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scale problems on import
Here’s one. When importing stuff… what setting stops the layers from warping. For some reason I’ll import a layer from photoshop, a movie file, whatever, and although the dimensions should be right the thing gets squished horizontally and stretched vertically.
Simply adjusting this to compensate doesn’t help because with rotating the object, the stupid thing stretches!
I’m importing 720×405 movie files into a 720×405 comp, why the warping?!?!
Also, to any of you geniuses who condescend to answer my questions: nice pants!
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9 Replies
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You should check to make sure that your footage is interpreted properly, specifically the pixel aspect ratio. Also, what is a 720×405 frame size for?
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
Also, read Rick Gerard’s tut on “pixel madness”, or pixel aspect ratio.
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720×405 has always been the stage size I use for my stuff. I’m working on my demo reel, now I’m worried that with this interpreting footage issue I’ll have to re export with different settings, all my movie files! Arg.
I”ll check out the suggested Tutorial, I’m just confused as to why I export everything the same ratio, and when I import my movies they’re all whacky sizes.
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[nothingboy] “I’m just confused as to why I export everything the same ratio, and when I import my movies they’re all whacky sizes.”
If you’re exporting your footage with the same settings every time then it sounds like AE is just being creative with the interpretation. Try copying the interpretation of one of the footage items that looks correct. Select it in the Project panel and hit cmd-opt-c (ctrl-alt-c) then select the other footage items and press cmd-opt-v (ctrl-alt-v). This will apply the same interpretation (field order, pixel aspect ratio, frame rate, pulldown, alpha interpretation and color profile in CS3) to all of the footage items. This isn’t always recommended, as you can apply the same problem to all of the footage if you’re not careful, but it might be a quick fix.
I usually like to go into the Interpret Footage dialog (select the footage and hit cmd-f/ctrl-f) and get the settings right for one item, then paste those settings onto my other footage if I know they should all be interpreted the same way.
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It sounds like you’re using 720×405 for 16:9 square pixel display on computers, so you should probably just set all of your footage to square pixel aspect ratio if they are all 720×405 pixels in dimension.Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
You should use the 720×480 widescreen preset, work with PAR correction on, then render to 720×480. No scaling.
If you’re then going to DVD, make sure you indicate that the clip is widescreen (16:9) in your authoring app.
If you’re going to the web, render to something like 320×180 — anything whose dimensions are a multiple of 16 and 9. -
[Steve Roberts] “If you’re going to the web, render to something like 320×180 — anything whose dimensions are a multiple of 16 and 9.”
I guessed that it was for the web or other computer based distribution as 720×405 is a 16×9 aspect ratio assuming square pixels.
I too am concerned about the use of a non-standard frame size, this easily complicates things when you’re pulling footage from different sources. AE tries to make it easy to keep everything in line, but picking a somewhat random frame size doesn’t help the process any =O
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA -
In some circles, 720×405 is a standard frame size. Not in my shop. 🙂
Stick with the presets, and scale during render for web sizes.
(be sure to separate fields for imported interlaced footage, though)
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Now that i’ve mixed it all up… is scaling to compensate for the warping a bad solution?
I’m taking several movie files, all “appearing” slightly warped (but exported at 720×405). Will i run into problems down the road if I simply scale these things against the ratio warping?
Will i lose image quality?
Also, if anybody cares to simplify. To avoid all this in the future, when exporting from Photoshop I should look out for aspect ratio and make sure it matches the AE comp? Is that all the problem is?
(thanks for all the help by the way, I’m in over my head)
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Okay.
Don’t use 720×405 again.
In PS, use 864×486 for widescreen.
In AE, use the DV widescreen *comp preset*, and *use Pixel Aspect Ratio correction* when working so things look normal on the computer.
Don’t scale the PS images when dragging into your comp — AE will make them fit. Just let the top 3 and bottom 3 pixels be hidden.When rendering for DV, just render lossless at comp size and take that into whatever you use for MPEG-2 compression and DVD authoring.
If you’re going to the web, scale in the output module as I wrote.
And read Rick Gerard’s Pixel Madness tutorial.There should be no warping if you follow my instructions.
Oh, and .. nice haircut. 🙂
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