editing XF video from afar
 

I do shoots with a client who edits my material from another state. I've been using P2, but have since bought my 305. I'll need to send video to him via Dropbox, and since he edits on FCP, he'll need some type of utility, correct?
Is ths plug-in available for him to download from the Canon website here?

Canon U.S.A. : Support & Drivers : XF305

Suggestion: Recompress into H.264?
 

Hi Glen

Were you previously sending the contents of the P2 cards to your clients over DropBox? They must've been huge files!

If you wished to send the full-quality files from the XF305, you might like to first ingest the footage and then send as .mov video files. That way your client won't need to ingest in FCP on the other side.

To save on file size/upload time - would your client accept video footage that was recompressed into a much more efficient codec for sending over the internet, like full high-definition H.264?

Andrew

He would, but how do I do that? I don't have my own editing system - except a home version of Vegas that came with my VG10 camera.

And yeah, the P2 files took a long time to upload. But it was still faster than sending them through the mail on a DVD.

Try Handbrake.
 

Do you have the Canon XF Utility? I'm trying to find what wrapper the Canon XF Utility uses when ingesting on a Windows machine. Does it use a ".mpeg" wrapper?

You may like to use HandBrake. It makes very good encodes of most formats into H.264. You set certain parameters like the resolution, the variable bit-rate, the audio codec and whether the footage needs deinterlacing etc. It is a slightly fiddly piece of software - but it's free, and it does a brilliant job - fast.

HandBrake

It allows for batch encodes if you were wishing to send multiple video clips over the internet to your client. Experiment with changing the Constant Quality RF number for achieving optimal quality vs. file size. The resulting video file is .m4v and can be edited in Final Cut Pro.



I've just done a test encode with HandBrake - try these settings:
Use Constant Quality RF: 23
Change the AAC codec bitrate to 256kbps
Change the output resolution to 1920x1080 (under Picture Settings), and untick Keep Aspect Ratio.

For me, it converted a 130MB MXF/MOV movie file down to 30MB in H.264 M4V video. The picture quality is excellent.

Many thanks, Andrew. i will give it a try.

I was was just thinking that if Glen's client would accept smaller, more compressed files, what is the point of shooting on the XF305 in the first place?
He might just as well shoot the material on a Canon Vixia model...

Heh. You've got a point, Robin.
The client actually does everything in SD. I used to shoot in DVCPRO 50. Now, the 305 only shoots in HD, so the editor is going to have to do what he can on his end.
If I had an SD camera, I probably would shoot with it for this client.