NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2004

Ignacio Rodriguez · April 23rd, 2004, 09:46 AM

Hi. I am getting ready to convince one of my workplaces to buy a G5. The workload will be light with little rendering so any of the three available models should do fine. However I wonder which of the three makes for the best investment in terms of money/performance ratio. Can anyone advise on this issue? Perhaps somebody here has benchmarked the three machines, i.e. rendered a complex FCP project on all three and compared the render times, or perhaps there is a benchmark site you can recommend. Any comments? Thank You.

John Locke · April 23rd, 2004, 09:51 AM

Ted,

The IA tutorial I have is for LiveType. It really doesn't mention FCP much at all, and when it does, it seems to be universal stuff that you'd find in any version of FCP.

Basically, it gives you some nice templates to use IN LIVETYPE to export out as Quicktime movies. Then, you import those movies into the FCP timeline. It shows you how to alter the templates in a multitude of ways so that they take on a whole different look and style. And finally, it shows you how to make your own using graphics and existing objects and textures and animations in LiveType.

So really...FCP has nothing to do with it. It's all about LiveType...and it's well worth the money.

Glenn Chan · April 23rd, 2004, 11:05 AM

http://www.barefeats.com/fcp4.html
Barefeats has benchmarks. The best price/performance ones IMO are the dual processor G4s (1.25ghz and 1.42ghz) and the dual processor 1.8ghz G5.

You can buy a refurbished mac off places like smalldog.com, which is just as good as new (might even be better) but at a lower price.

Grant McClintock · April 23rd, 2004, 11:51 AM

I am in FCE. I open a clip in it the timeline. With the playhead stationary the iamge in the canvas window remains sharp, but when I go to play mode the clip in the canvas window seems to shift ever so slightly and go noticeably softer. As soon as I hit stop, the image sharpens again. Also when I scrub through the canvas (timeline image) the shaprness is not affected.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Grant

Boyd Ostroff · April 23rd, 2004, 02:32 PM

I don't know about FCE, but in FCP you can control the render quality for the canvas window. Try setting it higher if possible, although that might affect performance on your computer. But the important thing is how it looks on an NTSC monitor driven by firewire. The canvas window is only preview quality and shouldn't be used for critical judgements.

Grant McClintock · April 23rd, 2004, 04:54 PM

Thanks, Boyd.

Alex Taylor · April 23rd, 2004, 08:16 PM

Where did this come from? I just went on to the Apple website and saw the big splash for this new motion graphics program. Looks pretty sweet!

Apple Motion

Chris Korrow · April 24th, 2004, 12:40 AM

I'm running FCP4 on an emac 1ghz with 768mb of memory. Would another 256mb make much of a difference?

Also is there much difference between lets say kingston, edge or GVP besides the price?

Thanks, Chris

Dean Sensui · April 24th, 2004, 02:20 AM

It was released last Sunday during a special Apple event at the Venetian resort in Las Vegas.

I was able to attend and saw the demo. Was amazing to see what it could do, in real time, with an HD video clip and a variety of effects piled on.

And FCP HD was equally impressive.

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions.

Tom Greever · April 24th, 2004, 08:28 AM

Anyone know of a good intro to FCP 4 online? Even just some how-to articles or others would be helpful. I am very much a newbie and needing a good starting point... for free.

Jay Silver · April 24th, 2004, 08:43 AM

I've got a 16:9 movie file that I want to output for TV (4:3). I don't want to squish or crop the image, I just need to add the "black bars" on the top and bottom.

Is there a way to do this directly in Cleaner? I'd rather not go back and re-render my project and I can't find anything in the manual about it. It seems silly to me that it can't add a field of black to the "unused" part of the screen.

-j

Jeremiah Hall · April 24th, 2004, 11:12 AM

I just ordered peachpit press's Apple Training manual for FCP4. I heard several positive things about it. I just recently made the switch from FCE.

For FCE I used the Visual Quickstart series. FCE didn't come with a printed manual, and I prefer having a book in my hand instead of having to switch back to Explorer or Safari. I also use their book on Adobe GoLive and found it easier than the manual that came with GoLive.

Go to the public library and take a look at what's available for FCP (be it 1, 2, 3, or 4). Even if the book is outdated, it should give you a feel for what each different series (Dummies, Visual Quickstart, etc.) is like before you buy something and discover you can't stand the way it's written.

Hope this helps.

Jeremiah

Glenn Chan · April 24th, 2004, 11:29 AM

http://www.kenstone.net (go to the FCP section, the photography section probably isn't safe for work [EDIT: I can't believe I said that now everyone will be curious...])

http://www.digitalzoo.com.au/lunchtime/

Jason Lyons · April 24th, 2004, 03:28 PM

Anyone using FCP knnow how to mark clips or even sub-clip while capturing - like you can in AVID?

thanks
j

Tom DeCuir · April 25th, 2004, 07:16 AM

I've been looking for places to sell my iMac (which I had been using to edit with b/f moving to a G5). I've already placed it for sale locally on various bulletin boards, as well as the DVinfo Classifieds- both which have not produced much yet.

Any suggestions on a buyer rich environment? I'm pretty burned out on eBay, fending off scams, etc...

Thanks for the help!

April 23rd, 2004, 09:46 AM	#526
Ignacio Rodriguez Contributor Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Santiago, Chile Posts: 932	Which G5 for FCP? Hi. I am getting ready to convince one of my workplaces to buy a G5. The workload will be light with little rendering so any of the three available models should do fine. However I wonder which of the three makes for the best investment in terms of money/performance ratio. Can anyone advise on this issue? Perhaps somebody here has benchmarked the three machines, i.e. rendered a complex FCP project on all three and compared the render times, or perhaps there is a benchmark site you can recommend. Any comments? Thank You. __________________ Ignacio Rodríguez in the third world. @micronauta on Twitter. Main hardware: brain, eyes, hands.

