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Odd Interlacing Artifacts
I am currently working on a DV project using FCP 6 as a part of FCS 2. Whenever I capture source footage off a miniDV camcorder, I can see obvious interlacing comb artifacts on the edges of fast moving objects in the canvas. I can apply the deinterlace filter to get rid of these, but that causes other artifacts. I always let the sequence autocomform, so both the footage and the sequence read “Lower (Even)” under field dominance. What is weird is when I create a duplicate of the DV capture preset and change the compressor from DV/DVCPRO to MPEG-4, then recapture the same footage using the same camera, there are no combing artifacts in the canvas. The mpeg-4 still reads as “Lower (Even),” however. Why does one create the combing and the other not, even though both show up as interlaced?
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4 Replies
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John,
You are looking at interlaced footage on a computer monitor that can’t properly display interlaced fields like a proper TV or broadcast monitor. The fields you see on your computer monitor, one is even numbered scan lines, the other odd numbered scan lines, are combined on a TV create a single frame, which has no visible scan lines. On your computer monitor you see the individual fields displayed, not a combined image, i.e. a complete frame.
So, you either have to disregard the interlace when editing on a computer screen or get yourself a setup to display to a TV or broadcast monitor.
BTW, there is no free lunch, deinterlacing may make the lines go away on your computer monitor, but it effectively cuts resolution by 50%.
Also, keep in mind that if you export for the Web at 50% of the original size or less, that effectively makes the interlace go away. Meanwhile, if you export at full size you will have to deinterlace, otherwise the interlace lines will show just as they do now in the FCP canvas.
Got it???
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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I had figured that it had something to do with the monitor. What isn’t clear to me is why the same exact footage, captured with a different codec (Mpeg-4), doesn’t look interlaced, even though it’s still listed as interlaced in the browser.
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[John Benton] “(Mpeg-4), doesn’t look interlaced, even though it’s still listed as interlaced in the browser.”
MPE4-4 isn’t an editing codec, it’s a delivery codec, so who knows…
Set your canvas to display at 100% and see if that’s any better. If not, try it at 50% and check that out.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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As David says, MP$ is not an editing codec and the capture with FC as MP4 is an “off specs” operation.
You really don’t know what are you capturing.
As David points, to see the interlacing in a computer monitor is natural.
Apply de-interlacer only if you want your movie Progressive.
In this case you must set your Sequence as “Field Order: NONE”.
Cheers,
rafael
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