[Ariane Fisher]

Was the project created in a different version of FCP? I’ve experienced something similar when importing EDLs or XMLs which were missing some vital piece of info. Or, in the case of an EDL, there was extraneous text in the text file.

[Ariane Fisher]

The UI layouts should be at:

userLibraryApplication SupportFinal Cut StudioMotionUI Layouts

[Ariane Fisher]

Great. I’ll order the book today. I use Photoshop as part of my workflow with FCP and Motion, so your book is exactly what I need. Thanks again.

[Ariane Fisher]

Awesome. Thanks. I don’t have the book yet. I was holding off purchasing it in hopes that you might come out with a new version for CS4. Is that in the works?

[Ariane Fisher]

Two things.

First, are you exporting from FCP or Motion? This is the Motion forum.

Second, assuming you are exporting from Motion, although that would be a very long segment in Motion, did you click the “use play range” option at the bottom of the export dropdown menu?

If you are using FCP, did you set an out point in your timeline at the end of the sequence? I’ve had your exact experience before. It was because I had something way out on the timeline that I had forgotten about. It’s a good habit to set the outpoint at the end of the sequence (or where you believe it to be), then click on the sequence in the browser and export to compressor that way.

A quick way to check if you have some hidden slug way off in the timeline is to hit shift-z in the timeline, which will enable you to see the whole thing at once.

[Ariane Fisher]

I forgot to include that I’m using a MacPro, OS 10.5.4, Compressor 3. I’m encoding H.264 for download on the web.

[Ariane Fisher]

Yes, you’re probably right. Thank you so much for all your help.

[Ariane Fisher]

Ok, I got you now. It works. So, am I correct in saying the big question is why FCP sees the motion template as non-anamorphic 4:3, when the XML code is telling it that it’s 1.2 pixel aspect ratio?

I checked the code, on a 16:9 anamorphic sequence with the anamorphic template dropped in. FCP marks the anamorphic flag of the template false, even though it should be true. Now, once it reads this as false, it is automatically applying the distort because it thinks it should apply this to a 4:3. I’m guessing this is a communication issue between motion and FCP. The lack of an anamorphic tag in the motion code causes it to read as false.

This is probably far more in depth than almost any other user will ever need, but for my purposes, I might play around with the XML code of the templates and see if I can alter it so that it will automatically read correctly by FCP.

[Ariane Fisher]

Awesome. So I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was wondering about that when I saved the templates because the only options were NTSC, PAL and HD. You mentioned “your FCP reset”, what is that?

At the risk of sounding geeky, I hacked into the XML code of the motion template to check the pixel aspect ratio. It is 1.2 in the code, so it should be seen as anamorphic. There is no mention of the word anamorphic anywhere in the code, hence, no checkbox in the FCP browser.

I guess my question now would be why FCP is automatically applying a 33% distort to the file only when inserted into an anamorphic sequence. When it’s inserted in a non-anamorphic 4:3 sequence, it does not apply the distort (of course then it does look distorted).

By the way, I did a test. I created a new anamorphic sequence and inserted the template. I then highlighted it, hit cmd-opt-v, unchecked distort, but it didn’t actually change the distort setting. I double checked in the viewer. It works if you click the red x in the viewer. Must be some bug.

[Ariane Fisher]

Although I’m not an idiot, I don’t mind being treated as one if I can learn something. 🙂

Yes, I know they are both 720×480, the only difference being one has a pixel aspect ratio of .9 and one has a ratio of 1.2. I also know that I can check the anamorphic box in the browser for project files. This is not an option for templates, however. Try going to the effects tab and looking at the motion templates, there is no anamorphic column. It’s also not good for the workflow if I have 20 to 30 templates inserted in a timeline, and then have to highlight them all, hit cmd-9, and check anamorphic.

It’s entirely possible that I’m missing something obvious. How about you try creating a simple 16:9 project in motion, just throw a simple background or photo on the canvas, make it a template, and try bringing it into FCP as a template. Even though both the template and FCP sequence are anamorphic, you have to manually go into the format tab of the motion template and check the box, bad for workflow.

But again, I could be doing this whole thing wrong. Perhaps none of it should be 720×480 anamorphic. I was simply looking to achieve a consistent look between my 16:9 footage and 4:3, so that they would both show up ok on a 16:9 tv. Yes, I know that’s a whole can of worms, and yes, I do know how to handle both sizes of footage. But, I need to have one, and only one, set of motion templates with both sets of footage. So, I thought I would create the templates (there are 400 of them) 16:9, make all the FCP sequences 16:9, bring the compressed movies into DVDSP 16:9 with 16:9 menus, and I’d have a consistent look.

All I’m really looking to do, is have FCP bring an anamorphic template in, as anamorphic, without having to check or uncheck anything.