Cookie Cutter Flicker on Render

rhett

rhett

Active member
Okay, I love Sony Vegas, but on this project it is driving me absolutely nuts. I've been using a few simple cookie cutters to mask off some light portions of the frame on the sides to make it completely dark. It looks fine (great, even) when I play it in the preview window, regardless of which quality setting). Then I render. Once the file is outputted, it will have these weird moments where the cookie cutter mask flickers, losing its feather, just as one large box. It does this for single frames only and without any consistent reason. It is driving me nuts. It has been crashing all the time too, but that's another story.

What I'm editing is 720 24PN DVCPROHD footage that's been put into the Quicktime .MXF container (it was imported on a Mac during shooting and is now being edited on this Raylight 3 copy of Vegas 7).

I just don't understand why these simple, simple cookie cutter operations are coming out so weird. It's a square cut-out to black, nothing fancy at all. Yet, again, when I render it comes out all flickery and migrane inducing, regardless of the output format (HDV intermediate .AVI, DVD Architect .MPG, .WMV etc.). It is not an interlacing problem either, since, well, the whole project is progressive, it was shot that way, and it does not consistently flicker, only at random inexplicable moments.

Help me please, my all-knowing friends.
 
Well, first, there is no "Quicktime MXF container" -- it's either MXF or Quicktime. They're two different file formats. Which one is it?

(I'd guess MXF.)

I've never seen the Cookie Cutter do that -- can you post screen shots of good frames and problem frames?
 
David Jimerson said:
Well, first, there is no "Quicktime MXF container" -- it's either MXF or Quicktime. They're two different file formats. Which one is it?

(I'd guess MXF.)

I've never seen the Cookie Cutter do that -- can you post screen shots of good frames and problem frames?
Click to expand...
Sorry, that's right, they are not .mxf's, but they are definitely Quicktime. In my experience in editing both Quicktime DVCPROHD footage and regular .MXF files, Quicktime is really sluggish on the PC. Anyway though, I'll pull up a couple pictures now.

As another note, the cookie cutter never moves, its plain jane static, but yet it still gives the weird effect.
 
Here the cookie cutter is doing as it should:




And here, a couple frames later, as it shouldn't:




The matte is on the right side of the frame, and the effects are most visibly seen on the shoulder to the right.

When played back, it jitters between the two of these almost every frame for portions, and then picks one or the other for a few seconds, and repeats at other erratic patterns.
 
If these are DVCPRO HD Quicktimes, are you using Raylight Decoder? This is not the same as Raylight; it's a separate program.

Or, are you using the Avid DVCPRO codecs?
 
Yes, I'm using Raylight Decoder. I actually have both, this project was a lark that I needed to get the Mac decoder for as well. It is very weird and makes no sense. I'd like to know why, perhaps I should email DVFilm...I just wasn't sure if it was a decoder thing or just a Vegas thing. I found a moderate workaround though - I just did a linear wipe transition to a solid black color and that helped mask off the side. Still, what a hassle for something so simple.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top