Issue with exporting settings for Facebook & Instagram

Question

Hello everyone!

So I'm having a bit of an interesting issue regarding exporting videos specifically for Facebook & Instagram.

Please let me preface, this issue seems to be very specific to this niche type of hobby filming. We use microlights that flash different colors at different lengths as you move them, creating light trails that people then use in a form of dance. The thing about recording with these lights is that every mode flickers at a different frequency and speed, and as such, I have to adjust our camera settings properly so that they show up accurately to how the light trails look in real life. I have figured this out and my current export settings (see below) have produced accurate results. HOWEVER, when these videos go on Facebook or Instagram the appearance of the light trails are no longer accurate. The best way I can describe this is that when the videos are rendered in 60FPS, the lights show up accurately. If you render the video at 30FPS, the lights are no longer accurate. Please refer to these references below - both links are the same exact file rendered with the export settings listed below:

(GOOD) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fn_1qNMDrM Please ensure you watch this video in 720/1080P 60FPS to see the proper display. This video shows the lights properly with a light blue idle color that extends to a more smooth rainbow trail with a small gap as you move it around. Movements are smooth.

(BAD) https://www.facebook.com/EmazingLights/videos/1418434111626675/ This video does NOT show the lights properly. The idle color is a pulsing white/blue and extends to a broken up rainbow trail with much more gaps. Movements are choppy.

Export Settings:

Format: H.264
Preset: Custom

Resolution: 1920x1080

Frame Rate: 60

Bitrate: VBR, 1 Pass

Target Bitrate: 10

Does anyone have any idea on export settings that I can tweak so I can have this display on FB/IG properly? My guess right now is that they both only display 30FPS videos. If that's the case, is there any way I would still be able to produce accurate results on 30FPS?

I'm available for any questions as I know this is not a normal issue.

I'm also aware that this hobby is "different" and "weird". Please refrain from any commentary about the hobby itself and keep the thread professional. I would really love to find a solution to this issue.

Thanks!

Averdahl · Answer

I downloaded the clip and it is 30p instead of 60p, thus the issue you see.

It seems that Facebook transcode the clips that are uploaded to fit their standards and discard the original frame rate and use 30p. YouTube on the other hand keeps the original frame rate, 60p. If i remember correctly YouTube did the same many years ago, iow transcoded 720p60 to 720p30.

What you can test is to export the footage using either CineForm or ProRes as 30 fps, interlaced. Next, open the clip in Adobe Media Encoder and render it to H.264 and make sure to export it as Progressive. This can help a tad, but it won´t be perfect and you will loose quality but can be worth trying.

Btw, i have almost never seen video with good quality on Facebook and have avoided it myself for that reason and stick only to YouTube or Vimeo since they offer better quality for the same footage.

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