How to bring down file size to a appropriate size ?

[Axle1]

Hey, this is probably a stupid question, but i was wondering if anyone knew how i can bring down the file size of a 1 hour reason project (.wav 16bit at 44.1) from 400mb to about 20-50mb without major effects to the piece ? i've tried a few different forms of compressing but it usually only gets it down to 200-300mb.
also just wondering if there is a section here or any other websites where i can get some feedback/help on an individual track ?

Thanks!

 

[Steve Millikan]

This may be obvious, but have you tried converting to mp3?

 

[Massive Master]

And don't think it isn't going to adversely affect the audio... To get it down that low, you're going to be using some seriously lossy compression.

 

[mjbphotos]

FLAC conversion will knock the size down approximate 50%, but will only play in a flac player (or you have to covert back).

 

[TimOBrien]

There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

compression = quality loss

You have to decide if you can bear it.

 

[mixsit]

It'd be interesting to know why the need, but as you didn't say what kind of project, are there unneeded sections that can be trimmed out? (and you may have to render' and save to a new project to actually get rid of deleted data from a project..

 

[Armistice]

You need to tell us why you're converting a project. What's the file going to be used for?

In MP3-speak that's probably a 128k file at best, which will sound seriously crappy, I would imagine.

 

[Bobbsy]

To be blunt, don't do anything to make your files sizes smaller during the production process. Disk storage space is dirt cheap these days--my last external HDD was $69 for a Terabyte.

Lossy compression like MP3 is a a definite no-no because any decent DAW will convert your files to some form of uncompressed data for processing and mixing, then the next time you save the file will be compressed again. Each time this is done the compression artefacts concatenate until your quality hits a cliff edge and sound like absolute poo.

Even with lossless compression like FLAC, the conversions are still taking place so you're adding an extra codec to your chain which will add to processing overheads.

Sorry, but compression has no place whatsoever in the production process. Convert your final mix to MP3 for distribution if you must but, until you get to your final mastered mix, stay away from any and all forms of bit rate reduction.