couple of newbie question for FCP editing canon 5d footage
 

i have a limited experience with Song Vegas editing DV footage. this is the 1st time i am using Canon 5d and editing with FCP 7

i have a 15 minutes short film i need to edit

i have couple of newbie question.

1. FCP wont edit native 5D footage and i need to use prores in order to convert it in workable format. which prores do i use ? proxy? LT? 422? . after i have every thing ready on my timeline do i convert it back from prores to the original format/or link original format some how to be used for rending? i converted my video to prores LT and i have a feeling it lost quality ...

2. in Sony Vegas to deliver we would render at the end, but reading about FCP it looks like we EXPORT at the end not render, and rending is done as a process of exporting... am i right?

3. for the best HD video i should export my final project in h.264 correct?

thank you

You should download the Canon plug-in for FCP. In the Log and Transfer window under Preferences, set your transcoded codec to ProRes LT. That is really the "sweet spot" for Canon DSLR footage.

Drop your footage into timeline and allow FCP to change sequence settings to match your footage.

Now, as far as final output, it all depends upon the deliverable requirements. If you are going to web, you would certainly use H.264. I would personally finish the project and then export a reference movie from FCP. Bring that into Compressor and apply the pre-set most suitable to your deliverable.

I often export a self-contained movie rather than a reference movie, but it really makes little difference.

Additionally, I much prefer Episode Pro to Compressor, but we're talking here about workflows strictly within Final Cut Studio.

Good luck with your first FCP project!

Ned Soltz

thanks for a quick response.

i used MPEG Streamclip to convert my raw footage to prores LT and just dragged all files to my project. it is different then what you suggested as far as the final result depends?

The main difference is that you can enter metadata in FCP Log and Transfer Canon plugin and it creates a Time of Day-based timecode. MPEG Streamclip does none of that.

But then again, you don't need metadata or for EVERY project. MPEG Streamclip seems to be faster. Some say LT is enough for quality/sampling/bitrate/latitude of original H264 files from Canon. I tend to stick to standard ProRes.

what is a standard prores? and why would i not chose standard over LT ? size?

Plain ProRes bitrate is 66 MBps, ProRes LT is 48 MBps. Some people say anything over LT is an overkill for DSLRs with mere 4:2:0 color sampling and resolution.