ProRes export interlace problem

[Banejo]

Hey guys,

I have a strange issue here and hope for help..

When I export my comp to ProRes422 and reimport it I have a hard quality loss, especially on lines and Text, etc.. When I now go to interpret footage I see that AE interprets the ProRes-Clip as interlaced. When I change that to progressive the quality gets a little better but still is not as good as it should be. The same happens if I import the clip into PP. When I export my comp via MediaEncoder there is an option in the ProRes settings to create a progressive clip. When I go that way the results are fine. In AE I can not find any option to choose if the rendered clip should be interlaced or progressive, also I could not find anything in my comp-settings. Any idea what is going wrong here or am I missing something?

[Rick Gerard]

What is the frame size? SD video is usually interlaced, HD video is usually progressive. How are you rendering? What are your settings? Unless you are an expert you should not be customizing a bunch of settings. The option for interlacing is in the Render Cue's Render Settings and in the Render Settings for the AME. 

[Banejo]

I'm working in HD. Hmm, how am I rendering? File -> export -> Add to render que. here are my settings. Field order is turned of. 

[Rick Gerard]

If those are your render settings you did not create an interlaced file. You should be able to see if it is interlaced by checking the properties in the Project Panel when the footage is selected or by checking the footage interpretation.

If it is interlaced you will see it there.

The first screenshot shows interlaced footage separating first, which is actually wrong for this shot, the second shows progressive.

An easy to check the footage to see if it is interlaced is to set the interpretation to upper or lower first then open the footage in the Footage panel. Step through the footage one field at a time by using Ctrl/Cmnd + right arrow and you'll see the fields. If you get constant movement between frames then the footage is interlaced and the field order is correct. If the motion goes forward one frame then backward, then forward again, the field order is reversed. If you duplicate pairs of frames then the footage is not interlaced and you need to remove the field separation using Interpret Footage.

You need to check your render. If you rendered with those settings you do not have interlaced footage and something else is going on.