Final Cut Pro – Avoiding Interlacing Problems

update

NTSC and PAL video are both interlaced. So is any HD font that ends in the letter “i” — 1080i, for example.

Interlacing divides the image into alternating sets of lines – odd lines and even lines. Then, it displays first one set, then a fraction of a second later, the second set. Some formats, like NTSC, display the even lines first. Other formats, such as HDV, display the odd lines first.

To keep confusion to a minimum, FCP hides interlacing by displaying just one field at any time. If you want to see interlacing, set the magnification of either the Viewer or Canvas to 100%.

However, if you don’t take some precautions, interlacing can cause some bothersome visual anomalies to pop up in your video – indicated by thin horizontal lines radiating from all moving objects or wild flickering on still frames.

Here are two things to keep in mind:

* Still frames of interlaced video will always flicker, except you can’t see the flicker on a computer screen. Be sure to apply a deinterlace video filter.

* When compositing two images, if both are interlaced and both are scaled to 100%, be sure they align on even lines in the Motion tab (the right-hand number for the Center parameter).

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