Working with AS Clips in Final Cut
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 5:59 pm
I've been animating clips in AS Pro 6, then exporting *.mov files to Final Cut with the intention of customizing the transitions between them and adding multiple soundtrack layers and effects before rendering my final file to share on YouTube. I've run into some problems and would like guidance from any of you who may be using AS clips in Final Cut. I tried Apple's Final Cut forum first but had no luck.
The transitions I add between scenes in Final Cut seem to last only one frame. I cannot seem to get the transitions to last like 1 second or two seconds which is what I would prefer. Video clips from my camcorder can transition longer, but the clips from AS don't seem to behave the same way. Each clip is about 20 seconds in length so that shouldn't be an issue. Perhaps I should be using other settings in AS when creating the file. I use QuickTime movie as the output type and Animation as the compression. Do you use other settings when creating files for use in Final Cut? (In the past I've just used transitions within AS, but I'm working on a much more complex project now and my *.anme file will grow to about 5 GB unless I split them into separate projects!)
When I'm editing in Final Cut, the aspect ratio appears to be fine (16:9, my source clips from AS were 1280x720 resolution). When I export from Final Cut the file plays 4:3 (same result playing in QuickTime, Divx, VLC). I still have not played with all the export options here, so that is probably something I need to fix in Final Cut. Have any of you exported your animations 16:9 from Final Cut? What settings did you use?
I also took the same AS clips into iMovie to see if they would behave differently. In iMovie I was able to add my 2 second transitions between clips and export retaining the 16:9 aspect ratio. Huzzah! iMovie does not allow as many audio tracks, however, and the layered sounds are a big part of this project. I could add more sound effects within AS and export the clips again, I suppose, but then it would be a huge pain if I had to go back to change sounds later in the project (which is often something I need to do). It would be ideal if I could just create the source clips in AS and work on all sounds, transitions, etc. within Final Cut.
Have any of you done something similar? Do you have any suggestions for me as to what settings I should use? I can send you sample files if you cannot seem to recreate the problem I have with transitions in Final Cut. I'm sure I just have something configured incorrectly. Thanks to anyone who responds with some ideas for me! I greatly appreciate your help!
The transitions I add between scenes in Final Cut seem to last only one frame. I cannot seem to get the transitions to last like 1 second or two seconds which is what I would prefer. Video clips from my camcorder can transition longer, but the clips from AS don't seem to behave the same way. Each clip is about 20 seconds in length so that shouldn't be an issue. Perhaps I should be using other settings in AS when creating the file. I use QuickTime movie as the output type and Animation as the compression. Do you use other settings when creating files for use in Final Cut? (In the past I've just used transitions within AS, but I'm working on a much more complex project now and my *.anme file will grow to about 5 GB unless I split them into separate projects!)
When I'm editing in Final Cut, the aspect ratio appears to be fine (16:9, my source clips from AS were 1280x720 resolution). When I export from Final Cut the file plays 4:3 (same result playing in QuickTime, Divx, VLC). I still have not played with all the export options here, so that is probably something I need to fix in Final Cut. Have any of you exported your animations 16:9 from Final Cut? What settings did you use?
I also took the same AS clips into iMovie to see if they would behave differently. In iMovie I was able to add my 2 second transitions between clips and export retaining the 16:9 aspect ratio. Huzzah! iMovie does not allow as many audio tracks, however, and the layered sounds are a big part of this project. I could add more sound effects within AS and export the clips again, I suppose, but then it would be a huge pain if I had to go back to change sounds later in the project (which is often something I need to do). It would be ideal if I could just create the source clips in AS and work on all sounds, transitions, etc. within Final Cut.
Have any of you done something similar? Do you have any suggestions for me as to what settings I should use? I can send you sample files if you cannot seem to recreate the problem I have with transitions in Final Cut. I'm sure I just have something configured incorrectly. Thanks to anyone who responds with some ideas for me! I greatly appreciate your help!