My Canon HV20 shoots at widescreen (1920×1080) when set at HD Standard. But when I output the edited video in Final Cut Pro version 5.1.4, the videos came out distorted.
After experimenting with me online for nearly 2 hours, Rupert Howe of Twittervlog.tv (check out this entertaining video of setting up his house for his new baby) came up with a hack that worked. This version of FCP was just beginning to grapple with high-definition video, which FCP handles better in subsequent releases.
Here is the solution [update: this isn’t working, see below]:
Fixing distorted exports in Final Cut Pro
Version 1
Step 1: Go to Final Cut Pro’s Final Cut Pro tab > Audio/Video Settings > Sequence Presets
Step 2: Duplicate a Preset (mine was: HDV – 1080i60)
Step 3: Edit it. The settings that worked for me were:
Frame Size: 1440 x 1080
Aspect Ratio: HD (1440×1080) (16:9)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
Place a checkmark in the Anamorphic 16:9 box
Save/hit OK
Step 4: Create a new sequence
Step 5: on your media file in the FCP browser, add a checkmark to Anamorphic. The Sequence should already have a checkmark for Anamorphic.
Step 6: Drag the media file down to your timeline
Step 7: In your Canvas, go to the size dropdown button and uncheck “Show as Sq. Pixels”
Now when you Export (compress) your video for QuickTime, iPod or iPhone, it will no longer be distorted.
For every new project, you’ll be able to skip Steps 1-4 but will need to do Steps 5 and 7 for each new video.
A second routine, which also worked for me, was this:
Version 2
Step 1: Go to Final Cut Pro’s Final Cut Pro tab > Audio/Video Settings > Sequence Presets
Step 2: Duplicate a Preset (mine was: HDV – 1080i60)
Step 3: Edit it. The settings that worked for me were:
Frame Size: 1440 x 1080
Aspect Ratio: HD (1440×1080) (16:9)
Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1440×1080)
Anamorphic 16:9 leave it unchecked
Save/hit OK
Step 4: Create a new sequence
Step 5: on your media file in the FCP browser, check Anamorphic. Leave the Sequence unchecked for Anamorphic
Step 6: Drag the media file down to your timeline
Step 7: In your Canvas, go to the size dropdown button and uncheck “Show as Sq. Pixels”
Now when you Export (compress) your video for QuickTime, iPod or iPhone, it will no longer be distorted.
For every new project, you’ll be able to skip Steps 1-4 but will need to do Steps 5 and 7 for each new video.
Update
Well, I spoke too soon. This isn’t working and after spending 4 hours on it I’m about to pull my hair out.
Problem 1: Using this method, I can’t output in MPEG-4 H.264, which I’ve been doing for years using iMovie and, until this week, FCP.
Problem 2: Using this method, iPhone and iPod movies come out fine, but QuickTime movies are still distorted. So, since my videos need to be in QuickTime or MPEG-4, it’s back to the drawing board.
I’ll return to the original export method, with the standard HDV sequence settings, and I’ll be able to produce my videos in .mp4 but will have to export a .DV Stream to QuickTime Pro so I can convert for use on iPhone.
Problem 3: Using this method, all of the type in the titles I use get squeezed about 20-30%.
I just output the movie, using the above method, as a .flv Flash movie. It looks fine. Unfortunately, my favorite video hosting site, Vimeo, doesn’t support .flv uploads. But Ourmedia and Viddler do, so I’ll try those. Here’s the .flv video on Viddler.
JD Lasica, founder of Inside Social Media, is also a fiction author and the co-founder of the cruise discovery engine Cruiseable. See his About page, contact JD or follow him on Twitter.
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