The Digital Video Information Network - Non-Linear Editing on the Mac

Burning Blu-ray from FCP7 timeline via share

Justin Ferar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:11:40 GMT

Well I've spent an entire week now trying to nail down the workflow. It's so easy and the image quality is fabulous- except for one thing that is making me tear my hair out, cuss out loud and kick the neighbor's dog.

When it comes time to insert a blank BD disc sometimes FCP asks for "single layer media" and sometimes it asks for "dual layer media". Most of the time it asks for dual layer. There is no way to specify which media you have.

It even asks for dual layer when the source files that it created are way under 25GB. The kicker is that sometimes I'm able to burn a 3 hr program onto a single layer! Then I will try the exact same process with a 1 hr program and it asks for dual layer! If I put in a single layer it just spits it back out and asks for dual layer.

Obviously I don't have a lot of dual layer BD media sitting around so the big question is...

How do you specify or just trick FCP into single layer mode?

FCP 7
Macpro octocore with Buffalo Blu-ray burner

NLE PC ~ iMac 27"

Philip Ngoi — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:32:18 GMT

Looking to have an NLe pc and i did plan for a DiY:

#Asus P6T SE + Intel Core i7 920
#PC3-12800/1600MHZ Corsair TR3G(2GBx3pcs)
#LT Nvidia Quadro DX 580 512MB
#COOLER MASTER 650 Extreme
#Western Digital Caviar Black 1.0TB (32MB) SATA-II
#LG dvdrw 22x IDE or sata l/s
#Creative sound card 5.1VX
#Cooler master cosmos rc-1000(s)
#Microphone/keyboard/Mouse
#Monitor Dell 2209WA 21.5-inch
#Windows 7 64bit

And then came along the iMac 27" Quad with the lcd having IPS technology (have not use mac nor a nle pc-upgrading my old pc) its beautiful! but what i should be looking for is best of both world - smooth work flow for: cs4 photoshop + editing software(edius 5 - fcs) would you kind folks help with my DiY as compare to the iMac ~ Thanks

Thks fr reading ~ Novice at Work

Final Cut Pro 7 Compatibility with Final Cut Pro 6

James Blackburn — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:26:01 GMT

I'm considering purchasing Final Cut Studio 3, however I transfer projects quite often between my machine and and my work machine that is currently running Final Cut Studio 2.

What are the issues with this.. is it possible to save projects in a format that both packages can read or once you've upgraded to Studio 3 thats it, no going back?

Thanks

James

Gorgeous, Simple Titles made easy

Robert Lane — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:37:23 GMT

Any editor regardless of platform is always jones-ing for one common thing: Good looking titles.

The built-in titler tool in FCP does the job just fine for simple tasks and the Boris 3D Titler is a very powerful supplied plug-in however, the output they create both suffer from the same problem: They look really bad when motion is applied.

The reason titles created by these tools look bad when motion is applied is because they are "generated" text, when you apply motion the software has to re-generate it's size and position which creates very jagged edges and jerky motion - especially with zooms. This is why many use Photoshop to create text and output those files as PNG images with alpha, which can be moved and/or scaled without the harsh motion artifacts.

Problem is, if you're not PS savvy or not familiar with creating alpha layers - or don't own a copy of PS and don't want to pony up for it then you're limited to the built-in tools to FCP, PP, M100 etc. Wouldn't you really like to have a simple app that can generate text with alphas and not fuss over the process? Gotcha covered:

Art Text — Text art and graphic software for Mac — Overview

While not a "pro" titling app specifically for video purposes I've found this little app is extremely powerful in creating text-titles, buttons and shapes with ease and can very quickly output them as PNG's with alpha far faster than PS or any other photo-editing app.

Art Text does all the stuff you need a text titler to do: Drop shadow, glows, shades, distortions, curves... you name it, it does it.

And because you can manually create the canvas size (I don't know what the limit is) you can even create a page of text large enough for scrolling credits! You just try getting smooth-scrolling text titles in FCP or PP - or whatever - with the built-in tools especially fast-scrolls for end-credits in broadcast, I double-dog dare you. It's horrible looking and that's because it has to be "generated".

