Quote: How do I either avoid or eliminate all the moving, shimmering debris (pixilation??)? Do I need to select another production format? The images were taken with an HD phone camera. Thanks, in advance for your help!!

What is the resolution of the original images?

Can you attach one of the original images (a forest scene)?

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Thanks, Carl, for your rapid response. I will be getting the info and one of the original images to you posthaste.

Sincerely,
Medlgl

Hi medlgl -

Seriously, whatever you do, you'll be struggling to get decent image quality out of your photos when you produce to DVD quality... especially with motion applied.

Try producing the same video/slideshow to MPEG-4 1920x1080 16MBps & see what you get.

Cheers - Tony
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Hmmmmm! Thanks, Tony!! It's sure worth a try. Meanwhile, I will be sending an original image (forest scene) with its original resolution

I was also thinking, worse case scenario, I could go back and reset all of the affected images and just produce them w/o the panning and zooming. Ugh! Resorting to that procedure, though, would be disappointing because applying motion to stills is an important component of producing a highly effective slide show. But first, I will follow yours and Carl's instructions.

Thanks again for your valuable input!

medlgl

Carl, as per your instructions, the resolution for the uploaded photo (and all the others) is 240 dpi (both horizontal & vertical). When producing the movie, I had shadow files unchecked and preview quality on its lowest definition (as per info from previous forum research for this problem). If there's anything else you need, please feel free to ask.

Thanks again, Carl, for your intervention in my behalf.

medlgl ("Lon")

Hi again -

The reason Carl requested a "forest scene" is that the repeated leaf patterns tend to exaggerate any shimmering or pixelation. That's compounded by applying motion & compounded further by producing to DVD quality.

Back at the root, when you adjusted the photos in PhotoDirector, I'd suggest that the photo has been over-sharpened by the preset you applied. That makes the pixelation worse.

Using presets in PhD is OK, but (unless you flick to Manual to check the settings) you can't be sure what adjustment levels have been used. Some of the presets found on DirectorZone are quite extreme - to the point of being a bit ridiculous.

There's a good chance that - without such heavy sharpening - you'd be able to produce a decent motion slideshow.

I took your photo & mixed it with some straight off one of my cameras (no adjustments applied) and popped them in a slideshow. Produced to AVC H.264 4K & Full HD - it looks OK - http://youtu.be/7gYwb1UkyrE

I wasn't able to upload the MPEG-2 DVD HQ version to YouTube, but it was terrible! Mid motion, your photo looked like (partial screen shot)...



You can download the DVD quality slideshow (same as the one on YT but produced to MPEG-2 DVD HQ) here - http://www.mediafire.com/watch/e37ddbnbubef42d/SS_DVD.mpg

Cheers - Tony
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Wow, Tony!! You went the extra mile for me on this one and I can't thank you enough! The concept of using over-exaggerated presets makes total sense to me. I guess it has its place if you're going to use such images in a benign environment, but not in movie making! Anyway, this eve I will have a chance to view the clips you put together to get an idea of what my image could have looked like with proper (and not over-exaggerated) editing. You have me in a large learning curve here and I thank you mucho! I will be back in touch

Kind regards,

medlgl

Tony,

Watching the slide show with, and without motion was definitely a graphic representation to me of the "art of over-exaggeration!" How-ever, there's no art involved, just a little ignorance on my part. Thanks again, for having put that little slideshow together and sending it to YT for viewing. For now on, most of my editing in PhotoDirector will be manual, except in certain cases. I noticed, however, that applying motion to images with a lot of mass (i.e. people and objects) are not necessarily affected, even those that have quite a bit of sharpening in them. It's mainly those images like trees and grass that don't stand up to motion application very well. Because I still have lots to learn in this particular department, I plan to do a lot of experimentation in both PhotoDirector 5 and PowerDirector 12 to firmly establish my parameters.

Sincerely,

medlgl

Hi medlgl -

You're very welcome.

There are some cases when "less is best" - whether you're adjusting photos or applying motion.

In these screenshots of Motion Designer, the settings on the left are less likely to cause shimmering/pixelation because there's less motion. Those on the right will probably cause shimmering because the motion is more extreme. Starting position is blue. Ending position is green.



The same applies to photo adjustment. I could easily make that grass close-up shimmer by over-sharpening or increasing clarity or contrast too much.

There's nothing wrong with using presets - it's just that the defaults tend to be "overdone" (in my view).

Cheers - Tony
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