Using Stabilize, cropping out black edges HD to SD at DVinfo.net

Mike Petrucco · June 13th, 2009, 06:13 AM

I am trying to sort out the cleanest workflow on this. My original footage is 1080p and final delivery will both 720p, and 480 on SD DVD. I have some clips that I sent to motion to stabilize (which came out amazingly good). I now need to crop them to get rid of the black on the sides from the clip getting stabilized and I am unsure of when in the workflow to crop. My timeline sequence is 1080p. All editing, CC, titling, etc. is finished and the only thing left is to take care of the cropping on these clips, and send to compressor for delivery.

Does anyone know, at this stage of the game, should I just crop them, or should I first copy this sequence into a 720p sequence? I am wondering which will get a better look, and I will try both and see for myself, but am unsure if there are known reasons to do do one over the other. The main concern I have is keeping to footage as sharp as possible, and I know I have extra resolution available going HD to SD, just want to get it right.

Thanks

Christopher Drews · June 13th, 2009, 11:48 PM

I don't think you mean crop... If your footage is black and doesn't exist outside of those areas, cropping would still only give you a black image.

What you're talking about is Zooming. You'll likely create a basic zoom and an origin shift to avoid those pesky black areas. This does indeed soften the image. The good news is your are downconverting. So, cut in 1080p, zoom in 1080p then output.

The other option is to create a new sequence without your treated clips. This sequence would be 720p. Drop in your 1080p treated clips, zoom in 720p.

I'm for the first method because I'm not sure your average viewer would ever spot the difference.

Anyway - hope this helps,
-C

Craig Parkes · June 14th, 2009, 05:52 AM

I'm not sure how Final Cut deals with downsizing compared to uprezzing, but in general super sampling (going down) should always look better than going up then going back down.

As such without tests on your footage (which is what you should do, follow the workflow for two clips and compare results) I would hazard a guess that the 'sharper' result with least chance for aliasing or artifacts would come from putting the footage straight into a 720 timeline and changing the scale settings until the black bars are out of frame.

Noah Kadner · June 14th, 2009, 10:10 AM

Use the scale control in the Motion tab of your clips.
Noah

Mitchell Lewis · June 14th, 2009, 11:01 AM

What Noah said ^^^^^ (easy)

Mike Petrucco · June 14th, 2009, 04:05 PM

Right, that's the easy part. I was curious if I should do that from within a 720 timeline, or in the 1080p timeline and then export as 720p. It looks pretty good going right from the 1080p timeline (other than any moving text in titles). I am going to try the other way and compare later today.

June 13th, 2009, 06:13 AM	#1
Mike Petrucco Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 98	Using Stabilize, cropping out black edges HD to SD I am trying to sort out the cleanest workflow on this. My original footage is 1080p and final delivery will both 720p, and 480 on SD DVD. I have some clips that I sent to motion to stabilize (which came out amazingly good). I now need to crop them to get rid of the black on the sides from the clip getting stabilized and I am unsure of when in the workflow to crop. My timeline sequence is 1080p. All editing, CC, titling, etc. is finished and the only thing left is to take care of the cropping on these clips, and send to compressor for delivery. Does anyone know, at this stage of the game, should I just crop them, or should I first copy this sequence into a 720p sequence? I am wondering which will get a better look, and I will try both and see for myself, but am unsure if there are known reasons to do do one over the other. The main concern I have is keeping to footage as sharp as possible, and I know I have extra resolution available going HD to SD, just want to get it right. Thanks

June 14th, 2009, 11:01 AM	#5
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	What Noah said ^^^^^ (easy) __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

June 13th, 2009, 11:48 PM	#2
Christopher Drews Major Player Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 628	I don't think you mean crop... If your footage is black and doesn't exist outside of those areas, cropping would still only give you a black image. What you're talking about is Zooming. You'll likely create a basic zoom and an origin shift to avoid those pesky black areas. This does indeed soften the image. The good news is your are downconverting. So, cut in 1080p, zoom in 1080p then output. The other option is to create a new sequence without your treated clips. This sequence would be 720p. Drop in your 1080p treated clips, zoom in 720p. I'm for the first method because I'm not sure your average viewer would ever spot the difference. Anyway - hope this helps, -C

June 14th, 2009, 05:52 AM	#3
Craig Parkes Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 444	I'm not sure how Final Cut deals with downsizing compared to uprezzing, but in general super sampling (going down) should always look better than going up then going back down. As such without tests on your footage (which is what you should do, follow the workflow for two clips and compare results) I would hazard a guess that the 'sharper' result with least chance for aliasing or artifacts would come from putting the footage straight into a 720 timeline and changing the scale settings until the black bars are out of frame.

June 14th, 2009, 10:10 AM	#4
Noah Kadner Better than Halle Berry Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 435	Use the scale control in the Motion tab of your clips. Noah

June 14th, 2009, 04:05 PM	#6
Mike Petrucco Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 98	Right, that's the easy part. I was curious if I should do that from within a 720 timeline, or in the 1080p timeline and then export as 720p. It looks pretty good going right from the 1080p timeline (other than any moving text in titles). I am going to try the other way and compare later today.