Problem with PhotoMontage in FCP at DVinfo.net

John Moon · August 1st, 2006, 03:45 PM

We are working on a photo montage using FCP 5 and suddenly noticed that the picture quality in the viewer is high quality but in the viewer it is poor. Lots of pixelation. Seems that each time we open the project it gets worse. ??? Anyone know what might be going on? Thanks. This has to be done next week for the client. Ahhh!

Nate Weaver · August 1st, 2006, 04:03 PM

FCP uses low resolution real-time previews for certain things that otherwise would have to be rendered.

Chances are you're just seeing that.

John Moon · August 1st, 2006, 05:27 PM

we have already rendered, would that make any difference? Thanks

Nate Weaver · August 1st, 2006, 05:33 PM

Some of the RT modes do not render unless you specifically tell FCP to render those sections.

If you could post a screenshot it would help.

Daniel Stevenson · August 8th, 2006, 02:47 AM

I've done a photo montage before where I had to scan in the images through photoshop then import to FCE.

The lessons I learnt were to scan at a really high resolution then resize to a screen ratio equal to either PAL or NTSC but in bigger dimensions (ie not 720 * 576 but 1440 * 1152)

These always looked worse on the monitor than when on DVD for the final product. In fact they usually looked better in the canvas BEFORE i rendered them!

Check out the thread

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72085

specifically the Larry Jordan article mentioned.

Matt Crane · August 8th, 2006, 11:21 AM

Rendered or not, you usually get the same (poor) quality in the Viewer window. The Canvas window will change upon RT modes, rendered, etc.

Don't be too worried about the Viewer window. You only want to start worrying if you have poor quality in the Canvas or full-screen after rendering.

Cale Rogers · August 8th, 2006, 01:56 PM

You may have to resort to exporting a small portion of the timeline to check for quality on the output. Just use the "in" and "out" markers to select a minute or two on the timeline and export it to a QuickTime compression setting close to the final output. If the output of exported clip is poor than something else is wrong with the sequence, compression or project settings. If the quality of the compressed clip is up to your standards, then continue to position the photos in low resolution knowing that the final output will look nice.

Low resolution previews are very difficult to edit with. You may want to look into hardware offerings such as AJA, Decklink or the new Matrox MXO box to improve the experience. For software only, I almost always use After Effects for picture montages because of AE's tool set and uncompressed QuickTime output.

CJ Rogers

August 1st, 2006, 03:45 PM	#1
John Moon Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 446	Final Cut Pro Question We are working on a photo montage using FCP 5 and suddenly noticed that the picture quality in the viewer is high quality but in the viewer it is poor. Lots of pixelation. Seems that each time we open the project it gets worse. ??? Anyone know what might be going on? Thanks. This has to be done next week for the client. Ahhh!

August 1st, 2006, 04:03 PM	#2
Nate Weaver Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,100	FCP uses low resolution real-time previews for certain things that otherwise would have to be rendered. Chances are you're just seeing that. __________________ My Work: nateweaver.net

August 1st, 2006, 05:33 PM	#4
Nate Weaver Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 2,100	Some of the RT modes do not render unless you specifically tell FCP to render those sections. If you could post a screenshot it would help. __________________ My Work: nateweaver.net

August 1st, 2006, 05:27 PM	#3
John Moon Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 446	we have already rendered, would that make any difference? Thanks

August 8th, 2006, 02:47 AM	#5
Daniel Stevenson Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 60	I've done a photo montage before where I had to scan in the images through photoshop then import to FCE. The lessons I learnt were to scan at a really high resolution then resize to a screen ratio equal to either PAL or NTSC but in bigger dimensions (ie not 720 * 576 but 1440 * 1152) These always looked worse on the monitor than when on DVD for the final product. In fact they usually looked better in the canvas BEFORE i rendered them! Check out the thread http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72085 specifically the Larry Jordan article mentioned.

August 8th, 2006, 11:21 AM	#6
Matt Crane Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Suffolk, VA Posts: 58	Rendered or not, you usually get the same (poor) quality in the Viewer window. The Canvas window will change upon RT modes, rendered, etc. Don't be too worried about the Viewer window. You only want to start worrying if you have poor quality in the Canvas or full-screen after rendering.

August 8th, 2006, 01:56 PM	#7
Cale Rogers Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greeley, CO Posts: 63	You may have to resort to exporting a small portion of the timeline to check for quality on the output. Just use the "in" and "out" markers to select a minute or two on the timeline and export it to a QuickTime compression setting close to the final output. If the output of exported clip is poor than something else is wrong with the sequence, compression or project settings. If the quality of the compressed clip is up to your standards, then continue to position the photos in low resolution knowing that the final output will look nice. Low resolution previews are very difficult to edit with. You may want to look into hardware offerings such as AJA, Decklink or the new Matrox MXO box to improve the experience. For software only, I almost always use After Effects for picture montages because of AE's tool set and uncompressed QuickTime output. CJ Rogers