I am creating a presentation in After Effects for building a DVD in Encore, and I am running into some mischief I can't understand. Appreciate any thoughts.
Process: I am using AME to produce .m2v and .wav files that I import into Encore as timelines. I access these individual timeline scenes in the DVD from a pair of scene menus. I also have a "play presentation" button that accesses a timeline called "main movie," which is composed all the scenes in the show, with short transition .m2v clips between. So, the main movie timeline looks conceptually like this:
Chapter_1.m2v | Transition_1-2.m2v | Chapter_2.m2v | Transition_2-3.m2v | Chapter_3.m2v etc.
Chapter_1.wav | Transition_1-2.wav | Chapter_2.wav | Transition_2-3.wav | Chapter_3.wav etc.
I notice two anomalies (or at least anomalies to me – I don't work in video very much):
First, the duration of imported chapter .m2v and .wav file pairs appears to be the same in the project window, but when I insert the pairs into the main movie timeline and magnify, they are not actually the same length. Secondly, I notice a black frame appearing at the end of my third .m2v chapter file. Magnifying greatly, cropping the errant .m2v and sliding the next .m2v forward removes the black frame, but it re-appears at the end of the next .m2v file.
Could this have something to do with GOP structure in the transcode? My shortest transition .m2v files are 00:00:01:05, which I believe meets the spec for enough duration for correct GOP formation. Is there some frame modulus that I should observe in my exports from AfterEffects?
TIA
Richard Hurley
Grass Valley MultiMedia