One thing that isn't talked about a lot in filmmaking circles, but is absolutely necessary is file compression. Sure, you'll hear about different codecs that can make video stream faster without "noticeable" loss of detail, which is useful for end-result delivery, but that's useless for any form of editing, effects work, or color grading. What happens when you need to share uncompressed files with collaborators around the world? With the dichotomy of the micro-budget filmmaker community, it's becoming more and more common to have editorial assistance coming from every corner of the world. So how do you get files small or cohesive enough to send easily, but know that you're not going to lose valuable information?
Well, the secret is essentially a "temporary" compression algorythm that keeps track of all the information stored within a single or set of lossless files. This allows you to shoot out something like a .TIF codec "lossless" quicktime file and then compress it so that you can easily upload it to an FTP server or to a FTP service like DropBox.
The other need was for a way of putting multiple files in a directory into one singular file (or sequence of files), so that your collaborators don't have to spend an hour trying to download every bloody file in a set you're sending.
The first answer to this problem was the .ZIP archive, developed by the Info-Zip group, a technology that proved so useful that eventually Microsoft "borrowed" the code and included it inside of Windows.
While .ZIP had it's uses, it tends to see all data as the same, ignoring how things like images and media could be compressed in ways that things like text could not. (The concept is very similar to the actual density of physical objects. Less dense objects like fluffy comforters and those foam tension balls can be squished into amazingly small sizes, considering how large they are in their normal state, whereas a bar of gold is extremely difficult to squeeze any smaller than it already is. In this regard, Photoshop .PSDs and uncompressed videos would be like the comforters, while text documents and pre-compressed media would be like the gold. This is even more true in Solid archives. More on those later.) As such, in the early '90's Alexander Roshal created the RAR archive, a type of archive that could adapt based on what types of elements were being compressed.
After developing the archive, Roshal decided that a singular program capable of opening and compressing multiple archive types was needed, so he created WinRar to handle his RAR codec, as well as .ZIP files. (Later it would go on to include the ability to open a number of other types of files, including .7z and .ACE files.)
WinRar provides a number of contextual menu options to simplify compression drastically.
When I first ran into the .RAR codec, I was actually indulging in my "guilty" pleasure of playing PC-based video games. I'm a huge Bethesda fan (makers of Elder Scrolls and, having bought the development rights, the modern Fallout games) and they have a very thriving community of collaborators and contributors, many of whom create all new content for these games. Because Bethesda turns over their source creation programs for each game to their fans as a form of "construction kit", fans will often try to outdo the original developers with their elaborate creations for the games. Since files packed with graphics and models can get very large indeed, the.RAR codec was a favorite for these gamers.
Having thoroughly tested it for this review in regards to the World of Depleted franchise, including getting help with a 3D sequence from Mark Bremmer on the opposite side of the continent from me and trading compositing elements with Michele Yamazaki in another corner of the nation, I can testify that it's just as useful to filmmakers.
So, I know may of your are asking, "Why choose WinRar?" After all, there are a lot of programs that do a lot of these sorts of things that are free.
That's true. However, none of the ones I've tested (and I've looked at plenty), have ever come close to the simple power that WinRar has, or the complete feature set. With that said, let's break down the specifics.
Ease of Use
The place that WinRar sits head and shoulders over most of the competition has got to be ease of use.
WinRar has support for full contextual options (which many of the free programs do not, or at least not with any assortment of options available). Further, by default, it's actually be a step easier to use WinRar than Windows own .zip options, since WinRar options are on the top portion of the Windows right click contextual menu (vs. in the "Send To…" sub category, where Windows' zip archive options is located in) and it's at the top of the list.
The compression process is painless. If you choose a file or folder that you want to compress, you simply right click it and it gives you the following options in the contextual menu: Add to Archive (which lets you choose exactly the options you want and whether you want native RAR or .ZIP format), Add to ".RAR" (which doesn't require you to make any choices and will create a .RAR file named after your document), Compress and email (which is essentially the first option with the addition of adding it as an attachment to your email client), and, finally, Compress to ".RAR" and email (which is essentially the second option with the attach to email client options).
