Problems with scrolling text in FCP.

Dear All,

I have been dealing all day with this silly little problem which has become a big problem! I am grateful to any help from anyone.

Am working on a Powerbook G4, OS 10.4.9, FCP 4.5HD, DV NTSC project.
I put in scrolling text credits at the end of the film over black slug. THe credits jitter like crazy as they scroll up the screen. Also when I output to a quicktime with no compression I get this. I am using 32 point helvetica cy, 90% white.

Thanks in advance to anyone reading this.

Kind regards,
Robert


PS. I checked the old messages and found others with this problem but still I have not found a solution.

Do you have LiveType? Do your titles in there. Read this. Much easier than doing it in FCP.

[www.lafcpug.org]

Michael Horton
-------------------

> The credits jitter like crazy as they scroll up the screen.

Apply a Flicker Filter to it and check again. Also, where did you make the name card? If it's a Photoshop card or any still-image file (TIFF, TGA, JPEG, PSD etc.), make sure the dimensions aren't overlarge (over 1440x960) or oversmall (eg. 320x240), and make it 72dpi.


www.derekmok.com

In my experience the flicker filter will help but not cure. Its all in the math. LiveType seems to solve the math problem thus its easier. Or just get the title package from CHV or Lyric and let that do the work.

Michael Horton
-------------------

There's also the thing about DV. Doesn't handle text all that well. Could also try putting it into an Uncompressed SD sequence and rendering out the text stage from there.


www.derekmok.com

>Also when I output to a quicktime with no compression I get this.

Are you using the "None" Codec? That's an RGB 8-bit codec. Drag your sequence into a clean Uncompressed NTSC timeline, as what Derek says.

>THe credits jitter like crazy as they scroll up the screen.

If you're having white text against a blackground, you could try lowering the whites to 80 or 85%. Add an outline and white shadow to aid the readability of text. Most of video uses interlacing, which isn't very text friendly, especially when you have hard edges or fine lines... Also, use the Boris text tool if you want to do it in FCP. The default scroll text lacks a lot of key functions you'd want in a scrolling text (selectively changing font size is one). Alternatively, you could also try working it in AE.

Here's a read up...

[www.lafcpug.org]


>Do you have LiveType? Do your titles in there. Read this. Much easier than doing it in FCP.

I should try that myself... Tried redoing some scrolling credits in Motion 2 today (the ppc version). Was a waste of time. Saved the project, reopened it and the spacing was all messed up. Then after a while, I couldn't change the font size- it will just apply to all the rest of the text beneath it...

If Livetype works for you, drop a note here, and I'll do it myself...



www.strypesinpost.com

Yeah, round tripping in Motion is a real iffy thing isn't it. Same with STP and Color. Maybe Mark can write an article on "Perfect Round Tripping with Motion and Final Cut Pro." He seems to know the secrets.

Michael Horton
-------------------

>round tripping in Motion is a real iffy thing isn't it.

I haven't even gotten to that stage yet. Just couldn't change the font size properly after like 5 minutes into the program...



www.strypesinpost.com

WoW. Thanks to everyone for so much advice so quickly! Sorry to get back to all of you so late - I am in Europe.

THis is a bit embarassing but I am just a wee amateur at FCP compared to you experts. So unfortunately I have to ask some naive questions about your respones.

So first of all I unfortunately do not have livetype.

Re: Derek:
Derek sorry but I do not know what an SD sequence is? How do I create one??
">If you're having white text against a blackground, you could try lowering the whites to 80 or 85%. Add an outline and white shadow to aid the readability of text."
Derek sorry but I do not know how to add an outline to the text? Should the white shadow also be 80% white?

Derek and Michael - the interlace filter helped a little but unfortunately did not solve the problem.

Strypes - yes I am using the "none" codec for making the quicktime. Sorry but what is AE??

Many thanks to all of you for your generous help.

Kind regards,
Robert

Read this:

[www.lafcpug.org]

SD: Standard Definition. "Uncompressed SD" would be an Uncompressed 8-bit or 10-bit codec, which are far superior (and take up more storage and processing) than DV. Look in your Easy Setup options. DV is also Standard Definition, as opposed to High Definition (HD).

AE: Adobe After Effects.

> If you're having white text against a blackground, you could try lowering the whites to 80 or
> 85%. Add an outline and white shadow to aid the readability of text."
> Derek sorry but I do not know how to add an outline to the text? Should the white shadow
> also be 80% white?

That was strypes.
Shadows are available in the Motion tab of the Viewer. However, outlines aren't available except in LiveType, or if you use the Boris Title 3D plugin in FCP for the text.

Do you have an instructor with you, Robert? You sound like you need on-site personal support, rather than relying on internet fora. There are too many variables in what you're working with.


www.derekmok.com

>yes I am using the "none" codec for making the quicktime.

Don't use it. None isn't an editable codec. It's enormous and only used for archival. Also, you'll be switching color spaces. If you're working on video formats, most of them work in YCbCr (YUV) space (same goes if you're going out on DVD).

What are you going out to? And where are you seeing the jitter?

If you are going out to DVD, and you should be previewing the video on a broadcast monitor or a TV set. Computer screens usually play both fields together, so you'll get combing patterns on moving objects (including text).



www.strypesinpost.com

Without looking at the project I don't know how much help this can be... a suggestion...

if there is a Checkbox option on the text effect for Raster, check it. This will allow the text to be smooth no matter the scale. Check it out. Or, you may want to adjust the duration and make the effect LONGER so it is not as noticeable. Adjust the speed too may help.

Best of luck.

Thanks everyone - I will try out everything! You are all very generous.

Unfortunately I do not see in fcphd 4.5 a checkbox for text effect raster.

Cheers,
Robert

>Unfortunately I do not see in fcphd 4.5 a checkbox for text effect raster.

FCP isn't a vector processing app. It only takes in rastered effects. So there won't be any checkboxes for that.

>None isn't an editable codec.

To add to my previous post, create a new sequence and set that to 10 bit Uncompressed and drop your final edit sequence onto it, as Derek mentioned earlier.

Here's a quick checklist:

- Skip the default text tool in FCP (it's convenient, but not very good quality). Use Boris instead, which provides better quality text.

- Don't use small fonts and fonts with very thin lines. Helvetica is alright for video, and set the brightness to 90% max to prevent the text from "blooming". Don't make the motion too fast either.

- Do not scale the video in the motion tab in the viewer. Boris is a vector processing app, so do the scaling there instead.

- Do not use "none", use 10 bit Uncompressed, if you can.



www.strypesinpost.com

I had the same problem.

Then I bought CHV titles package.

Now I'm happy, rich and get loads of sex.

Harry.

Harry Bromley-Davenport.

Hahaha!!!

Thanks Harry for the advice. Wow what great results!

Thanks again to everyone for your help and to strypes for your most recent advice.

Best regards,
Robert

Boris Title Crawl. Works every time for me. We're talkin' broadcast.

Kevin Monahan
Social Support Lead, DV Products
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>Boris Title Crawl

There seems to be a bug (not sure if it exists for Boris Title 3D)... When you use 2 Boris Title Crawls on the same sequence, do NOT assign different alignments to them. Both will end up defaulting to either one alignment or the other.

But what's cool about it, is that it's simple, and the quality's much much better than the default FCP text tool.



www.strypesinpost.com