[Jim Arcon]

I once spent days trying to resolve a problem that was caused by wrong field order. On my PC monitor, the image was too small to notice. When I played the DVD on my big Sony, it looked awful – smeared, wobbly, and runny. All probably because the MPEG encoder tried to make sense of the incorrect field order.

I have a similar setup to yours, Win XP Pro + PremPro + RTX100. My PC is a 3.2Ghz, and it takes a while to export from the timeline. Sometimes two-and-a-half times as long as the source material. (I agree that even that is way too long for “encode and burn.”)

BUT – the final product looks great! I’m guessing that you have some preset or config that’s not quite right. Maybe a PAL instead of NTSC, wrong field order, or something like that. Mismatched audio rates can really slow things down, but not cause a picture problem.

Jim

[Jim Arcon]

I forgot to mention – you can do a frame capture and import that into AE. Kinda defeats the concept of “editing.”

“Dear Adobe, I would like….”

[Jim Arcon]

I’ve have tried everything I can think of and I have asked about everywhere I can think of.

I am guessing the answer is “you can’t!”

Of all of the integration efforts that Adobe has done, this one should have been near the top of the list. Seems like a serious omission on Adobe’s part – especially since the titler (which showed up about Premiere 6) makes some darn good titles, in my opinion.

Probably one of those places where Adobe bought a good titling product and integrated it into Premiere, but contractually can’t translate that to AE.

[Jim Arcon]

I’m still seriously in the learning mode, so please don’t consider me an expert…

Creative Planet has a site called Design in Motion that once seemed to have all the “leading indicators” for commercials, opens, bumpers, etc. Lots of QuickTime samples, etc.

Maybe I’ve gotten jaded, but lately that site has turned into a ‘press relase’ site with plenty of banner ads and almost no real examples of anything I can learn from. Some of the freshest stuff I’ve seen lately has been on IFC channel or on Sundance.

You might also do a search here for “inspiration.”

[Jim Arcon]

Just put a copy of the clip in video 2 and then blur the topmost layer slightly (fast blur works). Then reduce the opacity of the top layer. You’ll be juggling between getting rid of the grain and too blurry.

FYI – nearly any technique that works in Photoshop translates to AE and somewhat to Premiere – except premiere doesn’t have transfer modes.

[Jim Arcon]

There is a plug-in included with PPro that adds noise, but I don’t think that PPro comes with a video noise reduction plug-in. (Mine didn’t anyway.)

You used to be able buy plug-ins like Video Finesse, BigFX, or Vixen that included an NR. I haven’t seen them in a while. After Effects has a GREAT noise reduction plug-in, but I don’t know if it will work in PPro. (or if you have AE.)

In a pinch, I have duplicated a clip and put it directly above the original, then blurred the topmost layer slightly, and then reduced its opacity. Used in combination with a levels or shadow/highlight adjustment saved some nearly unviewable (ancient VHS) stuff for me.

[Jim Arcon]

WOW – I don’t have AE Pro, but I am guessing that you are confirming a known problem with AE.

I see my 3.4G CPU (Win XP Pro) go to 100% even when AE is doing nothing. Utilization drops down if I switch to another app, but I tried reloading AE, trashing my prefs file, and so on. Still there.

IS this a known problem? Is adobe working on it?

[Jim Arcon]

There is a technique called skin-softening or skin-detail, where anything a certain color (flesh-tone) is blurred just enough to eliminate or reduce wrinkles, zits, etc.

Some high-end broadcast cameras have this ability – when turned up too high the people look like they’re using a very thick layer of makeup. Seems like there are also some plug-ins that can do the job in post. I think DFT 55mm has one called “skin smooth.” Do a search.

You might also be able to do it using chroma-keying to generate a mask that covers the area.

[Jim Arcon]

I bought a closeout miniDV camcorder on eBay for about $150.

Firewire is just bits on a wire, so as long what you use as it reads and transports tape, the quality doesn’t matter a lot. It was cheaper than any stand-alone deck, and it take pretty good video in a pinch.

[Jim Arcon]

I’ve owned numerous printers over the years. Currently use an Epson R200 most of the time.

My thinking – lower-cost printers are a very competitive business and each brand has pluses and minuses.

My Epson always prints a drop-dead gorgeous image (on good paper, anyway.) And most of the cleaning cycles required by some ealier models have been eliminated. Downside: Ink cartridges still cost more than it seems they should.

Opinion: Printer manufacturers have gone out of their way to make it difficult to compare brands and determine the real cost of photo-quality ink-jet printing. Just try to compare the per-print/per-page cost of the various makers, and you find that there are no reliable standards out there. If I remember correctly, I have a printer that gets “260 pages of .7% black coverage printed in draft mode.” Whatever that means… If I’m buying a photo-printer, what I want to know is how many 8×10 photos can I print with a set of ink cartridges. (BTW – my average is about 40-45)

Reminds me a bit of the specs-manship of the home-audio industry in the 70s and 80s – “…a million watts peak power, .000000000267% distortion….”

Sorry – guess I got off on a rant there. 😉 I like the Epson R200 that I currently own.