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Importing AVI into FCP
I am a beginner on FCP. I am using FCP 6.0.6.
I have most of my footage in FCP from a canon 5d.
Item properties are Apple Pro res HQ, 29.97fps, 1920×1080,square. I matched the sequence to the item properties.I just need to add something, I am not sure how it was shot but it is and AVI , vid rate 30fps, frame rate 320×240, it says compressor Apple OpenDML JPEG.
I set compressor up to convert to the above settings but it is pixelated when I import into FCP .
When I look at the footage off my desktop using quicktime it doesnt look so bad even when I increase the size.
I have searched through the threads but can’t find anything. Other footage from different formats converted on compressor and imported look fine.
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7 Replies
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Ummm…you are blowing up the image 4x its size. Its not going to look good.
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I realise it is tiny but , my question is, is a better workflow that will allow me to use this AVI file next to my existing footage which is much higher quality.
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It depends on what you are ultimately aiming for. If you intend to export your edit as a small (lets say 640×360) quicktime then you can edit in a timeline with the correct dimensions. That way your tiny clip would only have to be doubled in size.
But if you need a full HD 1920×1080 export then you will have to live with the fact that each pixel from your tiny source has been blown up to cover around 25 pixels in the HD image. And if your source was highy compressed to start with then you may be suffering from compression artifacts as well.
What you can try is to use a higher quality resizing algorithm when scaling the clip. Change the resize filter setting in the Frame Controls in Compressor when converting the clip.
/Stephan
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AVI, H264, WMV
These are not editing formats and they don’t play nice with Final Cut. Whenever you can convert these to ProRes 422 and your editing frame rate your life will be much easier. Depending on your system you may need to find another option if you don’t have ProRes.
In theory using Compressor to scale up your images is the best option but in my experience I have had just as much luck with bringing in the ProRes QT and sizing it up with the motion tab.
Keep in mind that garbage in will usually yield similar garbage out.
If you have to edit 1920 you may want to consider playing the smaller footage over a still or another background. When you start scaling footage over 150% your quality will almost always suffer.
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Thanks for the replies guys. My final output will be a QT file to be added to a music cd. Maybe I should consider working on a timeline with smaller dimensions. If my files are full size HD and my timeline is reduced will FCP still play the files on the timeline without problems ?
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Depending on the size restrictions of the CD the movie will most likely have to be SD(640×360 or 480×272 or 320×180) but you could get a 4 min 1280×720 H264 under 100MB and not have any complaints about quality.
If the majority of your footage is HD I would edit in HD and then convert the HD to your delivery size and format when you are done. If the non-HD footage quality is an issue you could edit everything but the non-HD and then drop the HD sequence into your final sequence size and finish.
If this smaller footage is only on the screen for 10 frames 3 times in the video stick with HD until the final output.
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Awesome that makes sense, Thanks Brad for the potential output specs and the work around !
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