Best Quality graphic to import?

I do all of my text and graphic work in Photoshop and I want to figure out the best way to import text and graphics with effects on them into FCP. I want the effects to show up. To retain the effects do I save them as png, tiff, photoshop? Which is the best quality?
I tried to bring in a layered photoshop file with all of my text work and it didn't bring in the effects(drop shadows, glows, etc.). A png brought in the effects, but I just want to make sure I am using the best way for great looking graphics without noise around the text.
Any suggestions would be great!
John

You can use a layered .psd file, but the layers involving text effects (drop shadows, glows, etc) must be rasterized.
What I like to do is create a new, empty layer below each text layer that I want to retain as a track in FCP, then do an Option-Command-E to with the two layers selected. This preserves the original text layer while Merging Down to the bottom, empty layer (giving you the rasterized text that FCP needs). After saving the file (to preserve my 'master'), I strip out the text effects (non-rasterized) layers in Photoshop, do a save as (for the stripped-down) prior to importing in FCP.
Though this is but one technique, and I'm no Photoshop master...

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Best (quality) Setting for Importing Footage

Hi,
could anyone confirm which setting would be best to choose when importing footage from a DV camcorder? (i.e. to retain maximum quality);
DV or 1080i etc. etc.

Hi
I'm in the UK so PAL is the format used (although the footage was taken in America).
Not really the issue. Was Your material recorded on an American Camera (NTSC) or
a Camera bought in EU (PAL)
One can convert from one to the other by setting PAL/NTSC in iDVD at least - BUT THE QUALITY
will be Very BAD !
(I don't think iMovie will import from other format - at least my SONY TRV-900e (PAL) can
playback NTSC - BUT not via FireWire to be imported into iMovie)
(There is a need of a NTSC Camera to be able to get it into iMovie)
• Import in the format material was recorded
• Use JES_Deinterlacer to convcert (free program on the net)
• Start a new project in the new format and import the conveted material
As good as it can be - Pro applications exists to an astronomical cost and near
not visibly quality enhancement.
Yours Bengt W

Best quality format to import into iMovie

I am getting news footage sent to me on a disc to use in an iMovie project. They can send me the files in just about any format. What format should I ask for to provide the best quality video? Are there common formats that do not work with iMovie? File size in not a concern. Project is 24 FPS- Cinema Widescreen 16:9 but I can change this if this limits the quality of the news footage.

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One missing piece !
What is the end-user quality You want to get ?
• e-mail document
• DVD disk
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Poor quality graphics after rendering

Hi- I'm importing still pics into FCP v5.1.4 at 300 dpi at size exported (took a still frame from captured video and used it as a template in photoshop). The graphic looks great but after rendered, it's of poor quality in canvas.
Sequence settings DV-NTSC 48KHz - Frame size 640 x 480 aspect: NTSC 4:3 > Quicktime Video Settings-Best Quality DV/DVCPRO - NTSC.
I changed the sequence settings to Animation at best quality which rendered better, not great, but took a long time with big files. I'm not sure if this is the way to go.
Should I match FCP video settings > Sequence Presets to Sequence Settings?- as I see no "Animation" in Sequence presets.
I just want to out put sharp good quality graphics and type- is there a recommended set up in FCP for efficient and best quality graphics and type?
humbly yours, j

Thanks for all your quick responses and good input. I forgot to mention that the stills are with video footage- should be "Interlaced" ?
I have come up with a pretty good solution using "Animation" setting. The following are my notes:
I changed the sequence settings to Animation at best quality which rendered better, not great, but took a long time with big files. I'm not sure if this is the way to go.
However when exporting using Quick Time Movie output is jagged and files were big: 60 to 117 MB.
Outputting to Quick Time Conversion was better using Animation compression at highest quality but file was too big. Changed that to medium and a reasonable 7.65 MB resulted with a reasonable quality when viewed from Quick Time.
Issues to contend with- will iDVD use this file and display quality? If that .mov file be of quality if put into a FCP timeline?
The DVD came out OK. I will play around with sized 72 dpi's for stills.
Thanks again! j

Best quality internet use

I am currently exporting from final cut pro to compressor. I am setting compressor to the best quality and then importing the files into DVD pro and burning it. But I would like to get my stuff onto U-tube/email to family/friends etc. What settings in compressor do I use to maintain the quality of video (quick time seems to loose so much of the res, image size etc, it looks terrible.) Is there some where that I can learn more about web streaming (books, on-line.)?

http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/compressor_h-264_moviesfcp.html
Ken Stone is your friend

I've exported my pages graphics document as a PDF file and can't seem to reduce the file size without compromising the quality of the photo's used even after choosing "best" quality. I'm trying to send the file via e-mail but it's too big. ??????

