NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2004

Michiel van der Zeeuw · January 25th, 2004, 11:24 AM

nope both clips come from FCP3, from the same tape even. They were captured in one run on the same machine.

Charles Papert · January 25th, 2004, 02:58 PM

Three video layers, each with a simple matte layed in to create the proper shape, and probably position adjusted left and right to place the faces in the right spots. My guess is that it would be far harder to coordinate the timing of the dialogue amongst three people. The easiest way would be have an actual a three way phone conversation, which would require three simultaneous camera setups. Otherwise you are looking at possibly mis-timing of the dialogue--it's a bitch.

Charles Papert · January 26th, 2004, 07:22 PM

Hi folks:

I'm doing some multi-filter 3-way color corrects, and when I attempt to do a "limit effect" layer that focuses on a particular color/section of the frame, I am able to see the changes on a still frame and in a preview version, but upon rendering, the limit effect is not showing up. The other color correction filters that don't involve limits do still work. I'm just baffled on this one. Thoughts? Clarifications needed?

Ignacio Rodriguez · January 26th, 2004, 09:13 PM

I fixed it. What happened was that for some weird reason FCP reverted to the DC30 driver for handling DV... so it was sooo slooow because there is no DC30 card in my system...

Easily fixed with a few clicks in the right place.

Thanks for the suggestions and keep up the great work This is such a nice place.

Charles Papert · January 26th, 2004, 10:02 PM

Aha and oho. My editing guru (who is, damn his talented soul, all of 21) just stopped by and pointed out that I needed to switch from Unlimited RT to Safe RT, even when looking at still frames. Apparently Unlimited is only an approximation of the final effect, so I was dialing in a look based on a non-accurate preview. Well geez, maybe if I had a sexy G5 under my desk instead of that oh-so-passe dual 1gHz G4...!

Stefano Sarfati Nahmad · January 27th, 2004, 08:38 AM

Hello everyone,
I started out using imovie but i really need to have more.
Can anyone suggest me a good tutorial book that's complete and easy to use ?

and also: what mac do you suggest ?
I thought to get an iMac, 1gb ram, 160 GB int. HD
What do you think? is the G5 a must? is ext. HD a must?

thanks for your help.
stefano

Mickey Stroud · January 27th, 2004, 09:47 AM

I am reading and really like Jerry Hoffman on FCP. The DVD has some beautiful footage and excellent exercises that makes the tutorials a joy to edit. He also gives incite into his editorial thinking and the "whys" not just the "how to."

My other favorite is Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro by Michael Wohl.

As for the computer. The bigger, faster the better. Is a G5 essential? No. Does it make editing easier and faster? For sure.

Enjoy the journey.

Mickey Stroud

Glenn Chan · January 27th, 2004, 03:06 PM

A G4 tower would be nice for a few reasons:
dual processors (2nd processor lowers render time by ~70%)
easy to install RAM
can install internal hard drives, which are cheaper and better than FW
can drive dual monitors (dual monitors are cheaper than one big one)

The G5 1.6ghz is a bit underwhelming in my opinion. Probably get a reburbished G4 off http://www.smalldog.com or maybe eBay (if you trust eBay). Installing your RAM is usually half the cost of Apple-installed RAM and very easy to do. www.crucial.com is one place to get RAM.

You can buy many of the FCP training products off the lafcpug.org store, possibly at a discount. The forum there is excellent btw.

Kevin Burnfield · January 27th, 2004, 05:53 PM

There are a couple of good books and videos out there.

EDITING TECHNIQUES WITH FINAL CUT PRO is a great book because it is from the point of view of an editor so he talks about editing first and only in the second part of the book does he get into the 'how to do that in FCP'.

I like Jerry's stuff too.

Final Cut Pro 3 Editing Workshop by Tom Wolsky is good too. even if you find the one for FCP 2 on Half.com or eBay cheap buy it

that also goes if you can find any training videos or CDs off eBay (like the POWERSTART series) buy them if the price is right. Even if it's for FCP 3 it will give you good information and teach you the basics which do not change.

Same goes for FCP 3 books.... you need the basics down first.

I would not recommend the Visual Quickpro book for beginners at all. It's a reference, not a book to teach you.

I was lucky enough to watch the INSIDE FCP 4 dvd at a client's shop recently and it's pretty good but the price is steep.

Kyle Baker · January 28th, 2004, 08:52 AM

a week ago I was doing fine. Now Final cut is telling me my camera is not turned on when it's firewired and on and all that other good stuff.... whats up with this? I need to get some work done and the NLVE gremlins are pullin my hardware apart....

