Finishing HDV1 (720p- PAL) project
 

Hello all,
i've shot a short film using JVC HD251 HDV format, mini35 adapter and 35mm lenss. then I captured the materials directly to Avid Liquid, which isn't what i'm use to... but it works...
now, I'm before the finishing stage. My footage has some green screen/composing shot to do. When trying to export the file to after effects, it seems that i get quite a low-quality output, my questions are :

1. What is the best way to export ready-to-process files from liquid to ae ? exporting QT, using Fuse (uncompressed AVI) ?
2. Will I have any quality benefits from recapturing the HDV matirals using an uncompressed card ?
3. I can't find the correct time code in the liquid clips, does it has any?

any finishing work-flow tips would be of a great help
thanks,
alon.

If you haven't done so, you might want to post your question on the Liquid forum:
http://forums.pinnaclesys.com/forums/134/ShowForum.aspx

I have found that import and export of files for use in other programs is one of Liquid's weak points. There is not an integrated flow like in Edius or Premiere.

But it is possible and there are some detailed instructions on how to get good qwuality out of Liquid and into After Effects and possibly back into Liquid.

The best place to find the links to the instructions (some of them are on the old archived Liquid forum) is on the new Liquid forum.

We shot a commercial in the same format and found the best result for workflow was to transcode files to quicktimes using the avid DNxHD codec. We did this on Media Composer (don't know liquid to well) but all should be the same. Export as a quicktime and AE will have no problems, We had some problems after installing latest ver of quicktime so make sure your on the approved version from avid web site.

We used Pro Coder 2 for transcoding. If you only went to tape use the jvc program to capture for your transcoding software. We recorded dir to a Focus drive in the m2t format.

Good luck