Importing still images into 16:9 anamorphic timeline at DVinfo.net

Waldemar Winkler · May 20th, 2007, 02:11 PM

I'm importing a digital still image 720x480 @ 300dpi of a building that has strong diagonal roof lines in FCP5. The project is formatted to DV 48k anamorphic.

The diagonal lines are horribly jagged. in the Canvas, but the same image in the viewer is pristine.

What am I doing wrong?

Boyd Ostroff · May 20th, 2007, 04:17 PM

If you import at 720x480 still image into an anamorphic timeline it will get stretched out of proportion. Does the image look correct in Photoshop on your monitor? When you drop it into FCP in a 16:9 sequence it will effectively be stretched to 852x480 since DV pixels aren't square like computer monitor pixels.

There are various approaches, but what I would do is crop the image to the 16:9 aspect ratio first in Photoshop. So for an image 720 pixels wide the height would be 720 x 9 / 16 = 405 pixels. But you could crop it to any size as needed to fit the composition as long as the width = height x 1.78. After you've done that, resize the image to 720x480 without constraining the proportions. This will insure that the final image is the correct proportions in FCP.

As for the flickering, you could apply a slight blur, deinterlace or use a plug-in like Joes' Field Blender and see if that helps.

Waldemar Winkler · May 22nd, 2007, 03:09 PM

Thank You.

May 20th, 2007, 02:11 PM	#1
Waldemar Winkler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Durango, Colorado, USA Posts: 711	Importing still images into 16:9 anamorphic timeline I'm importing a digital still image 720x480 @ 300dpi of a building that has strong diagonal roof lines in FCP5. The project is formatted to DV 48k anamorphic. The diagonal lines are horribly jagged. in the Canvas, but the same image in the viewer is pristine. What am I doing wrong? __________________ Waldemar

May 22nd, 2007, 03:09 PM	#3
Waldemar Winkler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Durango, Colorado, USA Posts: 711	Thank You. __________________ Waldemar

May 20th, 2007, 04:17 PM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	If you import at 720x480 still image into an anamorphic timeline it will get stretched out of proportion. Does the image look correct in Photoshop on your monitor? When you drop it into FCP in a 16:9 sequence it will effectively be stretched to 852x480 since DV pixels aren't square like computer monitor pixels. There are various approaches, but what I would do is crop the image to the 16:9 aspect ratio first in Photoshop. So for an image 720 pixels wide the height would be 720 x 9 / 16 = 405 pixels. But you could crop it to any size as needed to fit the composition as long as the width = height x 1.78. After you've done that, resize the image to 720x480 without constraining the proportions. This will insure that the final image is the correct proportions in FCP. As for the flickering, you could apply a slight blur, deinterlace or use a plug-in like Joes' Field Blender and see if that helps.