Help needed: Preparing video for AGS using Final Cut Pro.

[Chicky]

Hello script monkeys

I would like to use some pieces of video i have recorded in 1080i in AGS. But don't worry! I want to render at 640x480 and am just wondering what the best output settings for my video editing software (FCP) would be? What is the best file format for quality/size and is there a specific frame rate i need to use?

Also, how well does AGS handle objects overlaying video?

thanks for any help, i hope i chose the right board.

[Danman]

.mpeg is the best i think. for size and it works with windows media player and quality. Or .mp4

[Chicky]

Thanks Danman, i will try .mpeg. A search turned up some praise for an OGG video format but i'm not really sure how i would convert my .mov files to .ogg?

[Danman]

I am sure if you want to do that you could find a program on this site : www.brothersoft.com
I find all my programs on there. for free or not for free

[hedgefield]

Hm, I'm not sure I've ever seen Ogg video, only audio...

Mov is a pretty good format in and of itself, and the preferred format for people working in the video industry, but I don't think AGS takes movs, so an mpg or avi would be the logical choice. Mpg is the safer bet I'd say, since it doesn't rely so heavily on codecs like DivX for compression, so it will play more easily on a wider variety of PC's.

I don't know what kind of footage you have (live-action I presume?), but for 640x480 you probably won't have to set a bitrate any higher than 1000 kbps at a framerate of 24 fps (24 is pretty much the default for smooth video).

[Ali]

I'm not a script monkey, but I can make the following suggestions.

I think Ogg/Theora video is what you're looking for. I've use the free program VLC media player for Ogg/Theora conversion. The method of conversion isn't too straight forward, but it's been made a lot easier in recent versions:

If you want objects to overlay video, I think you should look at Scotch's ags_theora Video Plugin.

Also, when exporting make sure to deinterlace the video to get best results when scaling down. I guess you'd probably want the video to be 640x360 rather than 640x480, to preserve the 16:9 aspect ratio.

I'm afraid I don't agree with largopredator, though. 24p video is not widely used domestically. I would guess you shot at 50i (25 frames per second). Making small changes to frame rate can result in uneven motion at times, so I wouldn't change it to 24. I'd stick with the original frame rate, if you can afford the file size.

[Danman]

I have never heard of .ogg myself either but if it doesn't work with windows media player I don't think .ogg should be an option but that is my opinion.


Ali might be right about 25 frames but I cant really confirm on that I have lots of videos that are 24 frames and I don't see a problem But anyway why argue about one frame.

[Ali]

AGS has built-in support for OGG video, which doesn't depend on Windows Media Player or codecs on the player's computer.

OGG files can be also be incorporated into the .exe which prevents players from watching them outside the game. Unlike other formats, they can be used as backgrounds in conjunction with scotch's module. The compression quality is not too bad either. That's why I'd use OGG!

I agree there's no perceptual difference between video filmed at 25 and 25 fps. However, converting from one frame rate to another can have be detrimental to the quality of the video depending on the method used. Particularly if you're going from 25fps (PAL standard) to 30fps (NTSC standard). I see no reason to do it if you don't absolutely have to.

[Danman]

Oh i just re read through is this video for AGS i thought it for a trailer or something sorry not thinking today. . 25fps is maybe safer for performance. anything more will kinda struggle on laptops I think unless like you said it will be in 640x480 then you might get away with more like 30fps.

But I have to be honest I can never see a difference in 5 frames per second.

[hedgefield]

Cool, I didn't know VLC could convert video too. I'll have to check it out.

Framerates are kinda arbitrary, many videos use either 24, 25, or 30 fps (or 23.97/29.97 for NTSC).
24 is a relatively new addition that's favoured by the movie industry for it's 'cinematic look' - whatever that means. But it doesn't really matter all that much, and if your movie is already one of those values, I wouldn't mess with it at all. Only if it's drastically higher (if it's any lower there's not much you can do anyway (well ok there's frame interpolation but let's not get into THAT!))

In animation class I was taught 24 should be your default value for smooth animations - or 12 if you want to sacrifice smoothness for less drawing work But it's true 25 is slightly more suited for progressive scan displays (LCD monitors etc).

[Snarky]

24 fps is the traditional speed that virtually all movies are shot in and all film-based cinemas project at. There hasn't been good support for it on most TVs and monitors until recently, leading to all kinds of weird conversion artifacts (the 4% PAL speedup, the NTSC 3:2 pulldown).