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HELP-Settings-capture/sequence/export
Newbie here, Im having issues with video I’ve edited in FCP 4.5 when it goes to DVD using DVD pro 3. The dvd quality is not as good as the quicktime i’ve exported from FCP. I understand there is more compression, but is there a way to make the transitions cleaner. The Fade ups and dissolves dont hold well. Will changing my sequence/ capture/or exporting differently in FCP help? I always use the same DV Ntsc settings for capture/sequence/and export settings And check the “make movie self contained” (which I’ve read from some, to check, and from others not to check the box- Im not sure)
I capture usually from a mini dv tape through firewire,
or from a DVD using DVDxDV pro (the dvd’s are usually home made, not store bought)My question is, can changing any of the settings to something else help with the quality, expecially the dissolves and other transitions.
Example, would using the uncompressed settings for export, sequence, or capture help, even though the video is not uncompressed. Can I do that? would that make the output less compressed. And should i be checking the “Make movie self contained Box” on export?
I hope these questions dont irritate the pro’s on this forum, any help is much appreciated……..Thank You
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8 Replies
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[Brad Jenkins] “My question is, can changing any of the settings to something else help with the quality, expecially the dissolves and other transitions.”
Final Cut Pro will insert compression markers at every fade and transition. They are invisible but won’t get exported with your movie unless you choose to export with “DVD Studio Pro” markers. This choice will come up in the dialogue box when you export a Quicktime movie. You can also manually insert compression markers at the beginning and end of a problem area. This tells Compressor to pay special attention to those areas when encoding to MPEG2 for DVD.
[Brad Jenkins] ” would using the uncompressed settings for export, sequence, or capture help, even though the video is not uncompressed. Can I do that?”
Yes you can, but It wouldn’t make the quality of your DV NTSC video look any better. Editing or exporting with a higher resolution codec would only make a difference to any graphics in your timeline but the DV quality would be unaltered.
[Brad Jenkins] “And should i be checking the “Make movie self contained Box” on export? “
This choice is up to you. Exporting a reference movie results in a much smaller movie file size because the movie is “referencing” your original footage to create it. Your captured footage must remain on your media drives in order for this to work. Making a self-contained movie is pretty much self-explanatory: you don’t need to keep your original footage afterwards because a completely new file is created. Which way you choose to go is determined by whether or not you want to keep you original footage on your media drives after your QT movie is exported from FCP. You may be be limited by hard drive space in which case you would export a self-contained movie so you can get rid of the original footage afterwards. There’s no appreciable difference in quality between the two exporting options, although there’s a time difference. Takes longer to export self-contained.
– Don
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Thanks Don, does final cut put those compression markers regardless if I’m manually fading up and fading to black as well as the auto transitions in the effects tabs.
#2 how can I put the compression markers in myself for other problem areas?
your the man , thanks
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And I forgot to ask, Is there a difference in the quality of the transition if I use the auto dip to color dissolve (Black) vs. manually fading up and fading out using the “toggle clip overlays”
thanks again -
[Brad Jenkins] “does final cut put those compression markers regardless if I’m manually fading up and fading to black as well as the auto transitions in the effects tabs. “
Yes. It’s similar to an auto-scene detection feature. Sort of. FCP knows the picture has changed and will insert a compression marker.
[Brad Jenkins] “#2 how can I put the compression markers in myself for other problem areas?”
In the timeline position the playhead where you want to insert a compression marker. Hit “Command-Option-M”. In the dialogue box that pops up choose to add a compression marker. You can give the marker a unique name at the very top where it says marker 1.
– Don
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I don’t know if there’s that much of a difference quality-wise between the two methods. I got into the habit of just doing my fade ins and outs with keyframes and haven’t changed much. There are keyboard shortcuts for inserting keyframes without having to select the pen tool and doing it with the mouse, so I’ve stuck with doing it this way. With FCP there are always 4 or 5 ways of doing the same thing.
– Don
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cool, good to know, Im going to try the keyframes method. thanks again
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[Brad Jenkins] “your the man , thanks”
Gosh, you’re so fickle… I was “the man” only yesterday, now it’s Don already.
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, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
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haha, you are the Man !!
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