a vertical format, 9:16 standard definition video) or to your desired dimensions.

4) Audio Compression

Lastly, we need to compress the audio. Mixing the sound down to "Mono" reduces the audio embedded in the video by half. We can also reduce the file size by choosing an MP3 codec and by setting the BITRATE to 32kbps.

Video Compression

To limit these file sizes we use Video Compression to reduce the amount of data needed to represent the content of the media file. In many cases video compression isn’t very noticeable, but with Small-File Ecomedia we reduce the image and audio quality of an average video file to about 90% that of an HD video file streamed on any major platform.

While much fidelity is lost, this opens media up to many aesthetic directions, including pixelation, distortion, grain and dithering. These qualities are coveted by small-file enthusiasts and are commonplace in datamoshing, glitch art and within the demoscene.

There are many free tools available to compress video to the Small-File Ecomedia standard including Handbrake, Any Video Converter, AVIDMUX and FFMPEG. Some small file creators use these applications to reveal the aetheric possibilities of lo-fi media, manipulating video through pixelation, dithering, distortion, and intentional glitching. Others attempt to retain the highest quality possible within the constraints of Small-File Ecomedia.

Obsolete Technologies

We are encourage the use of obsolete technologies as an avenue for low-energy compression. Upwards of 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste is generated globally each year and that number is only going to climb higher in the face of planned obsolescence.

Old cell phones, webcams, mini-dv video cameras, scanners and and point-and-shoot cameras are a great place to start.

Not a lens-based media artist? Great! We encourage the submission of any moving image that can be displayed on a screen, from GIF art to demoscene. Interested in submitting something and don’t know where it fits in? Email us at [email protected] and we will let you know.

Demoscene

We are encourage the use of obsolete technologies as an avenue for low-energy compression. Upwards of 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste is generated globally each year and that number is only going to climb higher in the face of planned obsolescence. Old cell phones, webcams, mini-dv video cameras, scanners and and point-and-shoot cameras are a great place to start.

Shoot for Small Files

Certain techniques are more suited for small file clarity. Try techniques that reduce the amount of information captured, this will lead to less compression further down the road. Examples of this are recording and editing in mono, using minimal camera movements or a tripod to capture a still shot (static backgrounds result in the overlap of data from frame to frame) and using a shallow depth of field.

When filming a small-file, the use of a tripod makes it easier to capture a static background. When there are less dynamic elements on screen your video will compress into a smaller file as there is less data shared across frames.

Datamoshing

Refers to the process of manipulating the data of media files (including images) in order to achieve visual effects when the file is decoded. The process of datamoshing can often include the removal of data, which can create interesting effects while lowering file size, especially when combined with other compression techniques. Basic experimental datamoshing can be done by simply opening an image file with a text editor and manipulating the text, or similarly, manipulating an image with an audio editor like Audacity. The full breadth of datamoshing techniques can be explored in online communities, including resources like datamoshing.com.

High Quality Compression Guide

Patrick Düren of Apron Films in Berlin is responsible for the amazingly high-quality compression of Dave Lojek’s films such as Do Kwan Tae (SFMF 2021).

In the last few weeks he experimented with codecs, compressions, filters and produced a few 5 MB versions of my very short films (each under 5 minutes), which I would be honored to have presented in the program of your festival. A very small Bear Trophy would be a wonderful addition for my collection.

We took the uncompressed master files and used the encoding Software “Hybrid” on an old 2012 laptop in Linux, with the HEVC codec, some divx encoder, a quarter of the frame size, and several measures of filters both for sound and video artifact softening. We give you mp4 and mkv containers. After some excruciating experimentation (and battle against the inner perfectionist) each of the films was compressed in approx. ONE HOUR.

We tested the resulting small files on both Windows 7, Windows 10 and Linux in VLC and MPC-BE players and on a new Samsung Smartphone. The films are now very very small. We are not sure they will stream on Vimeo or YouTube.

640x360p is the resolution for the 16:9 films, and 640x264p for the cinemascope ratio 2.4:1. We use 25fps frame rates in Europe.

The player of google drive can display them, but they look nicer in the offline software players I mentioned above. When you make your forums and presentations, I suggest you take the MPC-BE player.

Any Video Converter

Any Video Converter is another program with a free option that also allows you to compress a video into a super small size. These steps enabled us to take the same video file as above and compress it to 1mb per minute. Any Video Converter is one of the best programs for keeping image quality while reducing CPU workload.

First, drag and drop the video you wish to compress into the task window and under profile and select customized AVI Video.

Next, click on the AVI icon to change the video compression settings.

The settings should be as follows:

VIDEO
Codec: x264
FrameRate: 15
Bitrate: 64
Size: 1280x720

AUDIO
Codec: MP3
SampleRate: 44100
Bitrate: 64
Channel: 2

Once the settings are correct click CONVERT NOW and your video will be compressed to a Super Small File Size. If your video isn’t shrinking properly try reducing the dimensions of the image even further.

Because we are doing strange things to video files they may not open in all video players. We found that VLC Player is able to play most video formats.