If you're a graphic designer and you've already got a workflow built around Photoshop, Illustrator or another graphically-purposed app then Art Text isn't for you. But if you're like me and the hundreds of other indie editors who didn't come from a graphics background then this IS the perfect titling tool.

Now y'all quit screwin' around and git back ta work. We've got an economy to rebuild. Or didn't you get that memo? ;-P

Converting 24p to 30p

Joe Lawry — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:14:10 GMT

Bare with me. Im a 25 fps Guy.

Now, i have a project i shot entirely on my HVX at 720 25pn. It was originally just for web distribution, however i have someone who would like to put it on an NTSC DVD so i've been trying to figure out the best way to go about this.

My theory was to convert 25p to 24p, which i can do just fine using Compressor, looks great and plays back smooth.

This is where i get lost.. how do i then convert my 24p into 30p?

At this point in time everything is still DVCPROHD. But if its easier to start out with PRORESHQ then i am open to transcoding to that.

I have a weird feeling that maybe i should have actually transcoded to 23.98 instead of 24.. but im not sure..

At the end of this i'd like to end up with a DV NTSC Anamorphic QT. But i'd like to keep it at the highest quality possible for as long as i can. The people im sending it too arent all that technically minded giving them 30fps would definitely be the best. I dont think they've used 24p before.

Im running FCS2 with all the latest updates on a 2.8ghz 8 core macpro.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers
Joe

Best RAID/Storage solution

Mike Marriage — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:33:22 GMT

Hi all,

Any recommendations for a good, fast, redundant RAID for use with FCP?

Need a few TB and would like to keep it under �1000.

Thanks!

How do I view date and time on FCP?

Leonie Reynolds — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:44:27 GMT

I'm shooting with a Sony V1 which records date/time data to tape. Can I view the date/time info within FCP(6)? If so where do I go to switch it on? Thanks.

HDV to SD to Mini DV in Final Cut Pro

Eric Sorensen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:30:46 GMT

Hello all,

I was hoping to get some advice on a possible workflow for Final Cut Pro.

I am attending a Cinema class and am making a 1 minute movie. The professor needs the projects turned in on Mini DV (in SD) to screen for evaluation.

I shot my movie on a Canon XH-A1 using 24F and 1080i.
I have a Sony TRV-25 which I am hoping to use as a SD deck to record back on to Mini DV.

I have captured via firewire using the Apple ProRes 422 and laid out on the timeline.

I tried using both "Print to Video" and "Edit to Tape" using the TRV-25 but only audio is recorded to tape, no video at all, just black. Is there a specific setting I need to use for this?

Do I need to render the footage into SD first and then use Print to Video or Edit to Tape? If so, what method should I use?

If anyone could help me out, I sure would appreciate it.

Best,
Eric

-iMac 24 w/ 2.66 GHz Core 2 - 4 GB RAM
-Mac OS X 10.6.2
-Final Cut Pro 7.0

Update FCP, OS, and QT?

Paul Cronin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:51 GMT

I am between big editing projects with a two week window of shooting and no real editing so I am looking at updating my editing system.

Currently I am running.
Mac Pro quad core 3.0 with 16GB ram with Dulce Raid 3
FCS2 (FC 6.0.6)
OS 10.5.8
QT 7.6.2

All is running well but just checking if there are features that are worth updating? Look forward to input from people who have updated and are happy or disappointed.

Always better to check first and update later in my opinion. Not interested in chasing problems just interested in better features that help my editing experience.

Embedding FC clips into Keynote

Bob Kerner — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:43:10 GMT

I'm hoping someone here has embedded clips from FC into Keynote (or even power point). I've exported QT mp4 movie clips and then embedded them into a presentation. The clips look fine on my computer screen but when I connect to a projector the clips are notceably darker, they appear underexposed.

I tried adjust the projector but it doesn't help. The folks at the apple store wonder if I have the clips sized properly for the presentation but cannot recommend an optimal size. They think when the projector enlarges the image it is somehow making it darker.

Has anyone done this and can offer some advice?

FCP Canvas Window looks much darker than exports.

