• Adobe After Effects

  Text looks great in AE quicktime export, in Final Cut window, and then…

  Posted by Erin Greenwell on October 22, 2009 at 1:44 pm

  I am composing an after affects title sequence that tacks onto a final cut pro sequence

  I am generating titles using the text tool in AECS4

  my after affects comp settings are:

  Preset: DVCPROHD 720 23.976
  Pixel aspect settings : HDV1080/DVPRO HD 720 (1.33) Frame Aspect Ratio 16:9

  my final cut pro sequence setting are:
  DVPRO HD 960X720 HD (16:9)

  When I export the AE comp and open it in quick time the lettering looks great
  (my render settings are best quality/full resolution)
  but it is stretched out out a little vertically

  Using FCP 7
  in Final Cut Pro, the quicktime with the letters look clean in the viewer window
  when I bring it into my FCP timeline I have to render it, immediately the letters get jagged
  then when I export a full res QT everything looks correct aspect ratio wise but the edges on the Y and A letters are jagged

  I am new to the workflow between AE and Final Cut Pro

  Are my comp settings/output settings off or is this just a reality that as soon as final cut pro has to inherit the AE movie, the edges of letters wont be as clean?

  Advice appreciated

  Erin

  Erin Greenwell replied 16 years, 6 months ago 3 Members · 7 Replies
• 7 Replies

• 

  Steve Roberts

  October 22, 2009 at 2:19 pm

  Did you click the “anamorphic” button for the imported clip in FCP?
• 

  Erin Greenwell

  October 22, 2009 at 2:26 pm

  That doesn’t help but what I did notice is:

  AE exports it with the animation compression
  If I make FCP timeline match those settings and then render my picture edit in that timeline, I get a clean quicktime movie with clean letters

  If I change the AE export settings to match my original timeline DVCPRO HD
  The movie doesn’t have to render when I place it in the HD timeline but the letters still look like dogmeat, even in the viewer

  so it seems like it must export out of AE with animation and then that animation sets the compression rate for the whole sequence?

  that seems like such a wacky work around though.

  Any further thoughts?

  Thanks for answering.

  Erin
• 

  Erin Greenwell

  October 22, 2009 at 3:58 pm

  alas it is set to NONE and it’s greyed out so I can’t change it

  Erin
• 

  Steve Roberts

  October 22, 2009 at 4:37 pm

  AE is very flexible with regard to render choices. We have to know what we’re doing, since the default isn’t always what we want.

  Render Settings should be “best”, 98% of the time.

  However, the Output Module needs to be carefully chosen. If you look under Lossless settings, you’ll see that AE’s default is the Animation codec. You want the DVCPROHD codec, if you’re going into a DVCPROHD sequence in FCP. Only use Animation if you don’t know what the FCP sequence setting is, or if you need to use the AE clip’s transparency (alpha channel).

  (BTW, please only use the word “export” with regard to AE if you’ve specifically used the Export command. Otherwise use the verb “render”. It avoids confusion.)

  If you’re still having trouble, consider rendering to Animation in AE, then using QT Pro to Export to the DVCPRO HD codec. Then drop that into the FCP sequence — it shouldn’t have to render.
  Let us know if that works.
• 

  Erin Greenwell

  October 22, 2009 at 4:52 pm

  render render, sorry I’m a newbie

  here are latest findings

  I did a test where I set the AE comp in the render cue to be DVCPRO HD and it looked terrible. even with best settings!

  however if I kept it at the default animation it rendered best
  and then set the FCP timeline to animation compression – all was well

  did an additional test where I converted the AE animation render QT as a QT movie with DVCPRO HD compression, imported that in FCP and there was no need to render in the DVCPRO HD timeline, the letters were clean but the entire AE section was darker

  went back to quick time and noticed that the quality was medium but don’t know how to set it to a higher quality

  so still haven’t cracked the code. but getting closer…
  thanks for your help and putting up with an AE newbie, will email back when I have this perfect

  Erin
• 

  Philippe Lessard

  October 22, 2009 at 8:48 pm

  Hi Erin,

  You say “…the letters were clean but the entire AE section was darker.”In AE in the project setting, in the file drop-down menu, you should check the “Match legacy quick time gamma adjustement” since the render of AE is not quick time, there a gamma difference, or you can use the export command which is the quick time exporter and everything should be ok.Remember when you use DVC/pro,is 8bit, if your source and/or comp setting are 10bit to 32bit you should see color bending in the gradient, so make your color correction in 8 bit.

  Hope this help.
• 

  Erin Greenwell

  October 25, 2009 at 2:36 pm

  Gamma! This is great. The easier the workflow up front the better. Thank you for answering all my questions.

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