Lisa Sedlak · January 28th, 2004, 09:01 AM

I assuming that you plugged the camera in before opening FCP? That is usually my problem.

Try trashing the FCP preferences and then restarting FCP.

If that does not work, do you have another deck or camera to try on that firewire drive? I have had my firewire on a G4 go screwy on me and not work. I had to add more firewire ports.

Joe Gioielli · January 28th, 2004, 10:16 AM

The time has now come for me to make a choice. I am going to take a class and I must chose between Avid and FCP. I realize this is a hot topic and I am not trying to make trouble. I am totally green and have no opinion. I am also not what you would call a computer guy. I am totally open to all thoughts.

My intention is do this as a part time job, so I am concerned about which system will give my future customers confidence. (Apple offers a "Certification" title if I pass a test. Would somethinglike that be a intangable asset to my future production busines or just a waste of $150)

Is there a great difference in hardware costs?

Flexability is also a factor, as I have no idea if I'll be doing corporate training, indie films, or music videos.

I guess I want to know how you came to choice FCP.

More questions than answers. Thanks for any help you can give.

--Chris please note-I'm going to post this, reworded, on the Avid forum as well to get the Avid POV. If this is a bad idea, please remove it or do what ever you think is best ;-) --

Jeff Donald · January 28th, 2004, 10:58 AM

It could be a bad cable, try swapping cables.

Paul St. Denis · January 28th, 2004, 08:13 PM

What nobody edits in offlineRT? Any help would be appreciated.

Chris Staab · January 29th, 2004, 12:29 AM

I have a great Mac system pushing Avid Express DV. The only problem I have is when I am digitizing long clips of video/ audio (or long clips of video/ audio are playing) the sound begins to pop violently. The audio does not digitize with the popping sound, it only happens during playback. I am using the USB soundsticks and I have heard that may be the problem. Anyone have any insight on this REALLY annoying problem???

January 25th, 2004, 02:58 PM	#137
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Three video layers, each with a simple matte layed in to create the proper shape, and probably position adjusted left and right to place the faces in the right spots. My guess is that it would be far harder to coordinate the timing of the dialogue amongst three people. The easiest way would be have an actual a three way phone conversation, which would require three simultaneous camera setups. Otherwise you are looking at possibly mis-timing of the dialogue--it's a bitch. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

January 26th, 2004, 07:22 PM	#138
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	FCP4 Color correction--advanced question Hi folks: I'm doing some multi-filter 3-way color corrects, and when I attempt to do a "limit effect" layer that focuses on a particular color/section of the frame, I am able to see the changes on a still frame and in a preview version, but upon rendering, the limit effect is not showing up. The other color correction filters that don't involve limits do still work. I'm just baffled on this one. Thoughts? Clarifications needed? __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

January 26th, 2004, 09:13 PM	#139
Ignacio Rodriguez Contributor Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Santiago, Chile Posts: 932	Fixed. I fixed it. What happened was that for some weird reason FCP reverted to the DC30 driver for handling DV... so it was sooo slooow because there is no DC30 card in my system... Easily fixed with a few clicks in the right place. Thanks for the suggestions and keep up the great work This is such a nice place. __________________ Ignacio Rodríguez in the third world. @micronauta on Twitter. Main hardware: brain, eyes, hands.

January 26th, 2004, 10:02 PM	#140
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Aha and oho. My editing guru (who is, damn his talented soul, all of 21) just stopped by and pointed out that I needed to switch from Unlimited RT to Safe RT, even when looking at still frames. Apparently Unlimited is only an approximation of the final effect, so I was dialing in a look based on a non-accurate preview. Well geez, maybe if I had a sexy G5 under my desk instead of that oh-so-passe dual 1gHz G4...! __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

January 27th, 2004, 08:38 AM	#141
Stefano Sarfati Nahmad Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Milan, Italy Posts: 30	best fcp4 tutorial ? Hello everyone, I started out using imovie but i really need to have more. Can anyone suggest me a good tutorial book that's complete and easy to use ? and also: what mac do you suggest ? I thought to get an iMac, 1gb ram, 160 GB int. HD What do you think? is the G5 a must? is ext. HD a must? thanks for your help. stefano

January 25th, 2004, 11:24 AM	#136
Michiel van der Zeeuw Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 27	nope both clips come from FCP3, from the same tape even. They were captured in one run on the same machine.

