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Fully Rendered Text in FCP Looks Blurry – WHY?
I was wondering if any of you could give me advice about why the text I am using in Final Cut Pro doesn’t look as CRISP as I’d like it to.
Here’s an example. The screen shot was taken on a fully rendered clip, viewed at 100%. The sequence format is DV NTSC. I think the second line of text, the artist’s name, looks blurry:
The font is Verdana size 12. Up closer – the screen shot zoomed in Photoshop, not FCP:
Why is this? I still see this effect when I export a Quick Time movie or compress in any way. Is there a trick for making every line of text evenly sharp? When I screen this in a crowded theater, will anyone notice but me?
Thank you all,
Andrea -
8 Replies
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If you created the text in FCP’s text tool, make sure that the Y value under position in the FCP motion tab is on an even number exactly.
-Russ
Russell Lasson
Colorist/Digital Cinema Specialist
Color Mill
Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.colormill.net -
Humm, the x/y under motion is at 0/0 and my origin is at -310/180, so all even numbers. Any other ideas for me?
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So I just tried adjusting the leading from 3 to 5, and – like magic – the text reads more even and clear. Could someone explain to me why that is or refer me to an article somewhere that could?
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Hi, I think its the Codec you are using, however when u write your final edit to a DVD and play it on a DVD player it will be seen clearly seeing as final cut is not too good when it comes to rendering text in codecs such as DVCAM
Innit!
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DV codec is a poor choice for text and even worse for something blown up to cinema screen size.
Try firstly as Russell suggested to make sure the text is not lined up on sub pixel numbers ( x & y values with decimals)
Secondly try copy>paste the final sequence in either an uncompressed or ProRes final sequence and then render. The text will look a lot sharper that way. Not sure what codec your camera original footage is but I am guess Dv otherwise there would not be a reason to choose that as your sequence setup. If it is anything else, let us know and we might be able to make further improvements for you.
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Thank you, Michael! Thank you, Njuguna!
I built this session as DV NTSC per a friend’s advice but never felt right about it. The video is 95% FCP text, 4 % still images, and 1% actual video. I guess it never made sense to use a this format for this sort of project.
I’ve copy/pasted and rendered into an Uncompressed NTSC 8 bit and already the text looks MUCH better. Do you all agree that this is the ideal format? What’s the difference between 8 and 10 bit?
Are there still rules of thumb I should be following to make great looking text in FCP? Like working only with even numbers?
Learning so much – thank you all.
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You might try using a ProRes sequence setting instead of Uncompressed for size reasons. Quality will be just as good.
-Russ
Russell Lasson
Colorist/Digital Cinema Specialist
Color Mill
Salt Lake City, UT
http://www.colormill.net -
Difference between 8 & 10 bit is grey scale resolution, with 10 bit having much more.
I always prefer 10 bit timelines so try Russell’s advice and use ProRes which is 10 bit but smaller than 8 bit Uncompressed.
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