[Kate Caplis]

Have you tried rendering it to WMV? I have found that if creation and playback is on a Windows machine, Windows Media Player does a much better job of compressing than Quicktime. And you should be able to embed in Open Office.

NTSC and PAL refer more to Standard Definition Broadcast/Tape resolutions and your are correct that they are not standards for web or presentations.

Also when creating for computer screens and live presentations the display settings of the live computer are very important. If you create your video file set at 720 x 540 it is best played back at that size display setting or close to it, say 800×600. In other words, if you were to play this file full screen on a display set at 1920 x 1200 it would look horrible at highest quality rendering.

As to the black stripe through the lettering, this could be what you are thinking and is an interlace problem. Try rendering with de-interlace effect on the text layers. It could also be a hardware issue? Your computer or video card may be struggling to render it. Try to optimize your computer by clearing cache in After Effects before rendering and also using CAPS-LOCK to disable display while rendering.

Lastly, if all else fails it may mean you have to use PowerPoint. You can embed flv files in Microsoft PowerPoint. Surf the web for the tutorial. Its a bit involved but it can be done.

Hope this helps

Kate Caplis
Final Cut Editor & Motion Designer
WhiteHorse BlackCat Studios
http://www.ladiesgeekjournal.com

[Kate Caplis]

I recently worked on a project that had a master sequence about an hour long, but was made up of “chapters”. Each “chapter” had its own sequence. Each was was edited, sent to client, and approved. I then nested the chapters into my master sequence.

If further changes were needed I made them in the “chapter” sequence then moved to the “master” where Final Cut will show you an unrendered area. That is where I would make timing adjustments on the “master”.

Altho there is no link that automatically updates, Final Cut Pro does at least show the area that has changed since your last render attempt.

I have not experienced any problems with nesting sequences when editing on my Mac Pro. If you think things are slowing down, simply close the sequences you are not using. I believe that frees up some memory for you to see previews and such. It doesn’t seem to effect render times tho.

Kate Caplis
Final Cut Editor & Motion Designer
WhiteHorse BlackCat Studios
http://www.ladiesgeekjournal.com

[Kate Caplis]

This is where the Adobe Premiere/After Effects workflow is best. Think of the piece in layers. The video footage is edited in Premiere without effects or limited effects that can be done on the edit timeline. Consider that as “layer one”.

Now, import the Premiere project into After Effects – you don’t have to render anything yet. Now “nest” the Premiere project sequence into a new comp and start working. Need to change a shot? Go back to Premiere and edit away, re-import and adjust the AE comp. When ready just add your AE comp to the Render Que and render away.

Only need effects on sections of the video you edited in Premiere? No problem. Import the project, find the in points and out points of the edit that need AE work and create the nested comps for those sections

Since Premiere allows for projects to be imported without rendering you save a bit of time and changes are easier.

Good Luck!

Kate Caplis
Final Cut Editor & Motion Designer
WhiteHorse BlackCat Studios
http://www.ladiesgeekjournal.com