January 27th, 2004, 09:47 AM	#142
Mickey Stroud Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dallas,TX Posts: 76	I am reading and really like Jerry Hoffman on FCP. The DVD has some beautiful footage and excellent exercises that makes the tutorials a joy to edit. He also gives incite into his editorial thinking and the "whys" not just the "how to." My other favorite is Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro by Michael Wohl. As for the computer. The bigger, faster the better. Is a G5 essential? No. Does it make editing easier and faster? For sure. Enjoy the journey. Mickey Stroud __________________ Director: LadyX Films, Episode 27, A Tale of 2 Soldiers, Seeking Love in Foreign Places

January 27th, 2004, 03:06 PM	#143
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	A G4 tower would be nice for a few reasons: dual processors (2nd processor lowers render time by ~70%) easy to install RAM can install internal hard drives, which are cheaper and better than FW can drive dual monitors (dual monitors are cheaper than one big one) The G5 1.6ghz is a bit underwhelming in my opinion. Probably get a reburbished G4 off http://www.smalldog.com or maybe eBay (if you trust eBay). Installing your RAM is usually half the cost of Apple-installed RAM and very easy to do. www.crucial.com is one place to get RAM. You can buy many of the FCP training products off the lafcpug.org store, possibly at a discount. The forum there is excellent btw.

January 27th, 2004, 05:53 PM	#144
Kevin Burnfield Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 363	There are a couple of good books and videos out there. EDITING TECHNIQUES WITH FINAL CUT PRO is a great book because it is from the point of view of an editor so he talks about editing first and only in the second part of the book does he get into the 'how to do that in FCP'. I like Jerry's stuff too. Final Cut Pro 3 Editing Workshop by Tom Wolsky is good too. even if you find the one for FCP 2 on Half.com or eBay cheap buy it that also goes if you can find any training videos or CDs off eBay (like the POWERSTART series) buy them if the price is right. Even if it's for FCP 3 it will give you good information and teach you the basics which do not change. Same goes for FCP 3 books.... you need the basics down first. I would not recommend the Visual Quickpro book for beginners at all. It's a reference, not a book to teach you. I was lucky enough to watch the INSIDE FCP 4 dvd at a client's shop recently and it's pretty good but the price is steep.

January 28th, 2004, 08:52 AM	#145
Kyle Baker New Boot Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: san diego Posts: 22	unable to initialize video device? a week ago I was doing fine. Now Final cut is telling me my camera is not turned on when it's firewired and on and all that other good stuff.... whats up with this? I need to get some work done and the NLVE gremlins are pullin my hardware apart....

January 28th, 2004, 09:01 AM	#146
Lisa Sedlak New Boot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Blacksburg, VA Posts: 15	I assuming that you plugged the camera in before opening FCP? That is usually my problem. Try trashing the FCP preferences and then restarting FCP. If that does not work, do you have another deck or camera to try on that firewire drive? I have had my firewire on a G4 go screwy on me and not work. I had to add more firewire ports.

January 28th, 2004, 10:16 AM	#147
Joe Gioielli Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Port Richey, Fl Posts: 142	System Choice Question The time has now come for me to make a choice. I am going to take a class and I must chose between Avid and FCP. I realize this is a hot topic and I am not trying to make trouble. I am totally green and have no opinion. I am also not what you would call a computer guy. I am totally open to all thoughts. My intention is do this as a part time job, so I am concerned about which system will give my future customers confidence. (Apple offers a "Certification" title if I pass a test. Would somethinglike that be a intangable asset to my future production busines or just a waste of $150) Is there a great difference in hardware costs? Flexability is also a factor, as I have no idea if I'll be doing corporate training, indie films, or music videos. I guess I want to know how you came to choice FCP. More questions than answers. Thanks for any help you can give. --Chris please note-I'm going to post this, reworded, on the Avid forum as well to get the Avid POV. If this is a bad idea, please remove it or do what ever you think is best ;-) -- __________________ Why ask me? I thought you were in charge!

January 28th, 2004, 10:58 AM	#148
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	It could be a bad cable, try swapping cables. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 28th, 2004, 08:13 PM	#149
Paul St. Denis Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Stony Brook NY Posts: 169	What nobody edits in offlineRT? Any help would be appreciated.

January 29th, 2004, 12:29 AM	#150
Chris Staab Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Hawaii Posts: 51	Audio pops. I have a great Mac system pushing Avid Express DV. The only problem I have is when I am digitizing long clips of video/ audio (or long clips of video/ audio are playing) the sound begins to pop violently. The audio does not digitize with the popping sound, it only happens during playback. I am using the USB soundsticks and I have heard that may be the problem. Anyone have any insight on this REALLY annoying problem???