Montage Help CenterExport settings and presets
In the Mac app, the export window starts with presets and opens every setting under More settings: format, encoding, size, pictures a second, quality, colours and sound.
Written by Ben (Founder) · Updated November 6, 2026The presets
Each preset shows about how big your file will be. Standard is picked when the window opens.
| Preset | What you get |
|---|---|
| Standard | MP4, H.264, AAC sound, the Standard quality |
| Smaller file | The same, a lighter file |
| Best | The same, the sharpest |
| Master for editing | For Final Cut, Premiere, Resolve: MOV, ProRes 422 HQ, WAV sound |
All four keep your video’s own size and pictures a second. If your footage was filmed in HDR, the export stays in HDR as filmed; change it in More settings.
More settings
| Setting | Choices |
|---|---|
| Format | MP4 or MOV |
| Encoding | H.264 (plays everywhere), H.265 (smaller file, recent devices), H.265 10-bit (smoother colours). In MOV also ProRes 422 Proxy (smallest), ProRes 422 LT, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 4444 (with transparency). |
| Resolution | Your video’s size or smaller: never bigger than your videos. |
| Pictures a second | Your video’s, or fewer (24 for cinema). Never more. |
| Quality | Smaller file, Standard, Best, or Your own in Mb/s. With ProRes it is set by ProRes, which keeps the picture almost as filmed. |
| Colours | Normal colours (looks the same everywhere), HDR · HLG (iPhone), HDR · HDR10 (YouTube, TVs). HDR is offered only when your footage was filmed in HDR; H.264 has no HDR. |
| Sound | AAC (the usual, small) or WAV (the sound whole, larger). WAV goes in a MOV. |
The qualities in Mb/s, for a 1080 × 1920 video: Smaller file 4, Standard 8, Best 12. A bigger picture gets more in proportion (a 4K picture has four times as many dots), a smaller one less, never under 1 Mb/s.
Some of your videos are HDR, some are not? The window says how many were filmed in HDR. The others and Montage’s titles keep their normal brightness in an HDR export.
Your own presets
- Open More settings and change what you want. The preset becomes Custom (« Your changes · not saved yet »).
- Press Save as a preset, type its name under Name your preset, then Save.
- Next time, it is in the list. Its ⋯ button lets you Rename it, Change its settings or Delete it.
Your presets are kept in the app on this computer.
Where the file goes
- Press Export. The app asks where to save, starting in your Movies folder.
- « Making your video » shows how far it is. You can keep working: keep Montage open until it is done.
- « Your video is ready »: press Show in Finder.
Questions
Why can’t I pick HDR?
None of the footage in this video was filmed in HDR, so the window greys it out: « Your videos were not filmed in HDR. » Montage never adds HDR that was not filmed.
The export says one of my originals is « On the disk » or « Moved or deleted ».
The app exports from your originals at their full quality. Plug the disk back in and the export goes on by itself, or press Find the file and show the app where it is now.
The export says « Your Mac is full ».
It tells you how much the video needs and how much is free. Free up some space, then press Try again.
Can my presets go to another computer?
Not for now: your presets are kept in the app on the computer where you made them.