URGENT reframing problem!

F

franck

Well-known member
Working on FinalCutPro HD
Editing this video that has a deadline to be on MTVespanol next week.
We shot this one 2:35, but of course some were not frame correctly or the singers move around too much, so they have to be reframed.
However when I reframe the final cut clips and move them up and down they blur up for some reason. And depending how much I move them they blur up differently, like sometimes they dont even look blurred. But I dont want to risk anything looking for the sweet spot.
What is happening??? It doesnt make any sense to me. They appear blurred on the computer screen as well as on the television screen. Footage was shot 24p on the DVX.
Ahhhh somebody help!!!!!
thanks!!!!!!

franck
 
Guessing you are using fcp 4.5. I had the same problem. As you said when you move the matte around sometimes the blur goes away. I have no real answer to your problem other than use a nice crisp tv screen connected to your computer and toy with the matte until you find a sweet spot. So if offset 50 is blurry, try 49, then 51, 52 etc. hopefully one of those will be clear. Then when you think you have a clean one, uncheck it then check it while staring at the screen to make sure there is no blur. I had to do this for a short I made. It's a pain in the butt, but if the offset you have to use doesn't drastically throw your framing off, it will probably go unnoticed, especially if this is a music video with quick cuts.

Or, you could upgrade to 5.0 which doesn't seem(I stress seem, as I have yet to notice it when matting) to have that problem.
 
I will venture a guess here.

When you are "reframing" in FCP-HD by bumping a frame up or down to fit into your 2.35:1 letterbox the way you like, keep in mind that rendering is necessary for the full-res version of this operation (especially if there is movement in the position of the framing during the shot). What you are likely seeing is the RT effect version, which is lower res. Many filters and transitions in FCP are real time, but not at full res. The next time your system either "auto-renders" everything pending, or you manaully select the clips for rendering yourself, you'll see your repositioned footage without the low-res fuzzyness.

The blessing of RT effects is that you can see roughly what you'll be getting without having to stop to render every two minutes. The downside is that the RT versions will look a bit fuzzy and distorted unti the final, fully rendered versions are completed.

Don't panic. If you don't believe me, take a fuzzy clip and select render video. Wait for a few minutes. Once rendering is complete, have another look. If it is now clear and sharp, you're fine. I would do all of your repositioning without rendering, and then, just before you call it a day, render everything. Go have a cup of coffee or a bite to eat. Check on things when the render is done.

I have a Powerbook and a G4 tower. I take the laptop and a FW800 drive with me and edit in exactly the same way you do (i.e., letterbox in post and cheat framing up and down). I NEVER use the laptop for the rendering--just for editing decision-making and timing. When I get home, I hook up the FW800 drive to my tower and render using the DP system. My scratch/render/video support files are all on the FW drive, so swapping CPU's is completely irrelevant--but using the DP tower makes rendering go much faster, and frees up the laptop to use as my mail/web/writing buddy for myself and my family.

90% of wasted productivity, at least for me, is in waiting for rendering. Putting off that wait and having my system do it when I am asleep or otherwise preoccupied makes a lot of sense to me. RT fuzzyness is the very small price to pay while editing, seeing that by RT I can still make good editing and timing decisions without drumming my fingers for half the day.

Hope that helps.

Bart
 
Also, keep in mind that DV compression is in 8-bit blocks, and this will affect the reframing process. When editing full-frame DV as full frame DV, I find shifting the image in multiples of 8 pixels results in no degradation. I don't know how you're stretching the image to 2:35, so this may affect the calculation... but if you're just matting and not stretching, using multiples of 8 pixels to reframe is the "Golden Number"...
 
ullanta said:
Also, keep in mind that DV compression is in 8-bit blocks, and this will affect the reframing process. When editing full-frame DV as full frame DV, I find shifting the image in multiples of 8 pixels results in no degradation. I don't know how you're stretching the image to 2:35, so this may affect the calculation... but if you're just matting and not stretching, using multiples of 8 pixels to reframe is the "Golden Number"...
Click to expand...

Cool I think that must be it, since I had the clips fully rendered. I'm using an widescreen matte that goes on its independent track, so when I reframe I only grab the clip and just move it up and down.
I'll get back to the studio soon and check up on the 8 pixel rule.
Thanks for the help people, only on dvxuser!
 
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