Does anybody know how to make my Titles look more film like?
 

I'm working in FCP HD and am using LiveType to do my titles. I shot a feature on Panasonic DVX-100A 24p camera and am doing the post now. The titles I would like to look like film titles. Currently, once rendered, they look like they have that "computer video" appearance, which in my opinion gives a cheap-o look to the film. How do I get rid of that?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueler?

Create them in another application, such as After Effects.

What you see on your computer monitor may not be what your going to see on a regular ntsc monitor. I had the same problem. The titles looked really bad. But when I played it on a Tv Monitor it was fine.

I checked them on my Sony Trinitron consumer big screen TV and they looked like ass. Well, looked good, but looked like video. Why would After FX do a better job. Is it a higher quality program for titling? I thought LiveType was pro level?

AE is a high end compositing software package. It does a great job with titles. Livetype pales in comparison, for it only does one thing (titles). Livetype is a semi-pro to pro app, but it is designed for video, this the video look.

AE does a much better job with titles, and is used for feature films. But the titling you usually see on features is very high end with huge size image outputs (2K resolution).

Does After FX do 2k resolution? If not, what for mac does?

Make sure that your titles are frame based rather than field bases, and perhaps soften them a bit with a blur, or layer a blurred version of themselves on top of themselves with a blending mode like screen or overlay, and if they're over video, drop the transparency a bit.

Are you editing on a 29.97 fps or a 23.98fps timeline?/

Graeme

<<<-- Originally posted by Laurence Maher : Does After FX do 2k resolution? If not, what for mac does? -->>>

After Effect ABSOLUTELY does 2K resolution. It is used for feature work. I know the editor for THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES made temp transitions and effects on his laptop with AE...and the VFX guys just bumped teh resolution to 2K and adjusted the effects slightly.

Also, I'd do your titles in an uncompressed codec, or PhotoJPEG100% (no fields), especially if you're going to DVD as it will give better quality than DV.

BTW, what has 2k processing got to do with titles on a DV movie, unless it's going to film out, in which case going a 1920x1080 HD route would be much more cost effective than 2k anway.

Graeme

I'm was editing 29.97. But now I'm going to edit 23.98. I'm not sure how you'd dd our titles in an uncompressed codec and still put it into a 23.98 timeline? Advice?

Thanks.

Wow . . .

Just tried the same titles created by LiveType in a 23.98 timeline and this . . . really looks . . . bad.

Even worse than before. Looks jittery, very un-fluid movement. Do I have to do this in a true 24p to make it look good or what? (as opposed to 23.98?)

Responses please.

Thanks!

There seems to be a relationship between frame rate and scrolling speed that needs to be worked out. I don't know the formula, but there will be a speed that will match the frame-rate field for field or line by line (or multiples of) and then it will look much better. Then, as Graeme mentioned, if you blur it a bit it will look less video-ish. It will also help if you don't use 100% white.

Just checked it out at 23.98 on dvd burn on tv and thee quality of the lettering itself looks pretty good, but the titles are moving and that movement looks choppy, not smooth. That's probably due to the movement effects done in FCP, I'd imagine. I also assume this is like scrolling speed and I'll need to do some tests with different speeds.

Any ideas?

I have a favorite program for titling...
Photoshop!

I design the titles exactly as I want them to look, including colored gradient backgrounds etc. When I import the PSD file into FCP, each layer becomes a track, and everything can be animated with motion control using keyframes.

I don't know how "filmic" it looks, never having gone out to film with these projects, but it sure is much more appealing than the clunky look of doing it natively.

Good idea to use Photoshop, you will be taking advantage of the program's anti-aliased text rendering!