Hey guys... my name is Jordan and I'm new to Anime Studio and animating in general. I've been working for several months now on an animation and am approaching the end. I have different files/scenes made in AS Pro and am going to edit them together in FCP...
I have done several tests and have realized I've made some "rookie" mistakes. I did not create my AS files with the same project dimensions. When i export my rendered files from AS, they look great. But upon insterting them into FC, they look distorted and less... clear. Any advice on the best settings to export my AS files to? And settings for FC? I'm looking to just create a cartoon I could put on the internet, nothing crazy, but it would be nice if the quality was as good as possible!
Also, if i change the dimensions of my specific project, i have to rescale my layers. When i do this, everything moves around and i would have to re-do a lot of work... Any suggestions, or am I too late?
I hope that all made sense, please let me know is something is unclear. This is my first animation, so it's not urgent, but it would be great to solve this issue! Thanks!
AS --> FCP
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
I've used FCE before, not Pro.
I'd imagine in Pro you'd be able to change your project settings to match your As project settings.
For a start try exporting with a .PNG codec from AS. That'll give you good quality on export from AS.
When you bring it in to FCP it may just be the preview window that makes the quality look bad, where in fact the quality's pretty good. In your user settings in FCP you can probably set the preview quality to low, medium or high.
What project settings do you have for both Anime Studio and Final Cut?
I'd imagine in Pro you'd be able to change your project settings to match your As project settings.
For a start try exporting with a .PNG codec from AS. That'll give you good quality on export from AS.
When you bring it in to FCP it may just be the preview window that makes the quality look bad, where in fact the quality's pretty good. In your user settings in FCP you can probably set the preview quality to low, medium or high.
What project settings do you have for both Anime Studio and Final Cut?
Hey Mikdog, thanks for the quick response. I'm currently not by my home computer so I will get back to you on my project settings for AS and FC.
However, I do know that the FC quality loss is not just on my preview screen because even when i export from FC, the quality is still poor. And yes, I have been matching my settings to the AS settings.
I will get back to you ASAP with the project settings as soon as i get home tonight... Thanks!
However, I do know that the FC quality loss is not just on my preview screen because even when i export from FC, the quality is still poor. And yes, I have been matching my settings to the AS settings.
I will get back to you ASAP with the project settings as soon as i get home tonight... Thanks!
Also, in FCP, instead of going to EXPORT QUICKTIME, see if you can adjust the settings for export manually. Try use the PNG codec again, make sure the size is the same as the video you exported from AS, with the same frame rate...if your video is getting squashed in from both sides maybe you're using a different aspect ratio, of your FCP project setting is set for DV or something. I had to fiddle quite a bit with FCE before I got the result I wanted. Was quite frustrating, but if you persist and keep experimenting you should come right.
I created a 16:9 scene in AS with a pink perfect circle in the middle of the screen, with four small circles in the corners of the screen. I rendered it out with no compression from AS, then brought it into FCE and could see pretty clearly, either within FCE or after export from FCE, when my video was being cropped (the circles in the corners of the video) if it was being squashed (due to the round circle in the middle being squashed), if screen jaggies were happening due to a jaggy circle, and if the colour was changing. It was very helpful. I'd change my FCE project settings and change the render settings and compression codecs until I got what I wanted. Was frustrating ha ha.
I created a 16:9 scene in AS with a pink perfect circle in the middle of the screen, with four small circles in the corners of the screen. I rendered it out with no compression from AS, then brought it into FCE and could see pretty clearly, either within FCE or after export from FCE, when my video was being cropped (the circles in the corners of the video) if it was being squashed (due to the round circle in the middle being squashed), if screen jaggies were happening due to a jaggy circle, and if the colour was changing. It was very helpful. I'd change my FCE project settings and change the render settings and compression codecs until I got what I wanted. Was frustrating ha ha.
Hi. I tried to install the updated tool and feel as though I'm doing something wrong.
Inside your zip file, there's a scripts folder with tools/utitilies/menu folders inside it. I took the files in those folders and put them in the similarly named folders in the ASP folder. Then I took the stuff in "script resources" from the zip file and put it in "resources" which is inside the ASP.app (I'm on a mac too). That should be it, right? When I click the key tool icon in ASP I get your error message that every single thing is missing.
Inside your zip file, there's a scripts folder with tools/utitilies/menu folders inside it. I took the files in those folders and put them in the similarly named folders in the ASP folder. Then I took the stuff in "script resources" from the zip file and put it in "resources" which is inside the ASP.app (I'm on a mac too). That should be it, right? When I click the key tool icon in ASP I get your error message that every single thing is missing.
If you're using FCP, you're going to want to export your image sequences like so:
Launch QuickTime Player.
Use the File menu and choose Open Image Sequence. Select any file within the folder and click Open. In the Image Sequence Settings dialog box, specify a frame rate.
Use the File menu and choose Save As. Leave the box titled "Make movie self-contained" unchecked. This will make a reference movie - which means that if you update your frames, this mov file should update as well.
This way you're not dragging 10,000 image files into your timeline - something I was doing until a friend pointed this out to me
Once you've got these files as referenced mov's - you can then start messing around in your clip Motion tab - basic motion settings.
You'll probably want to play with distort and scale to get things to work for ya.
Really though, you should go back and re-render at a specific frame size and make that your working standard for the project.
But if this is just for fun and learning - have at it!!
Launch QuickTime Player.
Use the File menu and choose Open Image Sequence. Select any file within the folder and click Open. In the Image Sequence Settings dialog box, specify a frame rate.
Use the File menu and choose Save As. Leave the box titled "Make movie self-contained" unchecked. This will make a reference movie - which means that if you update your frames, this mov file should update as well.
This way you're not dragging 10,000 image files into your timeline - something I was doing until a friend pointed this out to me
Once you've got these files as referenced mov's - you can then start messing around in your clip Motion tab - basic motion settings.
You'll probably want to play with distort and scale to get things to work for ya.
Really though, you should go back and re-render at a specific frame size and make that your working standard for the project.
But if this is just for fun and learning - have at it!!