FCP capturing problem - 7 second gaps!
 

I am capturing from a Sony V1 camera and have found several seven second dropouts and a two second dropout. Some of these seem to be when I stop/started record but at least two of them are mid-shoot. Any ideas on why this might be? Bad tape? Camera problem? I am capturing to an external hard drive and have the system setup to create a new file each time recording is stopped. Could this have something to do with it? On one tape I notice that when the captured footage went from colorbars to the first shot, the captured footage dropped the first few seconds of the shot (though it was on the tape).

My big seven second dropouts, though, are not on the original tapes either - the timecode just ticks over as though nothing has happened (while the timecode of the captured files shows the break). Help...!

(I am capturing using 'capture now').

I has this problem on a Z1. Turning off QUICK-REC (when shooting) fixed it. Try that on your next shoot (assuming the V1 also has a QUICK-REC option in the "others" menu).

Unfortunately, those "missing few seconds", from footage already shot with QUICK-REC on, are not easily salvageable.

Are you using a Mac?

Have now turned QUICK REC off. Will be shooting this morning so I'll see how it goes. Dammit.... When you say 'not easily salvageable', have you figured out a way? I'm not sure I've lost anything crucial yet (shooting a doco and have shot a lot already but not input/logged everything).

Does QUICK REC always do this or am I just unlucky?

Thanks!!! Don't think I would've figured that one out.

(I'm using an iMac with an external LaCie drive.)

Try changing your Preroll setting in FCP from 5 seconds (the default) to 1 second (the lowest number I can get consistent results from).

What is happening is that the camera isn't REALLY closing off the MPEG stream properly and FCP gets stumped and then waits for the Preroll time to reach 5 seconds before beginning capture again.

Turning QuickRecord off will help, but you'll still have issues if you've turned the camera off OR the tape heads have "spun down" between clips (which happens after 5 minutes of "standby")

As well, for YEARS the "standard" has been to roll 5 seconds of tape (called "getting up to 'SPEED'") before commencing any shot. This dates back to film days where cameras needed to get up to 24 frames ACTUALLY moving through the gate in a second and was crucial in the days of analog video (which typically used larger tape): it took time to get tape moving over the heads at the required speed. Cameras and VTRs required 3 - 5 seconds to ensure everything was moving and stable. Many people have started to disregard this practice and the results are clips that are uncapturable in many cases.

OK thanks, will try that too.

Yes! but it'll cost ya!

No - use iMovie (an HD version) - not FCP - to capture the first few missing seconds of your clips. iMovie is much more forgiving about missing timecode, broken GOPs, etc, etc, and will usually capture those first few missing seconds, that FCP refuses to recognise.

Put all those clips on an iMovie timeline, and export the lot into one HD/QT file, and import that file into FCP, and cut it up into the bits you need.

OK thanks.