Neil Rostance — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:22:03 GMT

Hi All,

I've noticed recently that FCP is displaying clips a lot darker than the original QT. Or that QT is displaying it a lot lighter.

I've attached a picture showing the same frame in Canvas and QT player.

Why is there such a shift in picture colour/brightness?

What steps should i take to get the colour workflow better in FCP? Is there anything i'm missing?

I'm editing on Apple Cinema Display with no colour correct monitor. I don't need to grade to broadcast standards, but it would be bloomin' nice to know what the hell my picture is going to look like because FCP+QT doesn't seem to know.

Any advice would be great, Thanks in advance.

Attached Thumbnails

fcp6 into ae9 via ppro4.1

Amos Kim — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:34:45 GMT

Has anybody tried this workflow? I would love to use aftereffects cs4 with my final cut 6 edited ProRes footage. I know it's possible, but I believe the footage isn't always translated correctly. It maybe more trouble than it's worth. Would love to hear your inputs. I want to incorporate AE compositing/motion graphics as the final stage in my fcp-color workflow, but maybe it's best to stay within my fcp studio suite. I don't know if my macintel duo core 2ghz 2gb ram ATI Radeon X1600 256mb vram can handle shake. thanks

Preparing video for display problems

Mayer Chalom — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:24:18 GMT

Hello. I have a final cut project and within that timeline I have a stop motion consisting of maybe 200 stills. Whenever the 200 images are moved or accidentally shifted when adding another clip I get the preparing video for display and it takes about 1-2 minutes to stop rendering. What is most interesting is that I am working in the dv 4:3 codec (the pics are jpgs btw) on an 8 core mac pro with 4gb of ram. I have an external g raid drive for my editing as well. First of all why is the render bar popping up, and why is it taking so long. Any tips of what I can fix. This is really annoying and would appreciate help. Thanks.

P.S it seams that the preparing for video display sign is popping up when just editing clips. This is so frustrating.

Advice on setup and formats for my project

Tom Parker — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:19:19 GMT

I've shot some DV and edited in iMovie and FCE, outputting to the web and DVD. I've recently purchased Final Cut Studio and am working on a documentary short in a workshop I'm taking.

I think I've already done some things that are going to give me headaches, but I'm not sure. I shoot with a Canon XH A1. I wanted to use a second camera, and since the workshop only had GL2s for rent I decided to shoot in SD. But for some reason I can't quite remember now, I really wanted to do this in 16:9.

So I think have XH A1 footage shot SD 16:9, 30F, and GL2 footage shot SD 16:9 (which I think is anamorphic) using cinema mode. (I think that's what I have meaning that I'm still learning, so I may have missed some settings at times and shot some stuff in 60i. Especially with the GL2 stuff, since it was a rental and had different settings every time I got it. But everything is definitely SD, and definitely 16:9.)

I also have a number of jpeg stills that I'll be using in the project, so I need to get them in there and displaying 16:9. I'm worried about this. Maybe it has something to do with how it was output for the web, but I looked at someone else's film from a previous workshop and found a lot of aspect ratio changes. Some of the footage seems letterboxed, and some fills the entire web clip. You can see that film here to get an idea of what I'm talking about:

Vanilla on Vimeo

I think the output will be to DVD; we'll be turning these in on a data disk, they'll get compiled into a timeline so we can show them all at a local theater.

So to get to my question: What sequence settings do I need to use to make this look right? What am I actually going to get by shooting 16:9 in SD? And when I turned it in, how should I save/output it so that it doesn't look weird next to all the other projects that have been shot 4:3?

I'm still not sure why I created this confusion for myself. Next time, I think I'm shooting SD in 4:3 and HD in 16:9 and not try to be too clever.

Any advice -- on this or for future reference -- would be greatly appreciated!

cheers,
tom

ARCHIVED videos to .cdr - how do i get this back into FCP ?

Andy Dufrain — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:11:50 GMT

So I finished my project in FCP, sent it to DVD studio and for some reason I ended up with an apple archive of .cdr. I believe i made an archive of this in disk utility.
Now i'm finding that no program likes this (and mind you it's a completed DVD video) and I need to pull some footage from it. The file is big (like 2 gigs so I know its there)

Thanks in advanced