export to final cut pro

[john chapple]

Hi guys, can you tell me if corel studio pro x4 can produce pro res 422 files or alternatively what would be the best file format to export to final cut pro

thanks

john

[Ken Berry]

Simple answer is no -- it can't produce video in that format; and I suspect you will find that other consumer level products are unlikely to be able to produce what is after all an intermediary codec used by a professional-end editing program. In any case, I thought it was a format exclusive to Apple. Moreover, it is a codec useful in editing, rather than end viewing. So it would also seem strange -- to me at least -- that you would expect what is after all an editing program (VS) to produce an editing format designed for another editing program...

I'm afraid I can't answer the second part of your question since I don't know what other formats Final Cut can accept. But I would have thought that since high res formats like AVCHD and Blu-Ray are part of an international standard, that Final Cut should be able to accept at least those... And VS can certainly produce them.

[pvreditor]

I've never used Final Cut Pro, but heard very recently that FCP 10 can work with AVCHD files. In general, the professional video community was not happy with last year's update to FCP 10, so many video professionals may be using older versions of FCP. If you have FCP 10, try AVCHD files. If you have an older version of FCP, try using VideoStudio to convert the files to MPEG4.

I know there's a really good reason why older versions of FCP and the video industry REALLY like ProRes files, but I really don't know why. As a reporter in that industry, I should know why, but editing professionals at that level seem to speak a different language.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[john chapple]

Thanks Bob, What I'm trying to do is get a good quality reproduction on to DVD, I tend to get a lot of JAGGIES with corel and a friend of mine has FCP and has offered to give it a go through that. Are there any other ways to get rid of these jaggies which are especially noticeable on moving subjects like birds in flight?

[pvreditor]

Are there any other ways to get rid of these jaggies which are especially noticeable on moving subjects like birds in flight?

I don't burn many DVDs, so I don't have a lot of experience with it. However, in VS x4 (which is what I have), you might get better DVD quality by doing the following:

1. With your finished project on the timeline, click on "Share," then "Create Disk."
2. Select "DVD"
3. A box pops up on the screen to guide you through the DVD burning process. At the bottom left corner of this box are three icons. Click on the "Settings" icon, which looks like a gear.
4. Roughly in the middle of this "Project Settings" box is a check box that says "Two-pass conversion". Check that box and click on OK to close the Project Settings box.
5. Continue with the setup and burn of the DVD.

This is just a guess on my part, but I think two-pass conversion will give better quality. However, I've never used it.

Good luck!

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[john chapple]

Thanks Bob, that's done a pretty good job,not perfect but very nearly! Best results I've had .

Thanks again for your help

John

[Ken Berry]

The two main causes of 'jaggies' are using the wrong Field Order, and, with high def especially, doing horizontal pans too quickly.

The first is probably the worst offender. A basic rule of video editing is to maintain the same field order throughout a project, including to burning it to disc. So if your original video was Upper Field First (as most of it is today, with the major exception of standard def DV/AVI, and more recently high def fully progressive 50/60P video), you need to make sure that Upper Field First is maintained throughout. Otherwise you get not only jaggies but also slightly jerky video.

As for panning in high def, well perhaps it's not so much jaggies as a sort of shimmer which seems to grab at the eyes and can be uncomfortable to watch. If you look at professionally filmed high def video, you will notice that horizontal pans in particular are usually filmed very slowly and usually over only a small arc. The best way of ensuring not only smooth but slower panning is by using a floating head tripod, though I acknowledge this may not always be practicable, both for cost considerations and also for those off-the-cuff types of shots with a hand-held camcorder.

(Mind you, Velbon has an excellent floating head tripod, available at least in North America, for the very low price of around $75 -- which is what I paid for one in California about 3 years ago.)