Final Cut Pro to DVD Studio Pro

Question

Level 1

7 points

Final Cut Pro to DVD Studio Pro

Hi,

Im trying to export my finished wedding film from Final Cut Pro so i can put it on DVD using DVD Studio Pro, so far i keep coming across different problems.

The main problem im having now is the quality. I video'd and imported the footage into FCP as HD 1080/60i. I initially tried to make a HD DVD but since found they just casue problems and dont work in most DVD players, so ive done it again as SD DVD.

The quality of the footage looks perfect in FCP but as soon as i export it it looks terrible! Degraded and dark.

Ive tried using compressor, using best dvd settings but after compressing it the video develops lines as seen in the image below.....

This is starting to get very frustrating, ive seen video's on youtube and vimeo which are crytal clear quality, and you can put a movie on a 4.7gb DVD which is perfect quality, so how is it im finding it so difficult to get a good quality dvd without any problems???

Could anyone please give me a guide as to how i should export it from FCP, then what settings i should use to compress it to make my dvd so its the best quality i can get, the footage is about 65 mins long and is PAL

Appreciate any help... thanks

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Posted on Oct 12, 2012 1:23 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 12, 2012 1:39 PM in response to Pauly78

Looks like the field order is reversed. What are your Sequence settings in FCP and what export method and settings did you use?

-DH

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Answer 2

Pauly78 Author

Level 1

7 points

Oct 12, 2012 1:51 PM in response to David Harbsmeier

When you say what are the sequence settings where do i get that? i just used the easy setup and selected HDV 1080/60i as that is the same format as the video footage.

I initially exported using quicktime conversion and chose HDV 1080/60i from the drop down menu, i cant remember exactly all the details as im currently exporting as we speak so cant go into it.

I have made the project in FCP as NTSC as i didnt realise my settings were NTSC, and when exporting its obvously still NTSC but the lines appear anyway, as i thought it might have something to do with me using PAL in DVD studio pro..

Its driving me mad!

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Answer 3

Nick Holmes

Level 7

30,018 points

Oct 12, 2012 3:00 PM in response to Pauly78

If you shot and edited NTSC, why did you think using the PAL setting in DVD SP was the way to go?

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Answer 4

Pauly78 Author

Level 1

7 points

Oct 12, 2012 3:09 PM in response to Nick Holmes

i didnt shoot NTSC, and i have no idea how i ended up editing in NTSC, but the exported film is 29.97 frame rate, and i only realised this becasue it wouldnt let me import the asset to DVDSP.

Here are my settings...

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Answer 5

Pauly78 Author

Level 1

7 points

Oct 12, 2012 3:18 PM in response to Nick Holmes

PS - i need to create DVD in PAL as im in UK.

Ive just finished trying to export it again, here is another example of the rubbish quality, this time i exported using these settings

And this is the result, the left hand side is the exported copy playing in quicktime... as you can see its all broken up with those lines again.

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Answer 6

Oct 12, 2012 3:40 PM in response to Pauly78

1080/60i is an NTSC frame rate (29.97, or 60 interlaced fields per second). What format did you shoot?

-DH

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Answer 7

Nick Holmes

Level 7

30,018 points

Oct 12, 2012 3:54 PM in response to Pauly78

Go back to your tapes and check what format they were recorded in again. It should show you in the viewfinder or camera's flip out screen thing. Set FCP's Easy Setup to match that. HDV PAL will be 50i. Recapture everything again. (Stop sighing, this is about to get a whole lot worse, read on)

Drop a clip (any clip) onto the timeline and FCP will ask if it should set the Sequence to match the footage. Say yes.

Edit the whole thing again from scratch.

Yes, you are now entering a world of hurt, but this is still less painful than fannying around with standards conversion on the output you have and trying to get your footage back to PAL land. It will end up looking terrible and you will end up getting get thumped really hard in the head by the bride when she sees the DVD of her very special day.

You cannot buy pain killing tablets strong enough to counter the damage which can be inflicted by an enraged bride.

Lessons learned. You won't make this mistake again. I had 3000 feet of 35mm jump off the spool while rewinding one time and as a result, I don't leave the telecine machine unattended to go get a cup of coffee anymore.

Good luck.

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Answer 8

Pauly78 Author

Level 1

7 points

Oct 13, 2012 2:06 AM in response to Nick Holmes

oh no! i shot in 60i as i asked what would be the best shotting mode for my camera and import settings for FCP and i was told 1080/60i, i didnt even know what 50i and 60i was to be honest.

Is there anyway i can change the frame rate in FCP rather than edit the whole thing again?

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