deinterlacing question
 

I just created a file in Premiere using the Microsoft DV compression. I imported this file into After Effects. Now can I run deinterlacing after the file has been compressed?, let's say from AF, or should I've done this with the original footage from Premiere?.
I'll appreciate any suggestions

Doesnt matter at this point, it was interlaced in the camera to begin with, so de-interlacing it in Premiere will not gain you anything. I don't think either program has a decent de-interlacer, but i'd bet After Effects might do a *slightly* better job.

One of the reasons I broght this up is because during one of my renderings I was able to see a slight horisontal line right in the middle of the footage. It was really thin, I have made more versions of the same footage file using Magic Bullet and I think the thin line went away. But I was just wondering if deinterlacing is something that I should do all the time.

Actually, After Effects will allow you to deinterlace in a way slightly more sophisticated than just a "one-click" deinterlace function.

What I do in After Effects (a method you can find many mentions of here at dvinfo and elsewhere) is this:

*Import *two* copies of the video file.

*Right-click on the first copy and select Interpret Footage --> Main

*Under "Fields and Pulldown," at the "Separate Fields" drop-down, choose "Upper Field First." And check the "Motion Detect" box. Click OK

*Do the same for the second copy of the file, except at the "Separate Fields" drop-down, choose "Lower Field First."

*Drop the first copy into your composition. Then drop the second one in below it.

*Lower the top copy's opacity to 50%


In my opinion, this gives a better deinterlacing than something like Premiere's "one-click" solution.

That said, if you already own Magic Bullet, why not just stick with that -- aren't MB's deinterlacing capabilties really good to begin with?

As for when should you deinterlace -- I'd say if you need a non-interlaced final product, then you should deinterlace before you start adding graphics and other footage that comes from non-interlaced sources. For example, if you want to use After Effects to composite your original DV footage with images made in Photoshop, or if you want to add titles (especially ones that move), then I would deinterlace before adding those elements.

Thanks for that info. I actually followed that DVinfo technique, I also tried Magic Bullet. Does MB performs the deinterlacing automatically after you apply the film look presets?. I think the horizonatl line appeared because I did something wrong at first. Well is no longer there and I'm happy with what magic bullet does. I'll post my short pretty soon, I hope you guys check it out.

Al