Trying To Use JPG Stills In Premiere Pro 2.0

[HarveyCee]

I can import a still photo from a digital camera in the .jpg format into the project (800x533 pixels).
They look good in the preview/source monitor.
I can place them on the timeline.
However, when in the program monitor (and timeline) they become slightly enlarged and out of focus.
I've looked at ever setting and dropdown menu I can find in the software, but can't find a way to stop the photos from being corrupted.

Anybody know a solution?

[daamon]

Hi HarveyCee,

I'm assuming you're project is the default NTSC 720 x 480... From that, it's clear your JPG's are bigger than that in both directions.

Premiere Pro can be set to use a JPG at it's original resolution - probably what you're seeing, or be forced to resize images to project settings. This last option is done by:

* Click: Project -> Project Settings
* Select "General" from the left.
* At the bottom of the "Video" section, there's a tick box (probably unticked) saying "Scale clips to project dimensions when adding to sequence". Tick that.

As for the reason why it's out of focus, it could be one of two things:

1) The original picture is (slightly) out of focus; and / or
2) The image displayed in the preview windows are a low resolution rough reproduction of what's being viewed - i.e. lower quality, resulting in a possible blurry look.

I'd say tick the tick box and actually render your project to DV AVI and view that in full resolution.

[HarveyCee]

Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately, there's no "Scale clips to project dimensions when adding to sequence" option at the bottom of the video section. And, all options that are there are "whited/faded out except for "Display Format" (for changing time code).

I resized the pic to 720x480, anyway, but it resulted in a squeezed picture.

For what it's worth, the same digital camera took these photos, as well as more that were used in a TV commercial last year, edited on a TV station's Premiere Pro 1.5. They all came out in focus and properly sized with that software. All I'm trying to do is re-master that commercial using the original photo files and adding two new pics to update the spot.

Although the other photos came out okay, edited with the older Premiere system, the other photos are not working on my new system either (as I've already described).

H.

[daamon]

I use Premiere Pro 1.5 - it seems that 2.0 is different in terms of options, but also in how it handles JPGs. Strange.

Try searching and / or posting in the forums at www.wrigleyvideo.com/forum/ - it's a very Adobe focussed site, with some very knowledgeable people there.

[PharmBoy]

I don't know how sold you are on using premiere but I use a program called memoriestodvd and then create a mpg file and place it into premiere if needed. Works great.

[HarveyCee]

I tried several, before buying, and liked PP2 because the interface was like operating tape machines. I've been editing on tape all my life and this is my first experience editing on a confuser, er, computer. Already spent a lot of bucks on PP2, so I'll stick it out for a while. Maybe all the issues I've enocuntered with NLE will shake out! I'm sure someone with the same system will see my post and have an answer.

If not, I guess I'll have to save more money to buy some new DV tape decks...

Thanks, all.

(signed)

Old Tape Guy

[kimco52]

I am an old tape editor as well. Started editing on those 2" Quad VTR's in television all the way through the 1", umats, betas, etc.

I have been using Premiere since version 4.2 in mid '90's. I am no expert however.

I frequently use jpgs and bmps in my videos. There is a difference in how the different Premiere's handle them but you eventually do the same thing....they just call it differently. I don't recall off the top of my head how to do it in PP2. You need to either resize your photo or there are a few clicks you go through to change it in Premiere. Or you leave it in it's original size and put "fill" around it to fill the screen.
It will be a few days before I can go see what the procedures are.

[HarveyCee]

My sincere thanks to Daamon for the hint/PP2 phrase that allowed me to find it.

I stayed up late last night, until my eyes would no longer register anything on a computer screen and came up with this procedure:

Place the JPG still on the timeline.
Place the Time Marker on the clip.
Highlight the clip.
Click on: CLIP tab.
Click on: VIDEO OPTIONS
Click on: SCALE TO FRAME SIZE

That'll do it. All the photos (previous and new) shrank back to normal size and were back in focus.

