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Ratty text on the timeline
Hi! I am editing on my MacBookPro 2.4GHz Intel Duo/4gigs RAM; I’ve got an external hard drive on the computer for my media. I created a graphic on a background in photoshop (text on a gradated color) and saved it as a PICT 720×486/ 72 DPI. I dragged it into FCP; looked great in the viewer. BUT when I dropped it into the canvas (timeline), it looks ratty; like it’s missing a field- the very same graphic that looks great in the viewer. Even when I create text in the title tool it looks ratty. I’m using Unlimited RT, Dynamic playback. The sequence setting is for 720×480/ NTSC pixels; my compressor is DV/DVCPRO-NTSC. Even rendered the text looks bad. I exported a quicktime just to see it on the desktop; bad. I’m doing something obvious and incorrectly. Help?
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7 Replies
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Have you rendered the graphic?
Are you monitoring on an external video monitor? -
I did render the graphic. I did not monitor on an external monitor. Why would the graphic look so decent in the viewer but then look so ragged in the timeline? It’s not a slight artifacting issue one might see on a DVD. I’m not nit-picking. It looks really low rez. Scratching my head…thanks
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Welcome to FCP. This is quite a common confusion, like, we see this every day here.
1. It is always preferable to monitor your output with a broadcast monitor, just like all other video editing systems like Avid, ETC. If you did so, you’d see your graphics at the proper resolution.
2. If you are just starting out and do not yet have a broadcast monitor, hook up your system to the best TV set you have. Note; if it’s non-DV source, you may need a video capture card to do this.
3. If you don’t have a TV set, set your Canvas to 100% precisely, and you will get a close approximation of your output render quality.
Kevin Monahan
http://www.fcpworld.com
Author – Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro -
A few things are going on here.
1. In the Viewer, you are looking at it natively. In the Canvas, you are seeing it is converted to the codec your sequence is…in this case DV.
2. Unlimited/Dynamic Playback does not give you full quality. Change everything to Full Quality in the RT drop down menu. You may need to render (red line or bright green line) to play back at full quality.
3. Even if you are playing back at full quality, the Canvas does not necessarily show it at full quality unless at 100% magnification…you need to view on a video monitor to see what it really looks like.
4. The DV codec is poor, especially for graphics. You will see some degradation from the original. No way around that unless you work in a different format and do NOT master back to DV.
5. Quicktime player may still playback at draft quality. Make sure “high quality” is checked in the properties.
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BINGO: simply changing the Canvas monitor to view it at 100% and not 108% brought it back to what I had hoped to see! Thank you! I’ve actually done a series of projects on FCP but I have to admit the layout of this software is in many ways not intuitive and bogs me down. Thank you for your help.
Geek/Nerd/Odd Duck
MacbookPro15″ 4gigsRAM -
A million things to know about FCP, Darren. Glad it worked for you.
Hate to harp but, again, for reliable results, you really do need to hook up a monitor to your system though, just like all video editing systems. A computer monitor will never show you interlacing artifacts (such as you’d find with certain freeze frames) or true colors, for example. You cannot really “see” the true image in the Canvas no matter what you do unless you have that monitor!
Best of luck.
Kevin Monahan
http://www.fcpworld.com
Author – Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro -
OK! OK! You beat me down: I hooked up a TV monitor. It ended up being very easy; Firewire out to a camcorder and then A/V out of the camcorder to the TV. MUCH better. Thank you. Tremendously helpful advice. And genuinely appreciated!
Geek/Nerd/Odd Duck
MacbookPro15″ 4gigsRAM
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