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S
smashbrorazz
Participant
September 28, 2017
Answered

Overflow converting ratio denominators error w/MP4 from iOS11 recording

  • September 28, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 2208 views

Hello all,

I recorded some footage using the new record feature on iOS11. I then hooked up my iPhone to my Windows 10 laptop (yeah, don't ask) and manually moved the file into a folder on the laptop. I then dragged this MP4 file into an existing After Effects CC file's project pane and immediately got the "overflow converting ratio denominators 17 18" error.

After digging in some forums, I found a recommendation to interpret the footage and to ensure that it conforms to the project's frame rate (in this case this was unnecessary; the project and the native footage have identical framerates of 57.898) I then also went into Preferences to uncheck "Show Internal Wireframes," again on the recommendation of another forum answer.

In any case, one or both of these tweaks caused the error message to stop occurring. However, when I drag the footage into my composition, it just flatout doesn't appear, and seems to throw off what shows up in the preview pane as well.

Given all of this, I next attempted to share this MP4 via e-mail to myself, which I then downloaded to my laptop. The same issues persist.

I have even tried disabling my discrete graphics card, allowing the Intel HD to take over, and the issue isn't resolved.

SANITY CHECKS:

     * The opacity of the footage when imported into the composition as a layer is at 100%. No keyframes exist. The layer is visible and unlocked.

     * I have tested MOV files that I have used in previous projects and they import and display as expected.

     * The MP4 files mentioned above play properly on my phone and in Windows 10's Movies & TV files, so as far as I can tell, the files are not corrupted.

SOFTWARE: Adobe After Effects CC 2017.2

I have attached a screenshot of the project in question.

Has anyone else had this issue? Or can anyone shed light on this?

Thanks,

Andrew

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Dave_LaRonde

    iPhones -- and a LOT of other phones -- shoot video in a variable frame rate.  Pro apps like AE & Premiere Pro do not handle variable frame rates well.  They need fixed frame rates.

    My advice is to use Adobe Media Encoder to transcode that phone footage.  I like to transcode to quicktime movies in the Photo JPEG, PNG or Animation codecs.  Any of the 3 will be fine.  Go for either 59.94 0r 60 frames / second.

    The transcoded file, however, will be much bigger than the original.  That's because phone video has the snot compressed out of it.  Your transcoded file is a lot less compressed, and it will be a fixed frame rate.... which is a very good thing indeed.

    And your problems should be over.

    2 replies

    Mylenium
    Mylenium
    Legend
    September 29, 2017

    What Dave already said - from varying framerates, skippy timecode up to files not being "closed" properly to allow for quick continued recording mobile cameras do a lot of weird things that produce files less than ideal for serious production purposes. Simply transcode them in an ffmpeg-based tools. Adobe programs are rubbish at handling those files otherwise.

    Mylenium

      S
      smashbrorazzAuthor
      Participant
      September 29, 2017

      Good to know, thank you!

      Dave_LaRonde
      Dave_LaRonde
      Inspiring
      September 29, 2017

      Just to add, there are apps that force phones to shoot video at a variety of fixed frame rates, and they eliminate a LOT of headaches.  If you want to use phone vid, you should definitely get one.

      Dave_LaRonde
      Dave_LaRondeCorrect answer
      Inspiring
      September 28, 2017

      iPhones -- and a LOT of other phones -- shoot video in a variable frame rate.  Pro apps like AE & Premiere Pro do not handle variable frame rates well.  They need fixed frame rates.

      My advice is to use Adobe Media Encoder to transcode that phone footage.  I like to transcode to quicktime movies in the Photo JPEG, PNG or Animation codecs.  Any of the 3 will be fine.  Go for either 59.94 0r 60 frames / second.

      The transcoded file, however, will be much bigger than the original.  That's because phone video has the snot compressed out of it.  Your transcoded file is a lot less compressed, and it will be a fixed frame rate.... which is a very good thing indeed.

      And your problems should be over.

        S
        smashbrorazzAuthor
        Participant
        September 29, 2017

        That definitely fixed the problem, thank you! And you weren't kidding about the extreme file sizes; the new output as an MOV under the Animation codec was 102GB!

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