The only problem I have left is that although this worked perfectly with the previous JPGs (800x600), the two new JPGs that I'm trying to use in the commercial are 800x533 and now I have a grey horizontal border at the bottom of the picture.

The photographer told me that it was neccessary to give me the JPGs in 800x533 (instead of 800x600) to keep the proper aspect ratio. However, last year she gave them to me in 800x600 and there was no problem. Same digital camera, too. I'm going to try to resize the two new ones to 800x600 and see if that gets rid of the border and they don't look too bad to use.

And yes, I performed my very first tape edit on 2" wide, quad videotape with a razor blade and that "developing" chemical that reveals the vertical sync pulse that you must cut on to avoid a glitch in the playback video. I loved those machines- practically lived with them!

H.

[kimco52]

Although it has been many many years since I touched a TR70, I could still walk into a room with one and run it as though it were just yesterday I last used one. It is like playing a piano or riding a bike.

I wore out many shoe tips on that brake release bar at the bottom. They were great decks (as were the Ampexes). A good tape op could remove one tape, put another tape on and cue it up in less time than doing it with a beta or other cassette option.

[dcsos]

Did you have a wrench to finesse the heads?
I remember tweaking the heads to output equally with allen key
on AMPEX or RCA quads

meanwhile thanks,
The feature you are using in Prem Pro is called "maintain aspect ratio" in the older Premiere
and was much easier to select (you could right click clips directly on the time line to make sure they didn't stretch or defocus to fit the selected output size)

[kimco52]

Yes, I did use a wrench but only occasionally. Mainly when replacing the head and doing initial adjustments.
The compressed air and vacuum that was constantly running in the tape room is part of the reason I know have tenitis, I believe. Sitting in the tape room with those sounds for years makes for ringing ears later in life.

Yes, it was easier to fix the stills in the older Premiere. Many things were. Premiere Pro does more and still does the same things as the older versions but many are not as simple and require extra steps to accomplish the same task.

[HarveyCee]

I still have the service manual for the Ampex 1200 someplace in my storage locker...

[dcsos]

I think it was a 1000pages or more, no?
2 Bookbinders, 1 service, 1 operation
Try making a PDF of that!
its the 8th Picture on this page
http://www.chalkhillmedia.org/Museum/newstuff.htm
A PDF of a few meg would render all that tossable!

[HarveyCee]

Memories!

Thanx, dcsos.

Oh, I have a working Ampex VPR-80 (with TBC) resting in my internet radio/TV station control room.

Don't know what I'm going to use it for, yet...

[kimco52]

Yeah, some nice pics on that site. I had not seen that site. I have been watching a different one for several years which is full of interesting stuff:
http://www.pharis-video.com/

Chuck Pharis has been collecting stuff for years... I have seen his exhibits at NAB's annual show. He restores stuff and gets it working again.

Boy, that Collins 212 console has seen better days.
There was a time.... oh 30+ years ago.... when I thought I would have an RCA TR70 in my garage one day. But then I had to stop and think.... "Why?". Where would I get the vacuum, air supply, electricity, blank tape, etc. Yeah, I had my collection of outtakes and misc "goodie" stuff on stacks of 2" tape. One night, I dubbed most of it to 1/2" helical when that first came out in 1973. I still kept the 2" reels though in my garage. I started tossing them out in the '80's when everything went to 1" and I knew I would never have a quad machine in the garage or even access to one in the future. It wasn't that many years ago that I tossed most all my 1" stuff. I wouldn't be getting one of those, either. I can still play them on one machine we still have in our tape room. I don't think the power has been on for over a year. Can't get parts anymore. I dubbed most of them to beta. But I think I am going to have to decide whether to keep them or put on DVD or ????. I still have 8 reels of the 1/2" helical tapes from my quad dubs. The best ones were loaned to a "friend" in the '80's and he somehow "lost" them.
I have no machine to play them on now. I borrowed one years ago and dubbed some to home beta tape. If I put them in one of my beta (not beta-sp) decks now, the oxide might load up the heads instantly.

Yeah, those were the days and those were big machines.