I bought a 120 (115) gb IBM deskstar a month ago and it has served me just fine.

Very basically it can be down by creating a matt or a mask over the top of your video. It can be tricky and takes some time to get the first one sorted but after that's it's a relitively simple compost.

Anyone have an idea on how to get around a problem I'm having?

I made a JPEG file with the name of my film company on a black background and imported that into FCP. Then I sandwiched it in between two black slates so that I could slowly cross dissolve from and to black. I set the first dissolve duration at 02:30...then went to the second dissolve to set it as the same....but it won't let me! It's set really short...00:29...and won't let me increase it.

Any ideas?

Just to let you know...I left ample slate on both sides to trim the side opposite the dissolve...so having enough room shouldn't be a problem. Same with the JPEG itself, I left it intentionally long to allow the long cross-dissolve on both sides...and plan on trimming from the middle when I'm done fixing the dissolves on each end.

Thanks guys. As always, I appreciate the advice and info!

josh,
LaCie is not a hard drive manufacturer. They package others' drives and resell, generally external kits.

I would agree with Mathew and avoid that deal.

I just found another company with pretty much the same deal...only this one is $40 more. These are actual retailers selling FCP 3.0 upgrade version with version 1.2.5 and a serial number.

I first noticed it in an ad in the back of Macworld magazine and this second one I found while looking at eBay as Matthew suggested.

I sent an email to one of the stores asking if there was any catch. I'll let you know what their reply is.

I'm still leery of this deal. But, it's got me rather curious.

Is it true that when editing footage shot on DV (in FCP 3) there is no need to calibrate using the Color Bars &/or tone? It seems like that is what the FCP 3 users manual is saying.

And could someone explain the difference between a dropped frame versus a timecode break.

PS
Thanks to everyone at this site for all their help! I just got a Dual 1.25GHz Mac & I couldn't be happier!
Erik

Well, re. callibration thats a hotly debated issue =) I prefere to shoot and adjust the image based on a waveform monitor. This gives me a hands down direct feedback on what range i have in the image and where my blacks & whites are. This way i can look at the monitor just for the composition of the shot and dont worry about wether or not its calibrated or not.

As for difference between a time-code break and a dropped frame its as follows. A dropped frame is when it cannot handle either the digitizing or the transfer of the image stream so it has to skip one or more frames in order to catch up in the timing. A time code break is when the timecode is messed up on the tape. Usually because someone stopped the recording and rewinding back/forth and started up outside the existing time-code. so it is reset to 0 again.

This btw is the reason to why you "stripe" tapes. It means putting a consistent timecode track all over the tape. So no matter how you mess around with the tape, whenever you press record, it always has a running timecode. It makes the editors work a LOT easier.

/Henrik

If you are enrolled in school, teaching school, or know someone who falls into either of those categories, you can get FCP 3.0 from http://www.apple.com/education/ for $299.00.

This is a full version, but Apple definately does not approve of any commercial use of these educational licenses. Fantastic deal if your uses will be personal, though. Let your conscience be your guide.

lyd

So, here's the reply I received from the company selling v. 1.2.5 with the v. 3.0 upgrade:

"Imagine you purchased Final cut pro 1.2.5 back when it came out in the
mid
90's. Now its 2002 and you want to finally upgrade to the newest
version of
final cut pro. You would obviously buy the upgrade because you already
have
an older version.... This is the same situation only you are buying
both at
the same time.


The Final Cut pro 1.2.5 is a CD only version that has a valid serial
number
from apple and it is new and never been registered. The 3.0 upgrade is
the
retail boxed and sealed version as if you would have bought it from a
retail
store..."

Any thoughts ??

still sounds a little shady to me!
why would they be offering just the CD of FCP1 and not the whole package?
if it were a sealed retail version then it would probably be an all right deal.if your serious enuff about your editing then why not just drop that cash down for the full FCP3 from Apple? they have a nice little loan option too!

Mike,
I would also avoid this "deal". It's some type of pirate scheme that should not be supported. What is your recourse if you're stung by this offer? FCP is already a great bargain and Apple deserves the little bit it makes from this great product. If your budget is very tight consider taking-up Apple's financing program as Matthew suggested.

In the end, it's -your- money Mike.

Hi Guys,

Yeah, I agree with you, seems very shady to me. I have no intention of going with this deal...like you said Ken, if there is some type of problem I'm out of $549 . . . that's half the price of legal FCP from Apple.

I just found it very interesting that this is the second shop I've seen doing this....one has an ad right in the back of Macworld magazine.

So, I'll keep saving up my cash and purchase the real thing down the road.

As always thanks for all your opinions!

I absolutely do not encourage the practice of purchasing software in this manner as described above. Also, in general, I would only purchase from an authorized dealer, this way you are covered in support.

Final Cut Pro is a defacto editing tool and it deserves the price tag that Apple asaks for it. Sit back for a minute and review just how powerful this software is and you will understand its' value. The $995 price tag is very reasonable considering what you can achieve with this software.

Also, in general, we on this forum do not endorse the outlets where you can buy software in this fashion.

Happy filmmaking,

If video is shot in NDF mode should it be captured into FCP 3 using the NDF or DF setting? And should video be shot in DF or NDF mode in general (on an NTSC PD150)?

Thanks,
Erik

What is the intended use of the finsihed product, broadcast, web, VHS distribution or DVD? DF is required for broadcast and DVD. If for web etc. NDF is fine. The easiest way is to do everything in DF and you'll have no worries. Just capture in DF if your work is for broadcast. The timecode numbering won't match but that shouldn't be a big deal unless your working from an EDl.

