Hello all, im I new user of ASpro and I've been having a great time exploring its features and capabilities. As I learn I'm trying to put together an approx 4-5 min animation that includes scenes rendered and animated in seperate animation packages.
All the individual scenes are shaping up nicely enough and export as .avi files at 1280*1024...they look pretty good.
However I've had problems when attaching seperate scenes(.avi) files together with some of the cheap video editiors I've got available to me..the once wonderful looking scenes now look choppy and medicore.
What am I doing wrong?...or am I doing this all backwards?...should I perhaps NOT compress the original AS files until video editing time?
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
PS. Nice to meet you all - i've had a good look through the forum and have found some wonderful info - keep up the good work.
Newbie question on video editing
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
All of your clips from other applications should not be compressed. If you are using an external editor and stitch the clips together when you output from the video editor that is the ONLY time any type of compression should be used.
Rendering to image sequences would work or rendering to NO compression at all. This would make the clips easier to manage and would support any sound as well.
QT has an option to render without using ANY type of compression. The file sizes will be HUGE depending on the pixel dimensions of the renders but would be the same or maybe less than an image sequence and easier to manage since it is just "one file" instead of a folder of images. This is what I use when rendering from AS (or anything else) to do external editing or merging of various clips.
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When you render out from your "cheap" or "free" editors, the choppy and low quality is due to whatever codec or compression you choose. Some are better than others, some depend on the speed of the computer etc etc.
If you plan for web presentation you should choose a size and compression that would work with that format and playback smoothly on the computer. If this is for DVD video, the compression isn't important. Playback of the raw digital file before burning to DVD doesn't matter since the DVD playback software or hardware will handle the decompression and playback independantly of the computer. I often have video destined for DVD that play HORRIBLY on the computer but play and look fantastic when burned to video DVD.
I'm not an expert on this topic. I have no idea what codec to recommend. Just experiment till you find one that looks good enough and plays back smoothly enough for your own expectations. There is a trade off... quality and size vs. smooth playback.
-vern
Rendering to image sequences would work or rendering to NO compression at all. This would make the clips easier to manage and would support any sound as well.
QT has an option to render without using ANY type of compression. The file sizes will be HUGE depending on the pixel dimensions of the renders but would be the same or maybe less than an image sequence and easier to manage since it is just "one file" instead of a folder of images. This is what I use when rendering from AS (or anything else) to do external editing or merging of various clips.
-----
When you render out from your "cheap" or "free" editors, the choppy and low quality is due to whatever codec or compression you choose. Some are better than others, some depend on the speed of the computer etc etc.
If you plan for web presentation you should choose a size and compression that would work with that format and playback smoothly on the computer. If this is for DVD video, the compression isn't important. Playback of the raw digital file before burning to DVD doesn't matter since the DVD playback software or hardware will handle the decompression and playback independantly of the computer. I often have video destined for DVD that play HORRIBLY on the computer but play and look fantastic when burned to video DVD.
I'm not an expert on this topic. I have no idea what codec to recommend. Just experiment till you find one that looks good enough and plays back smoothly enough for your own expectations. There is a trade off... quality and size vs. smooth playback.
-vern
First your video editing application must be able to handle HDTV files ... a look into the manual should answer this. Look for actual pixel dimensions.
(Example: Apple's Final Cut Express HD uses 1080i as biggest frame size. To really work with 1920p I'd need the Pro version. It should be possible to work with low resolution files and then export the EDL to work in a Pro system, but I haven't tested this.))
(Example: Apple's Final Cut Express HD uses 1080i as biggest frame size. To really work with 1920p I'd need the Pro version. It should be possible to work with low resolution files and then export the EDL to work in a Pro system, but I haven't tested this.))
your video resolution is almost double that of standard DV, used for non-HD stuff. your HD-like resolution may not be capable of good handling in a cheap video program. what software are you using for video editing?
anything choppy could be due to this or as was mentioned the video codec. cheap programs might use the standard Microsoft codec which is not good. better programs have their own codec (such as Vegas which for Windows is very hard to beat in the feature-rich category, and it's less expensive than FCP too). also check to see if your program supports installing your own codec. you can download and install some codecs that are better than the MS one. i can't remember the name of the popular one but if you ask on a Vegas forum they can tell you.
you are correct to render as an AVI in Windows as this is uncompressed and native Windows video format used for DV editing. the files should be huge.
anything choppy could be due to this or as was mentioned the video codec. cheap programs might use the standard Microsoft codec which is not good. better programs have their own codec (such as Vegas which for Windows is very hard to beat in the feature-rich category, and it's less expensive than FCP too). also check to see if your program supports installing your own codec. you can download and install some codecs that are better than the MS one. i can't remember the name of the popular one but if you ask on a Vegas forum they can tell you.
you are correct to render as an AVI in Windows as this is uncompressed and native Windows video format used for DV editing. the files should be huge.
Hi guys, Thank you one and all for your replies to my question. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back before now to thank you, but due to a death in the family I haven't really been in the mood to animate for the past two months.
Still thank you all.
To answer your questions...im using 1280*1072 simply because it looked best upon my monitor...thats the only reason.
I've tried playing with various codecs but have not achieved much in the way of satisfactory results yet. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe my scenes are too complex with too many layers which is causing 'colour bleed' and lots of pixelation.
DK...when you mention I might render to image sequences...you mean render individual frames and stitch them together in my editor? ( which currently is iMovie)
The production process for the current project is like this:
1:Scenes comprising of imported images and AS layers created in ASpro
2:Clips rendered to AVI from ASpro (have tried numerous codecs)
3:Clips stitced together in Editor (currently trying my friends iMovie software on his computer)
I will try to render the scenes uncompressed and then stitch them..but on my computer this is a slow process...could it be my computer that is the problem?...I know its a little below par...but i presumed that while this would impact upon my render times I assumed that the finished render would look the same...just slower getting there.
Once again, thank you all for your time and advice.
Omni
PS. Oh and the project will be for use on a promotional DVD for a local band.
Still thank you all.
To answer your questions...im using 1280*1072 simply because it looked best upon my monitor...thats the only reason.
I've tried playing with various codecs but have not achieved much in the way of satisfactory results yet. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe my scenes are too complex with too many layers which is causing 'colour bleed' and lots of pixelation.
DK...when you mention I might render to image sequences...you mean render individual frames and stitch them together in my editor? ( which currently is iMovie)
The production process for the current project is like this:
1:Scenes comprising of imported images and AS layers created in ASpro
2:Clips rendered to AVI from ASpro (have tried numerous codecs)
3:Clips stitced together in Editor (currently trying my friends iMovie software on his computer)
I will try to render the scenes uncompressed and then stitch them..but on my computer this is a slow process...could it be my computer that is the problem?...I know its a little below par...but i presumed that while this would impact upon my render times I assumed that the finished render would look the same...just slower getting there.
Once again, thank you all for your time and advice.
Omni
PS. Oh and the project will be for use on a promotional DVD for a local band.
Hey Omni
Cheers
D.K
Yes. You should be able to import an image sequence in most editors. I have just made a TVC with Anime Studio and rendered all my scenes out as image sequences. Doing this allows you to tweak the length of individual frames when you are editing.DK...when you mention I might render to image sequences...you mean render individual frames and stitch them together in my editor? ( which currently is iMovie)
Cheers
D.K