Dave Johnson
Forum Replies Created
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I’m still with the isolate the problem first theme …
I think the most relevant thing that you mentioned so far is that this issue appeared only after you updated FCP. While I doubt the update itself is causing the issue (since I’m on that same version and don’t have this issue), it would not be unheard of for some default settings to get reset during an update and cause new issues that really only result from set-it-and-forget-it type system, user or sequence settings getting reset. If that is the issue, the questions I posed earlier might help isolate …
Exactly when in the workflow does the issue appear? You already said the raw digitized DV25 file is fine so does it look fine when played from the timeline? If so, the issue probably has something to do with the exporting process.
Are you certain all of your source material and sequence settings match? Just one example of very many is if your sequence is 720×486 with 720×480 DV25, FCP might distort the clips to match to the sequence. That isn’t the best example since that difference would usually be unnoticeable to most people, but things like that could potentially cause quality loss … to check for that one, look at a clips Motion tab and see if anything in the Distort dropdown looks unusual.
And, I’d always try trashing preferences before a complete re-install … FCP Rescue is a good tool for that purpose and there are a couple more out there now too, although you can do the same manually if you know where to look.
Sorry, but I think I’m out of ideas.
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Glad to be of some small help, Joe. One other thought … being that I can confirm that a Wiggler bug isn’t inherent in CS3, you might also try double checking that you have the latest dot release installed and/or trashing your preferences … resetting everything after trashing prefs can be a pain, but that’s why I always keep multiple incremental copies of my AE prefs and advise others to do the same.
“I’m looking forward to the day when technical hitches like this stop interrupting my creativity!!”
Aren’t we all!! … Though I’d advise against holding one’s breath on that one!
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Indeed Joe … never met a shooter who hasn’t at least once gone frantic at a shoot because the lens cap forgot to remove itself!
I’m not versed enough in expressions to advise another, but these websites help me enormously when I venture into my less favorite aspect of AE:
https://www.motionscript.com/
(AE scripting & epressions guru, Dan Eberts, who also frequents the Cow so searching his posts may be helpful too)https://www.crgreen.com/aescripts/
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Hmmm, then I’m stumped. I just did a quick test in CS3 using all the same properties and it worked fine.
Didn’t mean to be condescending with my 101-type answer, but I’ve zoned out on things I’ve done a zillion times before enough times to know that it happens sometimes and it often just takes someone else who knows how to do what I was trying to do to thump me on the head.
Wish i could be more help … good luck!
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I just happened to use the Wiggler in AE CS3 yesterday and it was fine. Are you sure you haven’t applied it to a property it can’t affect or with parameters that aren’t enough to make visible changes?
I don’t recall the specific limitations of the Wiggler well enough to give a better example, but I know there are some that are less obvious than this example. It’ll work fine if applied to a position property with parameters that change enough to make a noticeable difference, but if you apply it to the anchor point with no other adjustments, you won’t see anything happen since an anchor point moving around in itself doesn’t result in a visible change.
Or maybe your Wiggler is just wiggled out. ;~)
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[christopher Griffin] “Whenever I export my sequence, the video is low res”
Being that you originally stated that the quality loss occurs with the file you export from FCP (vs. with a good quality export that is encoded for DVD, then looks poor), it doesn’t seem that your issue has anything to do with your DVD.
Personally, in order to find the solution, I would first isolate the problem … If it looks fine inside of FCP (i.e., when viewing the FCP sequence on a broadcast monitor), but looks bad when exported, then maybe it does have to do with the export settings or something similar. However, it sounds like that is not the case, which means it probably doesn’t look right inside FCP either, which would lead me to believe the issue is with the sequence settings.
If that is the case you could probably find the issue either by just thoroughly checking your sequence settings or doing this:
Right click the FCP bin window for the list of things you can have it show about each file and sequence (video codec, frame rate, aspect ratio, etc.). Check all the pertinent ones then go down the list and compare the source file specs to the FCP sequence specs. -
If FCP makes you render, it simply means one of two things …
Either you’ve added an effect that requires rendering or …
Something about the media is different from the sequence its in. To avoid rendering, everything about your source material must match the FCP sequence it’s in (codec, frame rate, audio settings, etc., etc.).
About the codecs, note that all “uncompressed” video files (aka “none” codec) aren’t created equal. If the source files were made with one codec (i.e., BlackMagic) and your FCP sequence is in another (i.e., AJA), you’ll have to render. Similarly, you’ll have the same issue if both your sequence and your source files use the same “uncompressed” codec, but one is 8-bit and the other 10-bit (or DV25 & DV50 as another example).
To determine where the difference is, when you right click the FCP bin window there is a list of things you can have it show about each file and sequence (video codec, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio codec, etc.). Check all the pertinent ones then go down the list and compare the source file specs to the FCP sequence specs.
I hope this helps!
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In order to help you, we will need more info … as much info as possible, but especially the codecs and formats … of your source material (tape format), what you digitized your source material as, of your editing sequence, and of the file you are exporting. Often vague quality issues like “Low Res Video” come from mistakes at one of those stages and/or inconsistencies between them that make them not play nicely together and yield poor results.
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From the Effects menu, choose:
Text > Timecode
or
Text > Numbers and set the Type to Timecode.
The differences between the two approaches are pretty intuitive so I’m sure you’ll determine which is best for what you need pretty easily.