DV Info Net - EXIF data

Canon D-SLR Log & Transfer Plugin for Final Cut Pro

Written by Chris Hurd on June 6th, 2009
Filed Under Canon EOS

gluetools1Today at CineGear 2009 in Hollywood, GlueTools, a Santa Barbara software company specializing in motion picture plug-ins for Final Cut Studio, is announcing a workflow for Canon D-SLR cameras and Final Cut Pro. The product is a log and transfer plug-in allowing ingest of High Definition video recorded with Canon D-SLR cameras directly into Final Cut Pro. The plug-in easily and quickly ingests footage directly into Final Cut Pro, maintaining the original quality and expediting production. Along with the imagery and audio, EXIF data is also ingested and added to the project file. Currently the supported cameras include the Canon EOS 5D Mk. II at 1080p and the Canon Rebel T1i at 720p.

ProRes 422 Transcoding

The GlueTools Canon D-SLR plug-in will transcode footage to ProRes 422, an ideal format when working with Final Cut Studio. ProRes 422 enables maximum compatibility with the other packages in the Final Cut Studio suite. ProRes is also beneficial for laptop users. 1080p MPEG can sometimes be a problem for playback on some models of laptops. Once transcoded to ProRes, laptops can easily work with the footage at full speed.

Time Code track and Reel Name

The editorial process is often made easier when footage has a Time Code track and Reel Name. The Canon D-SLR itself camera itself will not create a time code track or reel name, as it was never designed to add these types of information. The EXIF metadata that is recorded is used to create the time code start time. As the footage is ingested into Final Cut Pro, a time code track is added using the movie’s time stamp. The name of the CF or SD card is used as the reel name.

Quick Turn-Around of Memory Cards

If it’s not practical to transcode the footage due to time constraints, it may be faster to archive CF or SD cards directly to hard drive, allowing the preservation of a perfect copy of the memory card for a later ingest. Final Cut Pro’s Log & Transfer system will build a Disk Image file (a .DMG file) and clone the card, not only preserving the imagery and movies, but all of the related metadata associated with the footage, which is ideal for a quick turn-around of memory cards. The GlueTools Canon D-SLR plug-in will easily read these .DMG files. The plug-in and Final Cut Pro are designed to work with the memory cards and the .DMG files interchangeably. There will be no difference between the memory card or the .DMG file as far as the Log & Transfer plug-in is concerned.

View EXIF data of each Canon DSLR clip

Once the GlueTools plug-in is installed, a new menu item will be available in Final Cut Pro’s Tools menu. By selecting a clip in Final Cut Pro, one can select the Tools > Canon EXIF Data menu item and see the EXIF data that was ingested with the shot. EXIF information associated with the footage, such as the Exposure, Shutter Speed, etc, will all be available.

GlueTools has been known primarily for its line of motion picture software plug-ins for Final Cut Studio, including its ARRIRAW Toolkit, enabling cinematographers, editors and artists to use QuickTime to read and work with ARRI’s D-21 raw image files.

The GlueTools Log & Transfer Plug-in for Canon D-SLR cameras and Final Cut Pro will be available sometime in mid-June. The price of the software license will be determined shortly. DV Info Net will carry a full usability report and review of the GlueTools plug-in very soon.

Discuss this topic in our Canon EOS 5D Mk. II message board .