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Technical Query
Hello, I have been a longtime browser on this forum and have found the advice here very useful.
I am preparing a Video presentation, the contents of which are: slides prepared in Keynote and endoscopic video footage. The endoscopic footage is 1920 X 1080 DVDPRO HD (1080/50), Linear PCM. I chose 1024 X 768 for the slide size in keynote, exported to quicktime file. I imported the video and QT file into FCP and did the voice over.
The final product will be distributed on DVD with the following specs: * Video size: standard definition: 720×480 (0.9 pixel ratio) for a 4:3 aspect ratio or 720×480 (1.2 pixel ratio) for 16:9 aspect ratio; Video Frame Rate of 29.97 frames per second; Video Data Rate between 3-10 Mbit/second. Total project length is estimated to be about 2-2.5 hours with multiple chapters.
I have exported the edited narrated file both directly out of FCP and via compressor. For direct output via FCP QT conversion (default) or when I decrease the quality to 1280 by 720, the presentation looks fine. But when I export using compressor Standard Definition setting DV NTSC anamorphic (since SD is the format for distribution), the quality of the endoscopic portions is fine, but the Keynote slides are very grainy.
Can anyone suggest what I should do differently? Should the Keynote slides also be set to 1920 X 1080? Will that help? Also when I start working with fcp, I get a message with a yes and no choice regarding adjusting the “sequence setting to match clip settings”. Should I mark a yes or a no for this question? What impact does this have on my final product?
Video editing is obviously not my forte – but I have learned a lot playing with FCP. I am getting closer to my deadline and thought it would help to have some help. Thanks!
Sreeni
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5 Replies
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Your number one issue is the export to DV. That is best avoided at all costs as it discards vast amounts of color information. If you’re making DVDs there’s really no reason to export first as a SD video, you can encode straight to MPEG2, but if you’re dead set on exporting a SD file first, use the DVCPro50 codec (sometimes referred to as Dv50 in older versions of FCP), which operates in the 4:2:2 color space, thus throwing out far less color info and damaging your graphics much less.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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Thank you for your reply. I am happy with going straight to MPEG-2. The reason for checking out the quality of the SD output was that I know that the final product will be SD and wanted to see what the final product will look like. Based on your reply, it appears that this “SD” is not the same as the quality that will seen on an SD DVD prepared using an MPEG-2 file. I think I have some significant knowledge gaps here: why should the SD product put out via compressor have a different quality than creating a standard definition DVD from an MPEG-2 file?
Thanks again,
SreeniSreeni
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Just read: https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/990091
That was very helpful. So I have learned that not all SD is created equal. SD from compressor is poor. There are other methods to create an SD DVD that give a far better product. My confusion stems from thinking that SD is SD, not matter how you get to it.
Sreeni
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I need some help again – same project, different problem. I now have used fcp to create mov files of the 15 chapter (each one about 10-15 minutes long). They are in H264 and 1024X768 format (I hope those numbers are correct since editing is a second language for me 🙂 ). While the final product needs to go out to the “producer” as MPEG-2, I first have to get a peer review done. The requirements for the peer review are that the submissions must be in mpeg or avi. Since most folks do not have Quicktime Pro, I decided to send them in as MPEG4 which the free Quicktime download will play. If you need additional info, I will be happy to provide them. The fcp sequence prior to exporting to Quicktime shows the Keynote portions to be 1024 X 768 and the video portions to be 1440 X 1080.
The original mov files are fine. When I import them into compressor and export as MPEG4, the resolution is fine, but as soon as the endoscopy videos start playing (after a few keynote/QT slides), a portion of the video disappears (like a ripple delete with the audio track locked) and then the audio is out of sync with the remainder of the video and remaining slides. The missing video – about 10-20 seconds long never shows up again. Any suggestions on how to approach this problem will be appreciated. There are a couple of chapters without video clips and those are fine. Thanks!
Sreeni
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An update to my query – I reviewed the files again. It is now clear that when I play the file in fcp, it is fine. When I export it as a Quicktime movie, self contained, current settings, portions of the video are being dropped while the audio is being transferred as is. Any advice on how to rectify this problem will be appreciated. The compressor output only reflects the QT file which is flawed (to quote a colleague – you cannot make chicken soup out of chicken poop).
Sreeni
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