Newbie Question: Resizing clip?

[VideoE]

I'm new to Edius and I've got a peculiar system of editing, hope Edius can help.
I've been shooting live theater/dance shows with a FX-1, shooting 1080i. In another app, PPro, I would capture the footage both as DV and HDV and edit in a standard definition project. The DV version would allow me to edit in realtime, the HDV captured footage would allow me to get 'close-ups' of the same performace because the HDV footage would be such a larger frame than the SD project.

I'm trying the same thing in Edius, except I'm capturing just the HDV footage, changing the output setting to standard def DV, and then hoping I can rescale parts of the HDV footage up for the close ups. (Edius has already rescaled the HDV footage to app. 45% to fit nicely in the SD output.) But Edius works differently, and I cannot find a way of cutting sections of the longer HDV clip and rescaling or resizing back to 100% of the clips original size to get the 'close-ups'. Layout kinda works, but it doesn't seem to be keyframeable, and I see no basic motion/size functions as I would in Premiere Pro's clip effects window.

Any suggetstions?

[Rusty]

You can use 3dPnP, but don't expect miracles...
3dPnP also scales, but quality may suffer.
Also, expect less RT performance as well.

(no great answer)

[antonsvideo]

if you use the layout tool to zoom into the HDV clip, your quality will be fine and it will be realtime when you add the HDV clip to a standard def timeline unless your PC is 10 years old

[VideoE]

Rusty, it looks as though you were right. The PinP 3D seems to degrade the image appropriate to its being sized over 100%, even though the original clip was 1440 x 1080 and is in a 720 x 480 project, so I have enough pixels in the original footage to keep from degrading the image at all.

I realize this is probably due to the nature of how Edius 'automatically' adjusts the footage to fit different outputs, but is there some sort of 'manual overide' ? Could I put Canopus HQ codec HDV sized footage in a Standard Def project so that I would be fitting the whole frame by sizing smaller the footage to 45% except where I wanted 'close-ups' and then I could use PinP to resize 'less small ? (Quick reality check-Am I confusing people?)

[antonsvideo]

did you try what I suggested?

[VideoE]

Anton, thanks for the name I forgot-Layout Tool. Somehow I missed your post, so in answer to your question, no. I had found the layout tool by accident almost a week ago, but in experimenting today, could not remember its name, I kept thinking it was tied into the information palette somehow. Anyway, when I get back to the studio tomorrow, I will work with it.

I'm assuming that I use the Layout Tool to resize the clip to 1440 x 1080 in the SD project, then use the 3d PinP tool to resize down? (I actually do pan & scan and some resizing in my close-up clips.) Or do you have another technique? Thanks again for the reminder- I'm still in tryout mode with this program and fumbling around like crazy...
Eric

[antonsvideo]

I'm assuming that I use the Layout Tool to resize the clip to 1440 x 1080 in the SD project, then use the 3d PinP tool to resize down? (I actually do pan & scan and some resizing in my close-up clips.) Or do you have another technique? Thanks again for the reminder- I'm still in tryout mode with this program and fumbling around like crazy...
Eric

wrong, don't use 3D PIP at all

you can zoom to the section you need with the layout tool and the quality will be excellent

you can't have an animated zoom but I don't think that's what you are after

[Ron Evans]

IF you want to keyframe to 4x3 or 16x9 SD crop of the HDV then you would need to use Vegas or Premier PRoCS3. Their motion controls effectively allow keyframe( pan and zoom) control of what is the Layout tool in Edius. I also have done this when only had the FX1 full stage and created what looked like a multi cam video. Don't go in too close, just down to the normal pixel size for DV. IF you don't want to keyframe pan and zoom then Layout tool works too.

Ron Evans

[VideoE]

Ron, that's what I was afraid of. If only the Layout function was keyframeable! So I choose between static 'close-ups' in Edius, but with realtime, or keyframeable 'close-ups' in PPro, but severely render city. Edius is SO CLOSE to being the right solution, if only PinP didn't crop the 1440 frame that the Layout tool was giving it. Darn!!! Any possible workaround?

Ron, I gather you haven't found a realtime solution when using this 'dual use of HDV clips technique' either? If you have, let me know.

Also, for anyone interested, with a mere Macbook, not Pro, running a measley 64 mgb Video Ram onboard graphics chip, Core 2 duo, 2. Ghz, I was able to get an HDV clip, in an SD project, layout back to full size and adding a 3d PinP effect to run in realtime. The Canopus HQ codec is very impressive.

[Ron Evans]

No unfortunately I haven't found a realtime way of doing this. Vegas and PPRo will do it but with render as you mentioned. I find Vegas easier to see what is being done than PPRo and the render time is not that bad. I set the preview to draft really to see the effect of the cropping and then rendered to DV. Its interesting that I have kept upgrading these three NLE's and now use Vegas for audio and this cropping, Premiere CS3 was intended for using Encore ( but I still use DVDLab may change now that I am doing everything in HDV and AVCHD)) and my main editor is EDIUS for the multicam as all my projects are multicam stage stuff. I will probably get Vegas 64 when it comes out don't know what Adobe will tempt me with for an upgrade!!!

Ron Evans