I am trying to e-mail a graphics pages document I made as a PDF file. After trying to resize the file, the photo's quality is compromised (really blurry) even after choosing "Best" quality. What am I doing wrong. As a regular full sized file (PDF) it's fine, but when it gets reduced, it's bad and it needs to get printed from the e-mail copy I'm trying to send. HELP! Please.

If there are a lot and/or large images the file will inevitably be large, no matter what.
You can reduce them down as far as possible by cropping and scaling them to the final size before creating the pdf. You can do this by opening the images in Preview .app and using Menu > Tools to reduce the resolution and to crop.
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What is the best workflow procedure for importing DV SP 16x9 footage into FCP7 and then exporting the best quality 16x9 to standard DVD so that it looks great (or at least good) on a 50" Samsung LCD TV ?????? Please help! anybody?? Thanks!

We are using a Sony HDV-Z7U camera for acquisition. We recently recorded an event using the camera's non HD capabilities. We set the camera to record "DV SP" 16x9 settings on both Mini-DV tape and CF card.
To import the DV SP footage into FCP7 we chose the "DV NTSC anamorphic" setting in the log and transfer settings window. After a successful transfer from the CF card (the CF card held approximately 83 minutes) we checked the size of the file and found it to be 16 Gigs! Why so big? An 83 miniDV tape shot in SD should easily fit on a standard 4.7 gig MPEG2 DVD.
We need to burn DVDs of this show - we sent it to compressor and got horrible quality.
What is the best setting to use in FCP7's log and transfer settings window to import DV SP 16x9 standard def. footage and what is the best method for exporting for outputting this footage to DVD that preserves the original quality of the DV SP footage?? Anyone? Many thanks

> Why so big? An 83 miniDV tape shot in SD should easily fit on a standard 4.7 gig MPEG2 DVD.
No it doesn't. DV is 13GB per hour.
In any case, a Video DVD uses the MPEG 2 codec, not DV.
>What is the best setting to use in FCP7's log and transfer settings window to import DV SP 16x9 standard def.
DV NTSC anamorphic.
>what is the best method for exporting for outputting this footage to DVD...
Use the Compressor DVD preset "Best Quality 90 mins".
>...that preserves the original quality of the DV SP footage?
Not going to happen, you are compressing by a factor of 1:4. Shooting as HDV would have given you better quality material to start with. DV is at the bottom end of the scale.

Importing animation for best quality

Hi. I'm preparing a 15' video (dvNTSC standard) to be burned to a DVD and played on tv monitors at an awards ceremony for my company. The first 6" or so will be an animated sequence which I have created on an older mac running OS 9.22, using Carrara Studio 3. What is considered the best format for importing animation into FCE 3.5 that will give the highest image quality? I've rendered the animation @ 640 x 480px as a QuickTime Movie using photo-jpeg compression (best quality) and this doesn't look bad but I thought I would get better results generating a Pict Sequence w/ no compression @ 720 x 534px and batch processing the stills in Photoshop adjusting the height to 480px so that the images will retain their correct proportions when imported into FCE. Is there another approach I could take? There is a dvNTSC and animation codec in Carrara that I've tried but the imported animation plays in FCE as black frames. Thanks for any suggestions.
stopmotion
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7) Using FCE 3.5

PICT sequence would be the best quality until it's compressed in FCE ... Final Cut uses a slightly different scaling algorithm for resizing still image to adjust for pixel aspect ratio ... 720x540 for DV material, rather than 534.
Tom,
Thanks for your reply. I'll go w/ a PICT sequence for my exported animation. That's very interesting about the 720x540 ratio. I did get the the 720x534 ratio from a book on FCE I was reading and was wondering if there was any basis for the verticle pixel dimension of 534 the author quoted.

