[Jon Barrie]

Revised Response…
Animate the scale on the photo for the zoom effect you desire.
Nest this clip into another sequence and add that seq to the one you’re cutting in.
Create a New Title, and make a white box the size you want the ‘frame’ for the photo to stay in.
Add it to the track above the photo you have.
Add the Track Matte effect to the Nested photo, set the Track Matte parameters to look at the track the white box (title) is on and set it to luma matte.
The box should be the only section of the Nested photo that shows.

– Jon 😉

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

The original footage dictates the rest of the workflow. If the recording was 25fps you need to work in projects with 25fps, the frame rate should be matched too, but there is some flexibility with that, keep to a preset format like PAL DV Standard for your stuff.
If you do convert the original footage then the conversion must stick with the same frame rate. Staying with the same frame size (640×480) as the original is going to maintain the best sharpness of the image.
Adobe Cs4 is a complicated set of tools for trained professionals and can be daunting and frustrating to those that don’t understand the theories of Video and Editing, so hats off to you for asking, providing material and working it out. You’ve in effect experienced more than a course teaches in a month. 😉
– Jon 🙂

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

Hi Jason,
You need to match the frame rates from the original. If you alter the frame rate you create jumpy stutter issues. this is rule of video.
Glad to see it’s all working to some effect.
I noticed that the original footage is not true 25fps. it holds a frame every 2nd or 3rd frame for one frame. How did you get the footage from the camera to the computer again?
– Jon 🙂

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

Hi Jason,

There is no need to get your hands on any other software other than what you already get with CS4.
1. Open the Adobe Media Encoder, as a stand alone app.
2. Click on the Add button, select the first mpg clip
3. Set the Format to Quicktime, Preset to PAL DV
4. Click on Add button again and select all the rest of the clips.
5. They should all have the same settings applied to them all.
6. Hit the Start Queue button,

Once the renders are done they can be imported to PPro and edited properly.
The footage you are starting with is in a poor format that is running a very small data rate. The progressive nature of the recording makes the footage stutter, the camera seems to not have a stabiliser on or at all again making it stutter and jumpy, the fact that it’s MPG means the GOP format is not suitable for editing. I think this camera is meant to be used for instant record/upload to web and not for editing.

Good Luck.

– Jon ‘;)

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

Hi Jason,
Please understand that we are all stumped by this. we are only trying to help. asking questions is how we get a clearer picture on the situation.
When I say 640×480 with 25fps is not a standard format, I mean no camera to my knowledge shoots NTSC frame size with PAL frame rate. Not that the camera is not professional.
I’ve worked with Adobe Products for years and they do support more formats than most, I’m downloading your link to the original footage. I’ll get back to you about the findings.
– Jon

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

640×480 with 25fps is not a standard format,
how was this footage recorded?
I think there is something going on with the MPEG-2 style of recording (long GOP) conflicting in the export process.
Have you tried to reinstall?

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

Are you certain the NTSC format is 24p? I think the PD170 can’t shoot in 24p. I know your other camera can’t. NTSC is 29.97 and prosumer cameras that can cineframe 24p are wrapping it inside of 29.97 interlaced anyway. I interested to know why you are deinterlacing – effectively throwing out half of the frame information only to go back to an interlace output when you say you are deinterlacing?
It sounds like you have confused the idea of 24p and film look with what you can get from video shot in an interlaced format running at a higher frame rate than it’s original.
What are the clip properties from the original clips? Are they the same?
– Jon 😉
PS: You shouldn’t need to deinterlace. Interlacing only shows up at the end on the web. TVs and DVDs don’t show the interlacing it’s interpreted and corrected for TV/PC playing DVDs and you won’t see it.

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

It sounds like inconsistent formats, NTSC and PAL, = frame rates = jerky (not smooth) playback. Make sure the cameras recorded the same format and that they were captured into the computer the same as they were recorded and the project settings are the same too. Then the export settings are the same format, then the DVD authoring is the same format.
– Jon 😉

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

You need to make sure the drive is using the same Drive Letter everytime you take it to another computer, then you’ll not have this issue anymore because its seeing the same location as it was seeing it on the other system.
– Jon 😉

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net

[Jon Barrie]

You’re welcome and congratulations Wendall.
Glad to have helped and it all worked out for you.
– Jon 😉
Happy Editing

Jon Barrie
aJBprods
http://www.jonbarrie.net