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Smoothing Layer Before Finalizing?
I just completed my first FCP5 video. Wow! what a great learning experience.
It was shot in 480i and all FCP5 settings match that. I exported it as a Quicktime movie, and when played in QT, it not as smooth/ clear looking when played on my canvas in FCP. The text, created in LiveType also look blocky. Is there one last layer I can add to “smooth everything out, including the text, before exporting it again to QT? Or is the problem, simply playback in QT on my CRT monitor. I do not have a NTSC preview monitor, so I won’t know how it looks until I actually author a DVD.
Many thanks!
Jason
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3 Replies
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You cannot make QUALITY EVALUATIONS based on the Canvas window or another window viewed on the computer screen.
If you do, you can end up making the wrong creative/corrective decisions.
You need to view the FCP output on an external video monitor (NTSC or PAL, depending on where you are) to check motion and/or quality of a FCP image or graphic DURING the edit.
The better the quality of the monitor, the better you can judge the levels, color and resolution of the edit… but in a pinch ANY outboard monitor will show you how the actual motion will appear and relative sharpness of the image you’re working with.
Again this is a must for making these evaluations on any project that will be output to tape or DVD.Monitoring FCP on an external video monitor is as easy as:
Mac > Camcorder > Monitor.
Here’s how to connect it, step-by-step:1. “Quit” the Final Cut Pro program.
2. Connect your camcorder to the Mac via FireWire.
3. Hook any standard monitor or TV (with a video input) to the outputs on your DV camcorder.
You can use the standard (usually colored yellow) video cable or the “S-video” output from the camcorder if the monitor has one of those kind of inputs.You should ALSO hook up the AUDIO outputs from the camcorder to the same monitor, or any “amplified speakers” so you can monitor the FCP audio along with the video.
4. Turn ON the camcorder. Switch it to the VCR (player) mode, but don’t put a tape in it (unless you intend to record from FCP to a DV tape.)
5. Turn ON the Video Monitor and set to view the “Video Input”.
6. Open Final Cut Pro on the Mac.
7. In FCP, make sure under the pulldown menu: View > External > ALL FRAMES is set.
You should now see the output of FCP on the camcorder’s viewfinder screen AND the external monitor.
You will also hear FCP’s audio from the speakers that you connected to the camcorder.
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Also, was the QT that you watched on your desktop compressed with the DV codec? That adds compression to your text that can make it blocky.
But its very true that you need an external monitor to see what you need to see.
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If you need to evaluate the quality in QT, you need to enable the High Quality flag in QT. This is done automatically when viewing on a video monitor.
Kevin Monahan
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fcpworld.com
Pres. SF Cutters
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