I can't export in MP4

[TIMidator]

Something really weird is happening to me. I wanted to export an animation (66 seconds long) and I go to export the animation as an MP4 file, but SFM crashes before the exporting process even starts. I am able to export in AVI with no trouble at all, but I can't seem to upload the video to YouTube (it's taking FOREVER). The weird part is, I was able to export my previous animations as MP4s before without trouble, so why the heck am I having export problems now?!? I'm getting really frustrated at everything and I really need some help.

[Zappy]

Originally posted by TIMidator (Sad):

- I am able to export in AVI with no trouble at all, -

How, if I may ask? Source FilmMaker has never been able to properly support exporting AVI videos longer than a couple of seconds, due to Source FilmMaker being a 32-bit program and being unable to save files larger than around 4 gigabytes. (Yes, AVI exports easily reach up to 4 gigabytes in size, which is why it's taking so long to upload.)

Originally posted by TIMidator (Sad):

- MP4 -

You need QuickTime installed in order to export MP4s (and MOVs) straight from Source FilmMaker. Considering QuickTime has actual security holes and isn't being maintained for Windows, please either do not install or do un-install it, whichever suits your situation the most. Even then, depending on the compression codec you've chosen, the colours will be very wrong compared to within Source FilmMaker.



So if you can't export AVIs nor MP4s/MOVs from Source FilmMaker... then what? What you want to do instead is to do an "image sequence" render (preferably to a folder of its own, so you can easily delete it once you have the video), then use almost any video editor (besides Windows (Live) Movie Maker) to import all the images and the sound file, set the frame-rate correctly, and export that as a video.
The huge AVI file sizes and MP4s/MOVs being wrongly-coloured and requiring QuickTime are just Source FilmMaker quirks. Most video editors can save as those files without any problems.

Here's a guide on doing the above using Blender (which is free and available on Steam), but again, most video editors will suffice for this job:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=375229570

[76561198351480400]

So, How Do I Export My Animation To MP4? Meow?

[Marco Skoll]

Originally posted by IHeartDreamworks:

So, How Do I Export My Animation To MP4? Meow?

You don't. As Zappy explained, you export to image sequence, then encode that sequence in a different video editor.

This is much more stable, slightly quicker, higher quality, doesn't involve the now-dangerous Quicktime software, and can be restarted mid-render if SFM crashes.
There's really no good reason to export straight to MP4 out of SFM.

[76561198351480400]

You Got It, Marco! So, What's A Different Video Editor To Export My Animation? Meow?

[Zappy]

Originally posted by IHeartDreamworks:

- So, What's A Different Video Editor To Export My Animation? -

For exporting it, none. Only Source Filmmaker can export Source Filmmaker sessions into images. For turning the images into a video, see comment #1 of this thread.