Dennis Leppell
Forum Replies Created
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Tom- I agree….but I’ve never seen Camtasia, so don’t know what it all supports. Animation codec was a shot in the dark, everything else was based on her info.
Jennifer- If you can use that codec, choose that over DV NTSC (in the order of preference I gave you).
And for the sequence settings, if that’s your FCP settings, go with it.
Don’t get spooked if/when you export from Final cut and view the movie file before going to DVD Studio Pro to burn it….DV NTSC Quicktime movies usually looks horrible played back like that (especially on a Windows machine). It will burn to DVD or recompress to other formats just fine.
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Like Noah said, export the screencapture at 1024X786. Part of the reason your existing workflow ends up not looking good may be because of pixel sizes. Make sure you are using a heavier type font, and any lines you have are at least 3-5 pixels thick. If in question about the font, usually making it bold will make things safe.
When you export, don’t use compression, and definately don’t use h.264 for this particular workflow. H.264 is intended as a final output, and not suitable for editing. Export a Quicktime mov using either animation, DV NTSC, or no compression, in that order of preference, with the export size as same as source. Here’s my reasoning.
Animation- Manageable file size, plays with FCP well, looks really good.
DV NTSC- This is the format you’ll be editing and ultimately outputting in FCP, so no render time….though since the screen capture is 1024×786, that point is moot.
No Compression- Best Quality, but the file sizes are huge and rendering would be long.
In FCP, you will use the scale function in the motion tab of the viewer window to scale it down….although this should be done automatically when you place the movie onto the timeline.
As for the settings in FCP, set the sequence settings to DV NTSC, at 720X486. This is standard size for Standard Def video.
When the edit is done, export—>quicktime movie. Make sure you check the box “Make Movie Self Contained”.
Open DVD Studio Pro, and create a new track. Now drag your newly created movie onto that track. Right click and select “First Play”. Delete any menu’s/tracks that may have been there when you opened the program. Insert a blank DVD and hit the Burn button at the top.
Done.
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What tom said for 3 and 4. 2 and 5 may be related….bad RAM? I’ve got my Expose’s settings set on my right cmnd, option, and control buttons. one press, and the windows fly out showing desktop or all open windows. No hiding of programs necessary.
there’s a few ways for #1, pick your poison. here’s 2 of mine…
set in and out on clip to be speed adjusted in the viewer window. Set in and out on the timeline for the duration you want to stretch or squeeze. drag clip from viewer window to canvas and drop it onto the “fit to fill” option.
alternatively, figure the time you need on the clip that needs the speed change. place on timeline at end of the sequence. right click, select change speed, enter the time. drag clip to where you need it in the timeline.
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View—->external video—–All Frames.
If that doesn’t work, check your settings under
Final Cut Pro—->Audio/Video Settings—->A/V Devices.
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here’s a quick and dirty way to do this…results may vary.
build your animation and place in the timeline where you need it (layer1). Now, at the point when the object is going to pass through the talking head(layer2), razor and move the remainder to layer 3. Go back to layer one and extend the tail a few frames…the animation will be exactly what you had placed on layer 3….extend these tails to the point of when the logo/text/etc. would be all the way through the head. The reason to do this is to sell the ‘passthru’….since probably not all of the logo/text/etc. will pass thru the head at once, it will look like there’s still some of the logo behind the head, and some in front.
Go back to layer 3 and add an edge feather or something along those lines to clean up the effect.
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Nope, but a new color solid + mask shape, mask feather, and maybe opacity and/or composite mode should get the job done
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These are things that I already know….But since I don’t control the boss’s checkbook, and HE learned his business practices in the 50’s, where everything can be done with as few ppl as possible, a lot of elbow grease, and the tv show is made from fairy dust and wishes, all I can do is clean up the mess that I walked into when I took this job. We’d all love to have a RAID array that mirrors your files across multiple drives….I’m still trying to convince them I need to upgrade from CS1. Heck, I’m still trying to convince them that we need to start filming/airing in widescreen.
So I guess this tip is for ppl like me that can’t move through the evolution of technology as quickly as most.
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Sounds like a job for Automater…it’s built into your Mac’s OS. read up on it and write the script needed. a double click on the resultant icon should get everything started at once.
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One item to note. If you are going to put a drive in the freezer, then remove it to hook it up, place it inside a plastic bag to prevent condensation, and then allow a couple minutes of re-acclimation before power it back up once removed from the freezer. This especially applies for internal drives. Since mine was an external, I ran the power and firewire cables inside the freezer.
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https://www.mattias.nu/plugins/
the Too Much Too Soon plugins/transitions are free, and the flashframe transisition should get the job done for you quickly.