April 23rd, 2004, 09:51 AM	#527
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Ted, The IA tutorial I have is for LiveType. It really doesn't mention FCP much at all, and when it does, it seems to be universal stuff that you'd find in any version of FCP. Basically, it gives you some nice templates to use IN LIVETYPE to export out as Quicktime movies. Then, you import those movies into the FCP timeline. It shows you how to alter the templates in a multitude of ways so that they take on a whole different look and style. And finally, it shows you how to make your own using graphics and existing objects and textures and animations in LiveType. So really...FCP has nothing to do with it. It's all about LiveType...and it's well worth the money. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

April 23rd, 2004, 11:51 AM	#529
Grant McClintock Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Tulsa, OK, United States Posts: 28	Softness in Timeline, FCE, Help I am in FCE. I open a clip in it the timeline. With the playhead stationary the iamge in the canvas window remains sharp, but when I go to play mode the clip in the canvas window seems to shift ever so slightly and go noticeably softer. As soon as I hit stop, the image sharpens again. Also when I scrub through the canvas (timeline image) the shaprness is not affected. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Grant

April 23rd, 2004, 08:16 PM	#532
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	Apple Motion Where did this come from? I just went on to the Apple website and saw the big splash for this new motion graphics program. Looks pretty sweet! Apple Motion __________________ alextaylor.org

April 24th, 2004, 12:40 AM	#533
Chris Korrow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Whidbey Is, WA Posts: 326	Another 256mb? I'm running FCP4 on an emac 1ghz with 768mb of memory. Would another 256mb make much of a difference? Also is there much difference between lets say kingston, edge or GVP besides the price? Thanks, Chris

April 23rd, 2004, 11:05 AM	#528
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	http://www.barefeats.com/fcp4.html Barefeats has benchmarks. The best price/performance ones IMO are the dual processor G4s (1.25ghz and 1.42ghz) and the dual processor 1.8ghz G5. You can buy a refurbished mac off places like smalldog.com, which is just as good as new (might even be better) but at a lower price.

April 23rd, 2004, 02:32 PM	#530
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	I don't know about FCE, but in FCP you can control the render quality for the canvas window. Try setting it higher if possible, although that might affect performance on your computer. But the important thing is how it looks on an NTSC monitor driven by firewire. The canvas window is only preview quality and shouldn't be used for critical judgements.

April 23rd, 2004, 04:54 PM	#531
Grant McClintock Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Tulsa, OK, United States Posts: 28	Thanks, Boyd.

April 24th, 2004, 02:20 AM	#534
Dean Sensui Inner Circle Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 2,054	It was released last Sunday during a special Apple event at the Venetian resort in Las Vegas. I was able to attend and saw the demo. Was amazing to see what it could do, in real time, with an HD video clip and a variety of effects piled on. And FCP HD was equally impressive. Dean Sensui Base Two Productions.

April 24th, 2004, 08:28 AM	#535
Tom Greever Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Western Chicago Suburbs Posts: 32	FCP Free Online Tutorial- For Dummies? Anyone know of a good intro to FCP 4 online? Even just some how-to articles or others would be helpful. I am very much a newbie and needing a good starting point... for free.

April 24th, 2004, 08:43 AM	#536
Jay Silver Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 112	16:9 -> 4:3 in Media Cleaner 6 I've got a 16:9 movie file that I want to output for TV (4:3). I don't want to squish or crop the image, I just need to add the "black bars" on the top and bottom. Is there a way to do this directly in Cleaner? I'd rather not go back and re-render my project and I can't find anything in the manual about it. It seems silly to me that it can't add a field of black to the "unused" part of the screen. -j

April 24th, 2004, 11:12 AM	#537
Jeremiah Hall Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 69	I just ordered peachpit press's Apple Training manual for FCP4. I heard several positive things about it. I just recently made the switch from FCE. For FCE I used the Visual Quickstart series. FCE didn't come with a printed manual, and I prefer having a book in my hand instead of having to switch back to Explorer or Safari. I also use their book on Adobe GoLive and found it easier than the manual that came with GoLive. Go to the public library and take a look at what's available for FCP (be it 1, 2, 3, or 4). Even if the book is outdated, it should give you a feel for what each different series (Dummies, Visual Quickstart, etc.) is like before you buy something and discover you can't stand the way it's written. Hope this helps. Jeremiah

April 24th, 2004, 11:29 AM	#538
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	http://www.kenstone.net (go to the FCP section, the photography section probably isn't safe for work [EDIT: I can't believe I said that now everyone will be curious...]) http://www.digitalzoo.com.au/lunchtime/

April 24th, 2004, 03:28 PM	#539
Jason Lyons New Boot Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Nashville, TN USA Posts: 8	Marking/subclipping while capturing Anyone using FCP knnow how to mark clips or even sub-clip while capturing - like you can in AVID? thanks j __________________ Pax Christi

April 25th, 2004, 07:16 AM	#540
Tom DeCuir Tourist Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 3	Good places to sell edit system? I've been looking for places to sell my iMac (which I had been using to edit with b/f moving to a G5). I've already placed it for sale locally on various bulletin boards, as well as the DVinfo Classifieds- both which have not produced much yet. Any suggestions on a buyer rich environment? I'm pretty burned out on eBay, fending off scams, etc... Thanks for the help! __________________ Moderation in everything, including moderation.