anthonyfromnorthvancouver
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: how do I stop still images from pixellating?

I have some still images that were imported from iphoto to FCE 4.  They appear clear when I work with them in the viewer, however once they are in the timeline they appear pixellated in the canvas.  Is there a fix?

Tony

lion, Mac OS X (10.7), No longer available from apple

Posted on Jun 15, 2014 3:49 PM

Close
anthonyfromnorthvancouver

Q: how do I stop still images from pixellating?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Meg The Dog,

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Jun 15, 2014 4:29 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver
    Level 6 (11,168 points)
    Video
    Jun 15, 2014 4:29 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver

    Have you rendered your timeline?

     

    MtD

  • by anthonyfromnorthvancouver,

    anthonyfromnorthvancouver anthonyfromnorthvancouver Jun 15, 2014 5:14 PM in response to Meg The Dog
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 15, 2014 5:14 PM in response to Meg The Dog

    Yes, I have.  Some pictures seem fine, others not so much.

  • by Meg The Dog,

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Jun 15, 2014 6:01 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver
    Level 6 (11,168 points)
    Video
    Jun 15, 2014 6:01 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver

    Are all the still pictures the same source dimensions?

     

    MtD

  • by anthonyfromnorthvancouver,

    anthonyfromnorthvancouver anthonyfromnorthvancouver Jun 15, 2014 6:09 PM in response to Meg The Dog
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 15, 2014 6:09 PM in response to Meg The Dog

    I think you are refering to length and width ratios? If so then, no, they are all a little different.

  • by Meg The Dog,

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Jun 15, 2014 6:31 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver
    Level 6 (11,168 points)
    Video
    Jun 15, 2014 6:31 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver

    No,  I am asking what the original pixel dimensions of the source pictures are. If you scroll the FCE browser over to the right, you should see the Frame Size column for your source images:

     

    Final Cut ProScreenSnapz001.png

    Please report the Frame Size for your source images, and if the images that are causing you pixelation are a different frame size.

     

    Also, please report the frame size of your Sequence.

     

    Thanks

     

    MtD

  • by anthonyfromnorthvancouver,

    anthonyfromnorthvancouver anthonyfromnorthvancouver Jun 15, 2014 7:24 PM in response to Meg The Dog
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 15, 2014 7:24 PM in response to Meg The Dog

    Frame size of the sequence is 720x480. I looked at everything more carefully by enlarging the canvas and there are more incidents of pixellation than previously noted. Concerning the pixel demensions of source pictures, they vary quite a bit.

    e.g.

     

    1829x2858

    1572x2525

    2800x1600

    3586x2768

    3531x2758

    1979x1275

    1669x2391

     

    Don't know if this helps but most of these pictures are pretty old, scanned to iphoto, cleaned up and cropped keeping mostly to their original demensions before being imported into FCE.  I don't think there are any two the same.

     

    Thanks,

     

    T

  • by Meg The Dog,Helpful

    Meg The Dog Meg The Dog Jun 15, 2014 7:37 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver
    Level 6 (11,168 points)
    Video
    Jun 15, 2014 7:37 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver

    OK, FCE is reducing the images to fit within the 720x480 frame of your sequence. This means it has to toss out a lot of pixels to reduce the image to fit. This conversion results in the apparent pixelation.

     

    I assume you are editing to Standard Definition for a reason?

     

    One way to mask the effects of the pixel compression is to apply to the clips in the timeline a slight gaussian blur. If you apply the gaussian blur, set it to .2 radius:

     

    Final Cut ProScreenSnapz002.png

     

    This will smooth the image without reducing the sharpness too much, as should reduce quite a bit of the pixel noise.

     

    MtD

  • by MartinR,Helpful

    MartinR MartinR Jun 15, 2014 8:38 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver
    Level 6 (14,891 points)
    Jun 15, 2014 8:38 PM in response to anthonyfromnorthvancouver

    FCE is reducing the size of the photos to fit your Sequence.  (And it's not very good at reducing photos that are more than about 2x or 3x the frame size of your sequence, which in your case is only 720x480.)

     

    Use Photoshop, Elements, Pixelmator or similar photo editing app to reduce the size of one of your pictures to something not more than about 2x your Sequence frame size ... that would be around 1440x960 max  (those actual dimensions aren't important, just resize your photo to this general size).  Import the photo into FCE, then see how the results compare.  If you like the results, do the same with your other pix.

  • by anthonyfromnorthvancouver,

    anthonyfromnorthvancouver anthonyfromnorthvancouver Jun 16, 2014 12:50 PM in response to MartinR
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 16, 2014 12:50 PM in response to MartinR

    Thankyou. Both pieces of advice helped. I lessened the frame size and then gave the picts a 4:3 (DVD) aspect ratio and it seemed to do the trick. Now I understand what not to do next time.