getting rid of squished heads look at DVinfo.net

Willis Petti · November 29th, 2006, 12:27 PM

Hi,

I'm very new to HDV but have worked in SD in past.

I have captured some video on my Sony HC3 and want to put it on DVD.

I Have Final Cut Pro 5 and still learning to use it.

I have exported the same movie in 2 different modes, first one being the default settings, the second movie with NTSC DV settings. Both movies were made into Quicktime movies

when burned on to DVD using Toast, the default movie looked ok but some of the motion seemed to almost have a ghosting effect, the second movie with the DV settings had great color and didn't have the ghosting effect in motion ,but the heads were kinda squished and didn't look right.

I was wondering how I can get the great color and no ghosting of the DV settings without the squished heads. I also would like to get the 16:9 ratio (even tho I don't have a 16:9 tv, I just like the look of the black bars and seeing the entire picture).

I don't have a HD DVD player or burner so all movies will be played on SD for the near future.

I hope this makes sense and someone can help me

willis

Nick Weeks · November 29th, 2006, 05:38 PM

Do you just have Final Cut Pro? I'm guessing because you're using Toast you don't have Final Cut Studio which comes with DVD Studio Pro...

I'm not very familliar with Toast, so I can't really help you interpret how its encoding the videos to DVD.

But, on your FCP settings for 16:9, did you record the original footage in 16:9 or 4:3 on your HC3?

Willis Petti · November 29th, 2006, 06:15 PM

the original footage was taped in HDV so it would be 16x9 ratio

Nick Weeks · November 30th, 2006, 07:45 AM

The "squished" look is probably because you're not using the "anamorphic" preset in FCP. Try capturing your footage into a anamorphic project (I'm not on the Mac now so I couldn't tell you exactly where it is, but I believe its in "easy setups")

What this does is allows FCP to take the 16:9 footage from your camera and display it properly on your screen while editing.

I have Final Cut Studio, so when I export 16:9 into DVD studio pro, I will tell DVD SP to "letterbox" it on a 4:3 image, this puts the black bars at the top and bottom you're talking about.

Since you don't have DVD SP, I don't know how to tell you how to convert an anamorphic sequence in FCP to a letterboxed 4:3, maybe someone else can help you with that.

But, if Toast burns the exported anamorphic video on the DVD as anamorphic, and you have a newer 4:3 Sony TV, you can go into the options and turn on "enhanced 16:9" or similar which will letterbox the video for you.

Hope this helps

November 29th, 2006, 12:27 PM	#1
Willis Petti New Boot Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 19	getting rid of squished heads look Hi, I'm very new to HDV but have worked in SD in past. I have captured some video on my Sony HC3 and want to put it on DVD. I Have Final Cut Pro 5 and still learning to use it. I have exported the same movie in 2 different modes, first one being the default settings, the second movie with NTSC DV settings. Both movies were made into Quicktime movies when burned on to DVD using Toast, the default movie looked ok but some of the motion seemed to almost have a ghosting effect, the second movie with the DV settings had great color and didn't have the ghosting effect in motion ,but the heads were kinda squished and didn't look right. I was wondering how I can get the great color and no ghosting of the DV settings without the squished heads. I also would like to get the 16:9 ratio (even tho I don't have a 16:9 tv, I just like the look of the black bars and seeing the entire picture). I don't have a HD DVD player or burner so all movies will be played on SD for the near future. I hope this makes sense and someone can help me willis

November 29th, 2006, 05:38 PM	#2
Nick Weeks Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL USA Posts: 722	Do you just have Final Cut Pro? I'm guessing because you're using Toast you don't have Final Cut Studio which comes with DVD Studio Pro... I'm not very familliar with Toast, so I can't really help you interpret how its encoding the videos to DVD. But, on your FCP settings for 16:9, did you record the original footage in 16:9 or 4:3 on your HC3?

November 29th, 2006, 06:15 PM	#3
Willis Petti New Boot Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 19	the original footage was taped in HDV so it would be 16x9 ratio

November 30th, 2006, 07:45 AM	#4
Nick Weeks Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL USA Posts: 722	The "squished" look is probably because you're not using the "anamorphic" preset in FCP. Try capturing your footage into a anamorphic project (I'm not on the Mac now so I couldn't tell you exactly where it is, but I believe its in "easy setups") What this does is allows FCP to take the 16:9 footage from your camera and display it properly on your screen while editing. I have Final Cut Studio, so when I export 16:9 into DVD studio pro, I will tell DVD SP to "letterbox" it on a 4:3 image, this puts the black bars at the top and bottom you're talking about. Since you don't have DVD SP, I don't know how to tell you how to convert an anamorphic sequence in FCP to a letterboxed 4:3, maybe someone else can help you with that. But, if Toast burns the exported anamorphic video on the DVD as anamorphic, and you have a newer 4:3 Sony TV, you can go into the options and turn on "enhanced 16:9" or similar which will letterbox the video for you. Hope this helps