Help!! - Text Flickering In Wedding DVD

A

andybiz_2005

Well-known member
Dear friends & forum members,

I have a problem concerning flickering text in a wedding DVD that I'm about to give to a cllient. First off, let me let you in on the full details :

Camera used : Panasonic DVX102AE (PAL version)
Recording mode used : 50i (interlaced video)
Camera Scene file settings : F1 (normal shootig mode) & F3 (highlighting subjects at weddings, receptions, etc)
miniDV tape used : Brand new Panasonic miniDV tapes

Video editting software used : Adobe Premiere Pro version 1.5
Software used to create static titles only : Adobe AfterEffects version 6.5
Transcoder used : Used Adobe Premiere's "Export To DVD" option.

Details of the "Export To DVD" options I chose :
PAL DV 4X3 Low Quality 3MB VBR 2 Pass (this is the only available option because I'm using a 4.7GB single-sided DVD+R to burn on. Other options require larger capacity DVD medium).
Export Range : Entire Sequence
Fields : Lower (the video was captured interlaced from the camcorder originally)
Maximise Bitrate : left as unchecked

DVD Burner : LG DVD RAM burner capable of dual-layer burning

Video Summary : CODEC : Main Concept MPEG Video
Frame Rate : 25fps
Frame width & height : 720X576 (PAL)
Bitrate Encoding : VRB 2 pass
Min. Bitrate : 1.6Mbps
Target Bitrate : 3.2Mbps
Max. Bitrate : 4.5Mbps


Here's an explanation of the problem. All my interlaced video after burning to DVD look fine, no flickering. I only encounter flickering when the static text (created with Adobe AfterEffects 6.5) was used & imported into Adobe Premiere. These initiall slowly fade in, remain for a few seconds & slowly fade out again. When the text fades in & out, the flickering is a lot more obvious & drastic, but when the text remains still, there's still some flickering, which is also noticable.

Can you please tell me why the flickering of text only & how can I rectify this problem as I can't give such poor quality DVD to my clients. Please help & looking forward to your helpful replies soon. Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Andrew
 
Help!! - Text Flickering In Wedding DVD

Dear friends & forum members,

I have a problem concerning flickering text in a wedding DVD that I'm about to give to a cllient. First off, let me let you in on the full details :

Camera used : Panasonic DVX102AE (PAL version)
Recording mode used : 50i (interlaced video)
Camera Scene file settings : F1 (normal shootig mode) & F3 (highlighting subjects at weddings, receptions, etc)
miniDV tape used : Brand new Panasonic miniDV tapes

Video editting software used : Adobe Premiere Pro version 1.5
Software used to create static titles only : Adobe AfterEffects version 6.5
Transcoder used : Used Adobe Premiere's "Export To DVD" option.

Details of the "Export To DVD" options I chose :
PAL DV 4X3 Low Quality 3MB VBR 2 Pass (this is the only available option because I'm using a 4.7GB single-sided DVD+R to burn on. Other options require larger capacity DVD medium).
Export Range : Entire Sequence
Fields : Lower (the video was captured interlaced from the camcorder originally)
Maximise Bitrate : left as unchecked

DVD Burner : LG DVD RAM burner capable of dual-layer burning

Video Summary : CODEC : Main Concept MPEG Video
Frame Rate : 25fps
Frame width & height : 720X576 (PAL)
Bitrate Encoding : VRB 2 pass
Min. Bitrate : 1.6Mbps
Target Bitrate : 3.2Mbps
Max. Bitrate : 4.5Mbps


Here's an explanation of the problem. All my interlaced video after burning to DVD look fine, no flickering. I only encounter flickering when the static text (created with Adobe AfterEffects 6.5) was used & imported into Adobe Premiere. These initiall slowly fade in, remain for a few seconds & slowly fade out again. When the text fades in & out, the flickering is a lot more obvious & drastic, but when the text remains still, there's still some flickering, which is also noticable.

Can you please tell me why the flickering of text only & how can I rectify this problem as I can't give such poor quality DVD to my clients. Please help & looking forward to your helpful replies soon. Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Andrew
 
Create your static text in Photoshop. Bring it in to Premier and add a small amount of blur to them too. I suspect you exported your text from After effects with a different field order.
 