I've imported a giant cd collection for my work in wav format for the best quality audio using iTunes version 11.1.1. I need to transfer this library to our Music workstation using iTunes 11.0.1. That workstation version of iTunes can't be upgraded for

I've imported a giant cd collection for my boss in wav format for the best quality audio using iTunes version 11.1.1. I need to transfer this library to our Music workstation using iTunes 11.0.1. That workstation version of iTunes can't be upgraded for compatability reasons with other software using iTunes. When I try to transfer the library I lose all of the CD metadata and end up with only track names. Is there a way to transfer everything along with the metadata?

Not easily. WAV format does not store tag information in the file. Realize both AIFF (equivalent to WAV) and Apple Lossless (full quality but smaller files) do, so WAV was unfortunately the worst format to chose.
If you have to go with what you have you will have to explore exporting the library as .xml, moving it and the files to the other computer, then rebuilding a lower version library with the two sets. I am not sure if you can do it with the library.xml file that already exists or if it too differs according to version. You may end up having to export the files as a playlist. You will, of course, lose artwork too, though you can try fetching it from the iTunes Store later.
Some of what you need to do is outlined in these articles though you have the added limitation that you are not building a library of the same version. (It really is a piity you choose WAV, otherwise you could have simply added the ripped files and most of the data would have traveled with them.)
https://discussions.apple.com/message/20401436 - turingtest2 11/2012 post on rebuilding empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash from previous iTunes library file.
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451

Import/Export to retain best quality for a Beginner

Hi,
I'm hoping someone could help me retain the best quality possible for my video while working on projects because whatever I'm doing now is not working.
I shoot with a Sony HDR-FX1000 in HDV 1080i/24p and the picture and quality is amazing when plugged into a TV or played back on the camera LCD screen. I use a new iMac 2.7GHz Intel Core i5, Mac OS X 10.7.4 to edit. However, when I import into my new FCP X it is not as crisp and quality, and then when I export, it is definitely not the quality I imagined. The video loses it's sharpness and it gets very noisy plus fuzzy lines appear in some areas of shots. These lines don't show up when I view my edited footage in the timeline, only after exporting. I'm fairly new to this all and know I'm not using the best settings to retain the most quality because the beginning and end quality look very different.
I don't do heavy duty editing or effects at the moment. Basic color correction, slow-motion, preset effects, transitions, music and titles.
ANY help relating to what my settings should be across the board to retain the best image possible is greatly appreciated. I can't seem to figure it out with trial and error anymore and thought I'd turn to the experts for help.
Thanks!
Smalls

I've set the viewer to both fields. I guess I don't know why I was transcoding. I thought it somehow optimized the video. Could part of the reason the quality drops be because I transcoded the video when I didn't need to?
When I export, these are the settings I use and then export to QuickTime.
Here is an example of the noise and lines that show up after exporting the video.
It's not like this in the viewer while editing EXCEPT when I change playback quality to High Quality. Any idea why?
Also, these are my settings when importing the video. What should be changed other than deselected the Transcoding options?
I really appreciate the input. Thanks!

What format to import AVCHD for best quality and how to export?

Hi
My boss has got himself a panasonic HDC camcorder of some sort that is formatting the video in AVCHD.
Basically he was using adobe premiere pro from around 2003 on an pc running xp and loved it. My I.T. director persuaded him to buy an iMac and Final Cut Pro 7. As we stand now he states he hates macs because he can't figure out how to get his home movies off his camcorder and onto a dvd without them looking blurry and fuzzy.
Can anyone advise what format we should be importing the AVCHD files into final cut pro for best video quality and how we should be exporting the final movie for best quality to go onto dvd?
I will also note that he is using toast 10 titanium to burn his movies to dvd.
Also he is not looking to burn to blu-ray as none of his familiy have blu-ray players. He just wants his HD footage off camera and onto a dvd with the best quality picture he can get. Also his movies are approx 2 hours long and he has just ordered some Dual Layer DVDs
Thanks
Kieran

I take it you mean Pro Res 422 from the AVCHD plugin options? And not going for any of the other 422's with bits in brackets?
Sorry for being dumb in this area but my boss and i are both pretty new to FCP
How do i ensure i edit in a pro res sequence?
Export straight to quicktime no quicktime compression or anything?
Thanks for your help
Kieran

Best quality import from VHS

I'm importing some VHS tapes into iMovie09 using an ADVC-55 and then MPEGstreamclip to break the project into small clips. However, I'm new to MPEGstreamclip and want to use the best quality settings for the data transfer. Rather than spending many hours trying different strategies, can anyone recommend what settings will, in general, give the best quality?
The tapes, and output DVD, are PAL.
Thanks for suggestions and tips.

