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Workflow Check: SD Animation to DVD
Good morning,
I’d like to get some advice on my current workflow, which incorporates SD animation and HD video, finishing in online and DVD deliverables.
I receive the animation (architectural/building fly-throughs) from another party, but we are working together to make sure that we’re making the right decisions as far as the settings we’re using for his exports. So, while I don’t produce the animation, I have a say in what I get from him.
My main area of concern is in my MPEG2 compression (this may end up being a thread on MPEG2, but I wanted to make sure my workflow was sound before I went straight there). I essentially want to make sure I’m getting the best, high quality compression I can for fine detail…at least as much as I can until this animation house starts delivering HD.
So, here’s the workflow as it stands:
Animation:
3ds Max, designed in 720×480 with 1.2PAR; exported as 30fps image sequence to AE; AE 720×480 widescreen comp at 30fps; exported using NTSC 720×480 widescreen module, 30fps.Final Cut:
Video interviews that bookend animation shot at 720p 29.97 or 24p; edited natively on 720p 29.97 or 24p timeline, animation and video incorporated on SD 720×480, anamorphic, ProRes, 29.97 timeline.Online exports rendered via Quicktime Conversion export to native resolution
MPEG2 export via Compressor, VBR, 7Mb/s, automatic field order selection.
If I have any concerns about the final DVD product, it is in some flicker with fine detail; or aliasing on angular lines seen at a distance and with faster movement. Again, these may be the caveats of SD native animation, but I wanted to put the whole ball of wax up for evaluation.
Thank you, in advance, for any advice.
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4 Replies
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Thank you, Dave and I’m glad you brought that up.
I’ve always received 30fps animations from them, and I’ve always asked why. They say that 3dsMax can only export still frame sequences, and 30 fps is as close as they can get to 29.97.
I haven’t had any problems with the 30fps AE rendering into smooth motion on a 29.97 FCP timeline, until this week, when I decided to advise them to render out at 29.97 from AE.
The specs looked good in my browser, but upon editing it in, it was jerky with poor quality to boot. When they rendered out another at 30fps, everything was fine.
My thought was that AE does a bad job of conforming the 30fps to 29.97, but what do you think? Any ideas on what 3dsMax could kick out? or maybe something different in AE?
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This the part that I don’t directly handle, but this is the kind of stuff I can bring to them. Where is the conform setting?
Also, what codec should I have them render to? They are on a PC platform, so I think ProRes is out. I heard that DVC50 has better color space, or maybe just stick with plain old NTSC?
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This the part that I don’t directly handle, but this is the kind of stuff I can bring to them. Where is the conform setting?
Also, what codec should I have them render to? They are on a PC platform, so I think ProRes is out. I heard that DVC50 has better color space, or maybe just stick with plain old NTSC?
I haven’t seen their AE timelines, but would it change things if they are importing an image sequence from 3dsMax?
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Nice. So bypass AE completely. I like it, and I’ll do some tests with them.
Thanks, Dave, for vetting my workflow, and I really appreciate the advice.
I’d like to post some MPEG2 compression questions…which category/location would you recommend?
Thanks again,
Matt
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