I've finished my film reel, and now I have to send it to Tisch but I have a problem with the format of the file. The movie was captured on a Panasonic PV-GS320, and captured onto my computer at 720 x 480 29.97 fps. So I converted it into two files, an .avi (NTSC DV according to Sony Vegas) and a .wmv (3 mbps) as a backup. Now my issue is this: The avi version of the film is coming out in such a way that when a person moves in the frame, the image gets divided. Like strange scan lines. My question is, when the DVD get's made, or rather when I burn this on a DVD, will those lines appear? It doesn't seem to be happening in the source footage or the wmv. How can I fix this?

-Thanks
(Here's an example. It's visible on the hand)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dentsai,

When you make it into a DVD, it should encode to MPEG-2. They might not appear. You can try exporting to MPEG-2 then see, or burn a dvd sample it's worth it. Even if you get those lines, I don't think they care about the technicalities of your equipment/quality, they care more about the storytelling.

Hey thanks a bunch, I was kind of freaking out when I saw the combing.

It's interlacing and totally normal. When they watch it on a TV those lines will will not appear.

Interlacing is a way of transmitting video over broadcast without using significant amounts of bandwidth. The image is sent in two passes. The odd lines of video are sent first (1, 3, 5... 480/720/1080) then followed by the even lines (2, 4, 6,... 480/720/1080).

Obviously this is a broadcast/tv thing, and isn't so much of a concern for computer viewing, as a CRT/LCD monitor don't use interlacing to display their video. That's why you're seeing those lines.

What's the old phrase?

"If they're noticing your interlacing, your film has bigger problems."

Don't fret...though I know it's hard not to.

They care about your story!