NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2004

[Kevin Burnfield]

with a G5 2gigahertz machine I would say that every possible Real Time (RT) effect will be there for you.

You can look at the Apple FCP site for a list of the RT effects but with a G5 Dual, it will do them all I"m sure.

There are some things you'll have to render out but that's with every NLE I think.

Color Correction for FCP is TOP NOTCH. I think it was Steve from DigitalFilm Tree that said it was as close to a De Vinci system as you could get without spending 50 thousand dollars more.

CC in FCP, and in any program, is an artform (which I'm sure you're aware of) but there is some good stuff out there on it.

DigitalFilm Tree has a CC training DVD that is pretty good but most of the same information is in the Apple Pro Training Series book for FCP 4 'Advanced Editing and Finishing Techniques'.

You can see a sample of the CC section over off Ken Stone's fantastic FCP site:

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage...age_index.html

There's a ton of good information and several reviews of FCP and links to great sites.

I'm running it on a Dual G4 system and it's stable as a rock. Haven't noticed any slow down on mine.

[Jeff Donald]

Depending on the Mac you're using, you'll need a SCSI controller that is compatible with your OS, a SCSI cable and a SCSI terminator, preferably active. Have you investigated other options with your replicator? I would pick my replicator first, then provide the format they prefer.

[Jeff Donald]

To the best of my knowledge the biggest SATA drive available is 250GB. If you are going to RAID the drives, you should get an exact match, at least to the size drive.

[Alfred Tomaszewski]

most i have talked to perfer a DLT for DVD9 and higher. I was thinking i could pick up a Quantum 4000 dinosaur off of ebay for like 350 and then just buy the card that wouldnt be a bad investment either way i think. Plus the fact that no DVD holds more than 20gb as of right now i dont think i can go wrong. It would give me 20gb uncompressed. this would also help because we have 4 big dvd projects on the way.

[Ray Echevers]

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : To the best of my knowledge the biggest SATA drive available is 250GB. If you are going to RAID the drives, you should get an exact match, at least to the size drive. -->>>What does "RAIDing" a drive mean?
All I want is a separate HD just for capturing video, 160MB will do, but if the 250MB are a good price, i'll do that.
I read somewhere that it has to be a Serial ATA (SATA) for it to work on the G5.
So I should make sure its a SATA, at least 7200rpm, and 8MB buffer? Anything else I forget?

[Jeff Donald]

No, that is all you need. You can do a search on RAID, much has been discussed on that topic.

[Laurence Maher]

Wow, sounds awesome!

Great! Thanks for the reply!

[Glenn Chan]

Color Correction for FCP is TOP NOTCH. I think it was Steve from DigitalFilm Tree that said it was as close to a De Vinci system as you could get without spending 50 thousand dollars more.

That's a pretty bold claim. Can FCP do power windows like Da Vinci does?

Power windows = applying color correction to only a masked area of an image. Skies and faces are some examples of things where you want to use different color correction.

2- Boris red plug-ins are not real-time on a dual 2ghz system. They don't seem to have the optimizations for the G5 processor to allow them to be real-time. However, most of the Apple filters are optimized well, which makes the G5 fast.

[Jeff Donald]

Kevin is quoting someone else, and just says it is close to Da Vinci, not the same. He doesn't mention 3rd party plugins, just RT Effects, which are built in.

[Dean Sensui]

"That's a pretty bold claim. Can FCP do power windows like Da Vinci does?

Power windows = applying color correction to only a masked area of an image. Skies and faces are some examples of things where you want to use different color correction."

I've done this with Commotion using rotosplines and the motion tracking tool. Definitely not real time, but a great deal of control nevertheless.

Perhaps it can be considered hand-cranked windows? :-)

Dean Sensui
Base Two Productions

[David Slingerland]

I am working on a project and (fcp4, macg4, 1gig) on two places in the timeline one track (its an sample) won't playback properly. It actually does playback backwards but not frontwards!!! I am using about 8 tracks but on other places it gives no problem.. Its getting worse because now on certain places I get a buzzing distorted sound!!! any idea what?

[Ray Echevers]

I currently have the "stock" hd that came with the system, it has everything I have on it, including my FCP4 clips/captured video.
I will eventually get a 2nd internal SATA drive, 160-250GB range.
My question is, how do I transfer my clips/video from the stock HD to the 2nd HD? Do I just drag and drop or do I have to do it through FCP4 and if so, how?
I'm just worried about the program not finding the clips or screwing up the projects/clips.

[Jeff Donald]

Why do you need to move the clips? If you absolutely have to move the clips, use the Media Manager.

[Ray Echevers]

<<<-- Originally posted by Jeff Donald : Why do you need to move the clips? If you absolutely have to move the clips, use the Media Manager. -->>>Is that in FCP4?
I would want to move them, so I have all my clips on the 2nd HD, not scattered.
I've heard it's a great idea to have all your FCP4 footage on a separate drive.

[Nicholi Brossia]

I'm currently running Final Cut Express on a dual 1.25 G4 with 10.2.8. Soon, I will be upgrading to Pro. The catch is that I will be transferring files/clips between my computer and another with 10.3 and Pro HD. I've read about FCP 4.5 files not opening properly in 4.1, so it looks like I'll have to upgrade both to Pro HD and 10.3 in order to coordinate with the other computer.

So here's my questions...
Is this correct?
How well does 10.3 and Pro HD function on a dual 1.25 G4?