Best route to take editing DV PAL Anamorphic

[Dave Wilson]

Just to remind people of my current situation.

I was originally working with these sequence settings to edit my DV Footage (16:9) captured using my Canon XM2…

Frame Size: 720 x 576 CCIR 601 / DV PAL (5:4)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: PAL – CCIR 601 (720 x 576) Anamorphic 16:9
Field Dominance: Lower (even)
Editing Timebase; 25
Compressor: DV – PAL
Quality: 100%

Upon exporting QuickTime Movie + Current settings, the video played back at 16:9 but the text/graphics were blurry.

The only way I have been able to achieve 16:9 with sharp text/graphics is by copying and pasting my project into the following sequence (and exporting QuickTime Movie + Current Settings)…

Frame Size: 1024 x 576 Custom 16:9
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
Field Dominance: None
Editing Timebase; 25
Compressor: Apple ProRes 422 (HQ)
Quality: 100%

Here is an example of the difference it made…
https://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff414/nofxdude/Screenshot2011-08-11at140232.png

But as I’ve been told, it is not a good idea to work with frame sizes which are not standard.

I have now copied and pasted my DV project into a sequence set to…

Frame Size: 720 x 576 CCIR 601 / DV PAL (5:4)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: PAL – CCIR 601 (720 x 576) Anamorphic 16:9
Field Dominance: Upper (odd)
Editing Timebase; 25
Compressor: Apple ProRes
Quality: 100%

I was told I should have been using the Upper Field Dominance. Upon export QuickTime Movie + Current Settings, my video plays back at 4:3 and the text/graphics do not look very sharp. I have tried applying the flicker filter, and I can not see any difference at all.

So is it normal for my video to be playing back 4:3? Why does anamorphic DV footage play back at 16:9 in Quicktime?

My export is mainly for web use, but my client would like a HQ master copy to keep too. Both at 16:9.

Sorry for the shed load of info. It just seems I change one thing for better and then something else changes for worse!

Thanks for everyone’s help so far, I really appreciate it!

[Daniel Horitz]

ahh! this thread is like a holy grail in the works. I also shoot on a Canon XM2 in DV PAL Anamorphic and have a nightmare of a time trying to get decent looking titles.

I am aiming for Youtube / Vimeo usage and whilst there are countless guides to compressing for web they always suggest Export>Full Quality then use compressor. When you shot in DV to start with this is a terrible idea and until now I have had crisper titles Exporting an h264 straight out of Final Cut.

I have also been tempted, like Dave, to upscale my frame size. Afterall why should high definition graphics and titles be the sole preserve of the HD cam owners club. But I’ve also been warned off this for problems further down the line.

Dave, did you ever get this sorted? After I copied my video from its original PAL sequence to a new ProRes one as suggested I did notice a slight increase in quality and my titles do look pretty crisp.

What did you create yours in? I always find Final Cut’s built-in titles are pretty crap. Try using the free Manifesto plugin which comes with FXFactory for sharper text.

Another note: All the guides suggest using square pixels for web video, BUT then we loose our aspect unless we use an non-standard frame size? I would recommend sticking with your ‘PAL – CCIR 601 (720 x 576) Anamorphic 16:9’ aspect ratio as from my testing Youtube seems to have no problem with it, and importantly; recognises and displays it as 16:9.

Thanks for all your advice, the cow’s milk is sweet.
Dan

[Daniel Horitz]

actually tell a lie.

Looking back at this new export from the ProRes sequence and there are some problems. I have a few shots which play in slow motion, at half and quarter speed. In the new sequence they judder.

The frame rate is 25 in both sequences. I have noticed that FCP has only applied the Shift Fields filter to some of my video so I am now going through manually adding it. Is there some way of automating this?

With or without the Nattress Smart De-Interlace filter the SloMo bits are juddery. Perhaps it would help if I could work out what settings to use in the Smart De-interlace filter!?

Any ideas on getting around this?

Thanks
Dan

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IPSOFACTORY
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Canon XM2
Final Cut Studio 7

[Catherine Tosko]

Make sure you have recompress frames box ticked – if you keep exporting from the same timeline you get judder. Ticking this recompresses those frames. You can try adding compression markers as well before you export over the shaky bits (it’s in the FCP manual)