Single Beige Female

Q: Final Cut Pro 7: imported videos are pixelated/"shimmery"

Hi all, I am working in Final Cut Pro 7.0.3 and I just imported video from my Panasonic Lumix LX100. The footage looks fine in QuickTime Player, but is all pixelated and “shimmery” after importing (and after rendering).

It os pixelated and "shimmery" even after I export the project. Anybody know how to resolve this?

Thanks so much!

SBF

 

PS. Specs:
OS X is El Capitan (v. 10.11.3)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011)

Processor:  2.8 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Mar 27, 2016 4:49 PM

Close

Q: Final Cut Pro 7: imported videos are pixelated/"shimmery"

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Meg The Dog,

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Mar 27, 2016 5:18 PM in response to Single Beige Female
    Level 6 (11,138 points)
    Video
    Mar 27, 2016 5:18 PM in response to Single Beige Female

    In the FCP browser, click on one of your camera source clips to select it. Once selected, type Command + 9 to see the item properties for the clip. Either report those properties here or take a screen shot of the item properties and post that screen shot here.

     

    Next, click anywhere in your sequence timeline and type Command + 0 {zero} to see your sequence settings. Either report those sequence settings here or take a screen shot and post the screen shot of your sequence settings here.

     

    MtD

  • by Single Beige Female,

    Single Beige Female Single Beige Female Mar 27, 2016 6:25 PM in response to Meg The Dog
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Mar 27, 2016 6:25 PM in response to Meg The Dog

    Thanks for replying MtD. Here is a screenshot for one of the source clips:

     

  • by Single Beige Female,

    Single Beige Female Single Beige Female Mar 27, 2016 6:26 PM in response to Single Beige Female
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Mar 27, 2016 6:26 PM in response to Single Beige Female

    And here is a screenshot of the timeline properties

     

  • by Meg The Dog,

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Mar 27, 2016 6:44 PM in response to Single Beige Female
    Level 6 (11,138 points)
    Video
    Mar 27, 2016 6:44 PM in response to Single Beige Female

    Your settings look good with the exception of working in H.264. Final Cut Pro 7 does not work correctly with that codec, it was abandoned by Apple years before h.264 had become the ubiquitous format it is today.

     

    In an ideal world, the workflow for working with H.264 source material to convert it prior to ingestion in FCP (via Compressor or a free 3rd party app like MPEG Streamclip), changing it into an FCP7 edit friendly format such as ProRes. Pro Res files, however are going to be much larger files.

     

    But the file should look fairly normal in the Viewer, at least, without conversion. Can you take a screen shot with the video in the Viewer exhibiting the artifact?

    Are your viewer and canvas set to display the video at 100% scale? If so, you may be seeing interlacing. Try set the viewer scale to 50%, do the files look better?

     

    Your files are interlaced video (the "i" in 1080i) and computer monitors have a hard time displaying this video correctly.


    MtD


     

  • by Single Beige Female,

    Single Beige Female Single Beige Female Mar 27, 2016 11:20 PM in response to Meg The Dog
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Mar 27, 2016 11:20 PM in response to Meg The Dog

    Hi MtD

     

    Hope to add some screenshots tomorrow. Re your sentence

     

    Your settings look good with the exception of working in H.264. Final Cut Pro 7 does not work correctly with that codec, it was abandoned by Apple years before h.264 had become the ubiquitous format it is today.

     

    Is there a difference between H.264 and h.264?

     

    In an ideal world, the workflow for working with H.264 source material to convert it prior to ingestion in FCP (via Compressor or a free 3rd party app like MPEG Streamclip), changing it into an FCP7 edit friendly format such as ProRes. Pro Res files, however are going to be much larger files.

     

    Should I have imported it differently?

     

    Sorry for not quite understanding and thanks again,

    SBF

  • by Meg The Dog,

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Mar 28, 2016 9:30 AM in response to Single Beige Female
    Level 6 (11,138 points)
    Video
    Mar 28, 2016 9:30 AM in response to Single Beige Female

    Sorry if I was confusing.

    I'd like to take a look at your screen shot to see what you are seeing to see if there is a simple solution to your issue.

    Regarding your questions -

    h.264 = H.264

    The best practice workflow for working in FCP-7 when working with H.264 is

    Convert source footage to an FCP-7 edit friendly format - ProRes.

    Edit on a timeline with settings matching the now converted footage.

    Export the finished edit as a self contained, QuickTime movie without conversion (your edit master)

    Take that exported file (the edit master) into Compressor to create what ever deliverable copies you need (web, DVD, etc.) in their specific formats.

    One note- the process of converting your source to ProRes will have no effect on the quality of your image. It is, simply put, placing the footage into boxes much easier for FCP-7 to open and unpack for use.

     

    MtD

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Mar 29, 2016 5:09 AM in response to Single Beige Female
    Level 7 (21,820 points)
    Quicktime
    Mar 29, 2016 5:09 AM in response to Single Beige Female

    To add one thing to MtD's excellent advice on converting H.264 to an editing codec, I notice that the data rate for the clip you posted the screen sot of is 1.9 Mb per second. That is very low for a 1080 clip - even H.264. Do you know the source of the clips?

     

    Russ

  • by Single Beige Female,

    Single Beige Female Single Beige Female Apr 2, 2016 11:20 AM in response to Meg The Dog
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Apr 2, 2016 11:20 AM in response to Meg The Dog

    hi MtD,

     

    Sorry I was not able to respond to your helpful messages sooner. I'm back on this project and still confounded. I have not followed your instructions yet either, not because they're not straightforward, but because I wanted to ask you something before I do as you suggest.

     

    I have already edited the video, it's about 80 seconds long. If I were to do as you suggest do I have to redo all my work or is there a way to convert my clips now?

     

    I'm so frustrated with how this is looking that I'm thinking of having done with FCP7 and downloading Premiere.

     

    It's strange though, I did not have this problem with my last two videos and I 99% certain that I had the same settings. In fact I used the last one I did as a template.

     

    Thanks for all your help,

    SBF

  • by Single Beige Female,

    Single Beige Female Single Beige Female Apr 2, 2016 11:22 AM in response to Russ H
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Apr 2, 2016 11:22 AM in response to Russ H

    Hi Russ, let me go look. Where do I find the "source"?

     

    Thanks

    SBF

  • by Single Beige Female,

    Single Beige Female Single Beige Female Apr 2, 2016 2:13 PM in response to Russ H
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Video
    Apr 2, 2016 2:13 PM in response to Russ H

    Also, I wanted to say thank you for replying!