As a new user, what is the best channel for obtaining iMovie 06, given that it's the best method for maintaining quality?
I understand your frustration. Actually, once you get the work flow down, it is pretty easy. I think it's fairly well established that iMovie 06 will give you better quality with DV video to make a DVD.
Obviously, it seems a little complicated to have 2 versions of iMovie. I can't think of any other cases where I have 2 versions of the same program. However, in the case of iMovie, iMovie 06 and iMovie 09 are vastly different.
I use both of these iMovies on a regular basis. But on the project that you are describing, I would definitely use iMovie 06 for better quality. Someday, when you're dealing with high definition and are sharing these videos on the internet, you may find iMovie 09 to your liking.
I found iMovie 06 to be very intuitive and easy to learn. My video editing goes back to the film days, so I find iMovie 06 quite natural to me.
If you buy the iLife 06 disk, only install iMovie 06 from it. iMovie 06 will not delete anything and it works fine with iDVD 09.
Basically, connect your camera and import into iMovie 06, then share to iDVD 09. Do a 5 or 10 minute project first to establish your work flow. Do this a few times and you can zip along thru the remaining work.
You can get iMovie 06 in a number of ways. You cannot download it FROM APPLE any longer (it was free for a time). You can also find iMovie 06 on the iLife 06 install disc. You can buy iLife 06 on Amazon or eBay.
But be prepared to pay about double the cost of iLife 09 (but well worth every penny). Seller's are becoming aware of its value.

Best Quality import when editing with a DVD master?

I have been on a project, that is nearing online, that has a large amount of footage that I have had to import off of DVD. I have been using Streamclip's "Apple Motion Jpeg A" setting at 100% when I have converted files to QT. Anybody know the best way to get this material off DVD and into QT at the best quality? The footage is so bad, that it may not make a difference, but I thought I would try. Anybody use any treatment tricks when working with old, home movie type footage, to "spruce it up" and help it not stand out so much?
Thanks for your input.

The question would be; is the footage bad only because it is from heavily compressed DVD-Video? Or is it bad because it's old home movie footage? Or a combination of the two.
Since it is old home video footage, I'd suspect a fairly low quality camcorder was used. If that's the case, I'd convert the footage to the Apple DV/DVCPro codec using MPEG Streamclip. Or simply capture the footage through a DV device while playing the disc in a DVD player.
Once it's on your system, try using the 3-Way Color Corrector filter to enhance the contrast and control the chroma levels.
-DH

Best quality HD importing from FCE

I'm using a Canon Vixia HFM41 with FCE. The video quality in FCE is amazing. My question is how do I retain that same stunning quality when importing video into iDVD?
Thanks in advance!

You'll see lots of discussion in the forums about maintaining the best quality, and there are workflows which result in better quality... but iDVD creates standard definition DVDs and these are unlikely to match high quality original footage.
To have widely compatible DVDs, standards were created for the video and audio DVD formats. The video format is mpeg-2 for all standard definition DVDs, no matter if I use iDVD or a Hollywood company uses custom software. Even though all DVDs have video in the same format, there are lots of tricks to improve quality. Better software (eg, DVD Studio Pro) use better compression algorithms, and Hollywood uses the services of companies who painstakingly squeeze high quality productions onto fixed-size DVDs.
Look around the forums for tips; look at Apple's tutorials; and get the basics right for standard definition. High-definition? Blue-ray discs could be in Apple's future, but for now, you'll need a Blue-ray burner and special software (eg. one of the Roxio Toast versions).
John

I import in HD and Export in HD 1280x720 and Use the IDVD burner How do I get the best quality? It seems to be a generation down on quality.

Need help with getting best quality for DVD's.

The best quality you can get is to first understand that the biggest frame you can play back using a DVD player is 720x480. So no matter how big the image is going into iDVD it is throwing away some information to get it all to fit 720x480. Your best option then is go to Share Menu > Media Browser... Then choose the Large size.
Open iDVD and find your video project by clicking on the Media button in the iDVD lower right hand corner. Then above that there's the media browser window with the Movies button on the right hand side. Click Movies button and browse for your project under the iMovie star icon.
Drag that project into a clip and burn the project to a DVD-R.

Best Quality graphic to import?

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