Importing/Exporting LiveType Files in Final Cut Pro HELP ASAP!!!!

Question

Heres my issue...
I created a little text animation in LiveType and then decided I wanted to bring it into FCP to put together with a company video I created as the intro. I rendered/exported it from LiveType and then took the final exported video and imported it into FCP. All I can say is, I am very frustrated, because the animation looks very good exported from livetype and in FCP when playing back on the timeline, but when I export it out of FCP, it looks awful and quality/size is all messed up. I made sure to set the canvas in LiveType to match 720p and tried every exporting size under the sun on FCP from 720, 720 16:9, even SD and other weird exporting features and I can not get it too look ok.
Then I tried just going into FCP and Importing just the Livetype file WITHOUT rendering it, and I till had the same issue.
Not sure if I am still mis-matching my settings and/or canvases within both programs, but all I know is I have tried many options and still no luck. If anyone would like to see screen shots, or actually compare video footage of what I am doing when Im exporting (using a screen capture program) let me know and I can email it to you and we can go back and forth to discuss and show images and what not. I really need to get this done for a client project and would help me if I had this answer soon.
Thanks!
sorrentino dot anthony at gmail dot com <<<<<<<<<<<EMAIL ME HERE!!
Message was edited by: chaosphere33
<Edited by Host>

Answer 1

Don't bother rendering a movie out of LiveType, simply save the project file and import it into FCP.
LiveType outputs in the Animation codec only, so you will always have to render. Using the project file has another advantage -right clicking and choosing "Open in Editor" will drop you back into LiveType where you can quickly make adjustments, save and return to FCP with the changes in place.
To set project properties, you can use the Place Background Movie function in LiveType. Drop a short clip in and it will automatically adjust the properties to match. You can delete it once you have the settings. If you have Anamorphic video, you will still need to adjust the pixel aspect ratio -exact settings depend on the format, you haven't told us that yet.
Again, depending on the format, you might have to set the Anamorphic flag in FCP's Item Properties for the LiveType file.
When you view the FCP export in QuickTime Player 7 (not QuickTime Player X) make sure that the High Quality Playback preference is selected.
Typefaces in video:
Avoid using small, thin, delicate and Serif typefaces. They never work well.
A well known example of a Serif font is Times, which you should avoid at all costs in any case -it makes it look like you made the titles in MS Word. Stick with San Serifs with clear, bold strokes. Helvetica is a popular example of a San Serif.
If your titles are white, reduce the brightness to around 90%. Apply a shadow or border to distinguish them from the background. While it might sound counter productive, applying a tiny amount of blur can help too.
One more thing: Don't put your email address in the body of your post. The forums are open to anyone who wants to read them and by extension, web bots. They will harvest the address and bombard it with spam. We don't do personal email on the forums anyway -we share information amongst all users.