[Xelaqlito]

Hi. I’m quite new at this as well and I’ve had your problem before.

Solution: Don’t use compressed (DivX-MPEG4, etc) files. They are “viewing” formats, not “editing” formats.

There are many ways to convert your files into Premiere suitable ones. I’ve found (and I hope somebody tells me whether this is a good idea or a bad one and why) that using Windows Movie Maker as a converter works Ok. Just Import the clip, post it in the timeline and the export the movie. You can choose the final file size/resolution.

Another option is using VirtualDub (you can find it in DivX.com). It’s a very powerful tool that can do many things other than just convert the file. Be careful when determining the output settings as you can produce HUGE files that are perfectly workable in Premiere but just too damn large. A great advantage VirtualDub has over Movie Maker is that you can batch jobs.

[Xelaqlito]

Hi, thanks for helping out

My first question is referred to Illustrator .ai (vector) files. I’d like to know if these are the best way to get images into Premiere or if .jpegs produced from the same Illustrator or Photoshop are better. I have used the .jpegs and they are “ok” but I want to achieve the best possible input into my video, whether that would be .ai or .jpg files from Illustrator, .jpgs from Photoshop or some other combination. I was hoping the .ai input would be better because I want to use the alpha channel. Also. I think the jpg looks a little fuzzy and I’d like to improve on it.

As regards to your specific questions:

1.- I’m preparing a Powerpoint presentation with inserted video and I have various jpg files. For the Powerpoint I’m using 800×600 and I estimated an adequate video “screen” size within the presentation of 576×432 (90% of 640×480). The original video files (amateur camera) have resolutions of 640×480. Being in Europe I start off with a DV PAL Standard 32KHz (I’m not using audio anyhow) project. DV PAL produces 720×576 so that kinda messes up the numbers anyhow. To top it off, you can’t really know at what size the video will be presented within Powerpoint because I have to resize the window by hand, so it all ends up as guesswork.

2.- I don’t have a problem with the size of the .jpgs I import. I suppose I have to import at the same size as the project (i.e.: if the PAL-DV produces 720×576, the .jpg should have that same size). Am I right or is there a better way?

3.- I don’t know where to determine the import settings of the project. Do you mean the initial settings (DV PAL 32 KHz) or something else? Of course, I can produce the .jpg at whatever size I need. Please indicate the best settings.

Having said all this, the video files are stored externally in the powerpoint presentation, so my prospects can view them independently. That’s why I want the best possible quality, given the input, and that’s why I’m obsessing over importing the image files.

I prepared two logos in Adobe Illustrator to be inserted in the video. If better, I’ll import the .ai files directly into Premiere and let it do the rasterizing. I would like that to work because that would allow me to punch through the transparent areas (can I do that with .jpgs?). If Premiere’s rasterizer is crummy compared to Photoshop’s or Illustrator’s I’ll use them instead, if they are equivalent, is there any advantage to one over the other?

Thanks