Poor quality! Unsure of settings! Please help!

[dmoulton600]

Hi all,

I'm so happy to have found this forum, and grateful for any replies I may get. I'm currently undertaking a huge personal project which I've wanted to do for some time. It consists of 90% GoPro footage taken by my friend on a trip. I also plan on filming some interviews on my Canon Rebel EOS T6 and *maybe* some iPhone footage.

I'm new to Premiere Elements and understand there are certain settings when starting (?) and finishing a project that optimize the quality. I am not sure what settings my friend was using on the GoPro when he filmed the trip, and I know this is important.

I have Premiere Elements 2018 and my concern started when the playback in my timeline appeared 'boxy' and pixelated even the originals are crispy. I have since exported the project and it actually looks pretty good. My end goal is to show the film to audiences and perhaps enter it into a few festivals, so I am unsure of what format I'd need. Whatever you think!

THANK YOU!!

-Danny

[Bill Sprague]

Premiere Elements should make the "project settings" for you.  There is an option to manually force the settings but that should not be necessary.

To be sure, before you start the project itself,  do a test.  Use a "typical" or important clip.  After you open the project, add the clip through Add Media and slide it to the editing timeline. That is when the automatic part works.  Then add a few more clips and see how the editing goes.

Know that what you see during editing is your computer doing its very best to provide you a preview that is sufficient for your creative work.  It has to do it in "real time" so the quality depends on the strength of your computer. 

When you finish the project is when you set the viewing quality of your work.  Typical now is an "HD" 1920x1080 as it works on most screens. 

With your test of a few clips you can try that output and see if it works on the screens you will show friends or be used in the festivals. 

If the final of the test looks less than you expect, then changes to settings can be worked on.  If they do look good, you have a recipe for success.