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Building for NTSC and PAL
I started a project that is mostly still images, text and a couple of video clips destined for NTSC delivery on DVD. Then the client came to me asking about being able to play the DVD’s in Europe. Specifically France.
So now I have to make sure this project I’m building can be output to both NTSC and PAL. it is PAL in France right, not SECAM? What is the best way to go about this with After Effects?
How will the change in resolution effect my overall project (text layout, image size, video size) and how will this effect my frame rate in regards to things like flash frames and other short effects?
Should I start with a PAL sized project window and just crop to NTSC, does After Effects have NTSC guide like they have title safe guides?
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2 Replies
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i haven’t ever worked in pal, but i have thought workflows that would work for both pal and ntsc.
the big issue, if you have shot footage, is frame rate. but i think that can be over come if you plan to work in 24p for your ntsc dvd and then 25p for pal dvd.
the second issue would be frame size. i think working in a pal resolution and pixel aspect ratio first and then scaling that down to ntsc would seem to make the most sense. if you were able to work progressive, this should work well – note that you would need to interpret any 24p video footage to 25p before using in your pal comp first, then taking that to ntsc.
you would probably want to lay your audio in for both separately in an nle with the appropriate ntsc or pal settings.
i think this workflow would work, but, hopefully others who have actual experience with the 2 formats will chime in.
Kevin Camp
Designer – KCPQ, KMYQ & KRCW -
[roxics] “How will the change in resolution effect my overall project (text layout, image size, video size) and how will this effect my frame rate in regards to things like flash frames and other short effects?
Should I start with a PAL sized project window and just crop to NTSC, does After Effects have NTSC guide like they have title safe guides?”
I’m in the middle of altering NTSC menus right now for a PAL release of one of the DVD projects we worked on.
My workflow is to update the PSDs first with a simple image size/pixel aspect ratio droplet. Then I leave all NTSC video at its original size/interpretation in AE, pre-comp all NTSC video assets present in final comps (for the final step), change the composition settings to the PAL D1/DV preset and then Fit to Comp all of the pre-comped NTSC video. There is a very very subtle shift in aspect ratio of assets but it is literally impossible to see if you’re not looking for it.
If you have the option, going from PAL to NTSC will probably work nicer as you are down-rezing the footage. However, I don’t know what this will mean for your video assets. Going from 29.97 to 25fps is actually hardly noticeable at all, if you’re going the other way it may pose some problems.
Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA
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