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Field Order: Use this pop-up menu to choose a field order that matches the field order
of the device used to capture an interlaced clip. There are two choices: Upper (Odd) or
Lower (Even). If you choose incorrectly, you’ll notice during playback that the video stutters
during playback. When this happens, choose the opposite field order. Clips shot on film
or with a progressive scan video camera have no interlacing, therefore Field Order should
be set to None. By correctly identifying each object in your project, you can mix and
match clips with a different field order. For more information about field order and
interlacing, see Field Order.
Frame Rate: Use this pop-up menu to choose a frame rate in frames per second (fps)
that matches a clip’s native rate. For example, film is 24 fps, PAL video is 25 fps, and NTSC
video is 29.97 fps. Additional frame rates are available for other video formats. If the frame
rate you require is not listed, enter a number in the text field to the right of the pop-up
menu. If you modify a QuickTime file’s frame rate but need to change it back to the file’s
original rate, choose “From file” at the bottom of the Frame Rate pop-up menu.
Although you can mix clips using different frame rates, clips playing at a frame rate
different from that of the project might not play smoothly.
Note: Project frame rates are determined by the project preset. To edit a preset or to
create a preset, choose Motion > Preferences and use the options in the Presets pane.
Fixed Width and Fixed Height: Use these sliders (available for still images) to change
the resolution of source media. When the Large Stills control (in Motion Preferences) is
set to Scale to Canvas Size, these values display the resolution of the original file.
When a PDF is selected in the Media list, these controls set the maximum resolution to
which a PDF object can be smoothly scaled. For more information, see Fixing the
Resolution of a PDF Object.
Crop: Click the disclosure triangle to reveal four sliders that define the number of pixels
to be cropped from each of the source media’s four sides, relative to the outer edge of
the bounding box that surrounds that source media. Cropping an item in the Media list
also crops all instances of that item in layers of the project. A similar Crop parameter
appears in the Properties Inspector when you select a layer in the Layers list. For more
information, see Parameters in the Properties Inspector.
Timing: Use these value sliders to set the start, end, and duration of the source media:
• Start: Sets the In point of the source media, in constant and variable speed modes.
Adjusting this parameter moves the In point to the specified frame without affecting
the duration of the media.
• End: Sets the Out point of the source media, in constant and variable speed modes.
Adjusting this parameter moves the Out point to the specified frame without affecting
the duration of the media.
218 Chapter 6 Creating and Managing Projects