When it comes to opening your files, this is where WinRar really shines. They have numerous options (which are rather similar to the compression process) that allow you to add files to other archives, but, perhaps the one I use the most is the option to "Extract each archive to a separate folder." If you have numerous archives from various sources that you need to work with, this will batch uncompress them all and put them in separate folders for you to do what you want with. Anyone who's ever had to mess with multiple zip files with the Windows client knows how much of a pain this is, even on Windows 7, requiring multiple screens of choices. WinRar on the other hand: a single click. That's just slick.
(And, if they're all video clips that should go into a single folder, no worries. It's just as easy as it'll allow you to choose to extract all to a single folder, as well.)
Obviously, the more complex options (like creating self-extracting archives) take a little bit of learning to do, but, right out of the box, it's simple to utilize WinRar for most of the things filmmakers wish to do.
Amongst the variety of options within WinRar is the ability to create a self-extracting .EXE using the SFX archive options, as well as the ability to create ultra compact solid archives.
Depth of Options
The amount of options that are packed into WinRar is pretty incredible. I don't have time to go into all of them, but will cover some of the high points.
Perhaps the top thing that is extremely useful to include is the option to create "Solid" archives, which essentially detangle all the bits of data in all your files and pack them together at a subatomic level, waiting to get unpacked on the other side. (Sort of like the Jetsons briefcase air car.)
Other great options are the ability to include the ability to create multi-volume RAR files (which is very useful if you need to keep each RAR file to only a certain size for your FTP requirements, as each file directly connects to the next one in the string so that, your end user, can uncompress the first one and all the others will be pulled into this operation), the ability to create self-extracting archives in the .SFX format, and the ability to include authenticity verification.
Of course, sometimes bad things do happen to archives you send (or receive). In those situations, the fact that WinRar has a repair and recovery feature will help you get back the data that has been lost. While every damaged file is different and no program could recover everything, the better way to think of this repair feature would be like a content salvage program. Where something like WinZip would just say that the archive has been corrupted and tell you that you're out of luck, WinRar will create a new folder and salvage all the files it can. On a large cache of media files, this can be a huge life saver! (Of course, if a recovery record was saved with the folder, it may be able to recover everything!)
Performance
As the Ease of Use section described, this is a well-designed program that is efficiently laid out, making it not only smooth to operate but adept in its operation. The number of easy to access options just from the right click menu easily justifies owning it. Additionally, it has the option to run almost all of its features, from compression, to uncompression, to repair as background processes, trading speed for allowing you to do your major work without interruption.
WinRar has a large number of extraction and recompression options for pre-existing archives, as well as the ability to repair damaged archives.
Value
If you don't need to send out a lot of files or you don't use many .zip or .rar files, then you could probably get by fine with some of the freeware options that are out there. However, if you, like I, are finding you're sending more and more packages of information and media around the world to people, then you'll find this a life saver. For less than $30, WinRar is very cost effective for how much time it will save you. With that said, the developers might want to consider lowering the price point to $14.95 for the locked node version and having a floating license that works for all personal computers a customer owns for $29.95. (Currently, it's $30 per node, which can get spendy if you want to make sure you have it on your editing computer, your email computer, and your laptop.)
Final Comments While we don't review a lot of utility programs here at MFM, when we do, it's because the program is very worthwhile to the low-budget filmmaker. As such, if you're a PC user, then you owe it to yourself to check out WinRar. You get a 40 day trial period to try it out before you need to pay for it, so you can make sure it's the right fit for you first! Hopefully the folks at WinRar will develop a Mac version in the near future, so our Mac readers aren't left out!
Ease
of Use
9.5
Depth
of Options
10.0
Performance
9.5
Value
vs. Cost
9.0
Overall Score
9.5
The
director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films, Jeremy Hanke founded Microfilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make
better films. His first book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) was released by MWP to very favorable reviews. He's curently working on the sci-fi film franchise, World of Depleted through Depleted: Day 419 and the feature film, Depleted.
One thing that isn't talked about a lot in filmmaking circles, but is absolutely necessary is file compression. Sure, you'll hear about different codecs that can make video stream faster without "noticeable" loss of detail, which is useful for end-result delivery, but that's useless for any form of editing, effects work, or color grading. What happens when you need to share uncompressed files with collaborators around the world? With the dichotomy of the micro-budget filmmaker community, it's becoming more and more common to have editorial assistance coming from every corner of the world. So how do you get files small or cohesive enough to send easily, but know that you're not going to lose valuable information?
