P. 761) – Apple Final Cut Express HD User Manual
Page 761
Chapter 53
Working With Still Images and Photographs
761
IX
Considerations Before Creating and Importing Stills
Before you start creating graphics and importing still images for video, there are a few
things to be aware of if you are concerned about achieving the best possible quality in
your final product. These include:
 The correct frame size
 Differences in color between computer and video graphics (this includes the
maximum white sequence setting)
 Bit depth per pixel (number of bits used per pixel for each color channel)
 Flattening multilayer images
 Alpha channels
 Selecting fonts
 Creating line art for video
Deinterlacing Still Video Images to Improve Image Quality
Standard definition video is almost always interlaced, so still images created from
standard definition video are interlaced, too. A single frame of interlaced video
consists of two fields that were originally captured at different moments in time. If
there is a lot of motion in the video content of a frame (such as a ball quickly moving
past the camera), the two fields contain very different visual information. When the
entire frame is displayed, objects in motion have a comblike appearance because the
object appears in two places at once.
During normal video playback, interlacing is usually not very noticeable because the
fields are scanned so quickly. However, on still images, interlacing artifacts cause
some still images to flicker or strobe on an interlaced display (such as an NTSC or PAL
monitor). To eliminate interlacing artifacts, you can apply a deinterlacing filter in
Final Cut Express HD before you export a still image. (A deinterlacing filter simply
removes half the lines and interpolates the missing lines by using the remaining
lines.) You can also export the image without applying the filter, and then apply a
deinterlacing filter in a separate graphics application.
Important:
Final Cut Express HD often displays the Viewer and Canvas deinterlaced to
make the image clearer while you are editing. To make sure you catch any potential
interlacing artifacts in still images, always watch your video on a monitor that
matches your final screening format. For example, if you plan to output your movie to
an NTSC video format, you should monitor your sequence on an external NTSC
monitor. For more information about external monitoring, see “