Perhaps your text, as designed in AE, has fine detail that results in interlace flicker. For what reasons did you choose to create static titles in AE rather than Premiere? AE has a filter for reducing interlace flicker. Basically blurs the element or layer just enough to reduce or eliminate the problem. You might be able to accomplish the same thing in Premiere by applying a tiny, tiny amount of gaussian blur (less than one pixel) to the title.

Are you previewing the project before going to DVD on a video monitor (not PC) without flicker?
 
If the font you're using has thin horizontal lines, then like Preston said, it sounds like interlace flicker. I've run into this myself. Another possible fix is to right click on the text clip on the timeline in PPro and select 'field options'. Click the box 'Flicker Removal' and see if that helps.
I also recommend you check out the titler that's built into PPro. It's works pretty good for static and rolling credits.
-Dan
 
Hi & Thank you all for your advice on reducing the flickering.

I tried your suggestions to left-click on a video clip to select field options & I checked the box marked "Reduce Flicker".

In addition to that, I opened up my Adobe After Effects 6.5 app program & set the render settings in there as render from lower field first. Initially, it had been set to none (priority given to neither upper field first or lower field first).

After rendering the video to DVD & playing it back on my DVD player, the text still flickered, but not as much as before. I also noticed that the most obvious flickering occurred when the text slowly faded in & when it faded out (because I had applied transparency to the beginning & ending of the title video clip). So, I removed the transparency settings in all the title clips in my video & rendered to DVD again. This time, when I played it back from my DVD player, the flickering totally dissapeared. There was no longer any fade in or fade out effect, so the transition from title clip to movie clip wasn't as smooth. However, the flickering problem was solved.

I also found it strange that I was not able to access the "Title" menu at all in the Adobe Premiere application. When I selected the menu "Title" all the sub-menus are greyed out & I can't select any of the submenus. Anyone know why this is happening?


Andrew
 
Hi & Thank you all for your advice on reducing the flickering.

I tried your suggestions to left-click on a video clip to select field options & I checked the box marked "Reduce Flicker".

In addition to that, I opened up my Adobe After Effects 6.5 app program & set the render settings in there as render from lower field first. Initially, it had been set to none (priority given to neither upper field first or lower field first).

After rendering the video to DVD & playing it back on my DVD player, the text still flickered, but not as much as before. I also noticed that the most obvious flickering occurred when the text slowly faded in & when it faded out (because I had applied transparency to the beginning & ending of the title video clip). So, I removed the transparency settings in all the title clips in my video & rendered to DVD again. This time, when I played it back from my DVD player, the flickering totally dissapeared. There was no longer any fade in or fade out effect, so the transition from title clip to movie clip wasn't as smooth. However, the flickering problem was solved.

I also found it strange that I was not able to access the "Title" menu at all in the Adobe Premiere application. When I selected the menu "Title" all the sub-menus are greyed out & I can't select any of the submenus. Anyone know why this is happening?


Andrew
 
Andrew,
To create a new title, go to the project window, right-click, and select 'title' under the 'new item' submenu. That should bring up the title editor. Once you're in the title editor, the 'title' menu on the main menu bar is not really needed. Not sure what it's there for actually. The title editor should be fairly intuitive if you're used to doing text in Photoshop. There's a selection at the top-left if you want a rolling title or a static one.

Once you save finish your title, save it, and it should appear in your project window. Drag the title down on your timeline, size it, and then use the opacity control to do fade-ins or outs (or one of the preset video transitions).

If your text still flickers after doing some of the other suggestions, you might just need to use a different font. Not all fonts are well-suited to use on an interlaced display. If your font has a bold option, you might try that or you can try to beef it up with the 'strokes' attibute that you should see on the right when you're in the title editor.

Good luck,
Dan
 
My guess is that you don't have a Title window open or focused. To make a title, go File>New>Title. This opens up Premiere's titling window, and you actually work on a title file that you have to save (either by File>Save or by closing the window and having it promt you). The title will then be in your Project (along with your footage) and you just have to drop it onto the timeline. You should have access to the title menu if that title designer is the selected window.
 
Hi TeleDan,

Well, I followed your advice on creating titles & it worked fine! :) Thank you, I didn't know you could access the title window that way, but it sure is a handy & very helpful tip.

Regards,

Andrew
 
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