Jeff

Hi there.
just read the post about IMovie and it brought up an issue i have.
I need to transfer a DV Promo to CD.
It needs to be as big and as best quality i can sqeeze onto the 600 or so meg.
It also needs to be compatible with most Operating systems as i never know on what machines with what os it will be viewed on.
Can I author the cd in quicktime pro which i have and what is the best codec for highest compatibility i notice there are a few in the file menu under export.
What codec will play on any media player for example.
I also would like to embed a player that runs automatically on any machine if thats possible to do.
I have the technology but am totally unsure how to do this and the only quote for it was 400 euors which i am reluctant to pay if it is as easy as exporting the captured dv from imovie with quicktime.
if any one can shed some light it will save my budget and improve my marketing no end.

The website which contains said movie "The Three Sisters" is at
http://standstill.va.com.au
cheers bb

Quicktime and Real are the only major players to have cross-compatible offerings, and these days I'd definitely prefer Quicktime.

You can download the standalone Quicktime installer (so the client won't need a Net download) for Mac and Windows at:

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/standalone/

You've got a tough nut to crack. Quicktime offers the highest picture quality but only has something like a 13% market share (in these players etc). People don't like to download and/or do installs. It's a PC world (hard for me to say as a diehard Mac user) but for maximum compatability you should consider another a program such as Real (it's only in Beta for OS X at this time) or Widows Media Player. Neither offer the quality of Quicktime but your media will probably be seen by a wider audience.

Jeff

Thanks for the input.
Jeff
I will be sending these out on cd.
I was curious about codecs as i am under the impression that some codecs will play on all players ie mpeg4
I could be very wrong.

You are right problem is not all people use macs, wouldn't that be nice. But for the pc users who will mostly be the clients I need a way to make it happen easily and simply.
If they are getting the video then they have requested it so possibly will take a little more trouble to watch it . I think the imbedded quicktime is the way to go so solves the download problem. Thanks Brian!
However i still would love to find out how to make it start up without having the user to do any more than click once on the file to open it?
I would still be interested in the right codec to use it has so many to choose from and i dont know what half of them are.
cheers
Blake

MPEG 4 is mostly for streaming on the internet. MPEG 2 is still the standard (if there is such a thing) for DVD, VCD, SVCD etc. The PC files will need an auto.exe command and it will start playing when it is inserted into the PC. I don't do that type of work so I think that's how it is done.

Toast can burn the CD's and Quicktime Pro can export to Video CD or AVI. At this point I can't really advise you any further because of my lack of PC knowledge.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff and everyone for the help.
It seems i am slightly handicapped here from my lack of authoring knowledge.
I have some freinds doing streaming video and am catching up with them in vienna on wednesday so i will post the solution i find after that.
cheers
blake

Greetings

Just to add on. We use Media Cleaner Pro for our conversions. I convert most of our compressed video to AVI for clients. Most of the world is still PC and AVI's will run on both PC and Mac. Quicktime is better quality but if the client does not have it installed it will not run unless they download the program. Any computer from Windows 95 and up will run an AVI file.

Media Cleaner has a feature where you can say I want to compress this video to no more than 600 MB at the best quality and it does all the math for you. You do want to take into consideration how fast there CDRom drive is. Some slower drives can't run big files. If a client has an old 2X speed CDRom you want to keep the KBS in the 200 range. If it is 4X you can get into the 300 KBS range.

How long is your video clip?
Have you considered Media Cleaner?

I know you can put an auto start with cleaner but I am not sure you can do that with quicktime. Anybody who can halfway use a computer knows how to open a file so this may not be a big problem.

I had forgotten about Cleaner. A new version is due real soon and is supposed to be much faster. The Cleaner output is much better than Quicktime but if cost is a factor go Quicktime Pro ($30 and came with FCP). You will still need a program like Toast to burn the CD. Toast will also burn hybrid CD's that work in both mac and PC (data files etc.).

Jeff

very nice video. i am from chicago (going to college in PA) and it was great to see good ol' chi town for a change. its also cool because ive used those lockers in union station before.

I agree pretty much with everything Dan said about lighting and the quick cuts. i think some of the clips could have been longer, and not as choppy of a cut. thats only my opinion and i'm not a pro, or even studying film. overall i think the video really served its purpose, good job.

brian curtin (native of naperville)

I moved this thread because it seems to be drawing more commentary about the editing choices than about the specific use of a VX-2000. All of the comments could be applied to any camera.

Hi Chip =)

these are my personal views as a editor and videographer. They are not necessarily true =)

First of all, it looks pretty well shot (even with inconsistencies in the lighting, which a lot of them "might" have been fixed in post :) Composition of the shots looked well planned and considering the timeframe you had it is pretty darn good work imho.

On the editing there are a few pointers that you might look into next time. If you cut the action to match the music in the way you have, make sure the pace of the editing matches the length of the music piece you have. If you have a 2.30 - 3 min fast paced trance/heavy metal piece, then by all means cut it fast. When it goes over 3 mins, this style of editing quickly becomes very tiring to watch. Especially since the music did not do much to enhance the mood of the setting. The editing reminded me of 70's style jump-cut action, where they cut up and mix slow-mo sequences. You also change editing style from the beginning (mostly crossfades, almost 0 straight cuts) to a fast paced sub-rythm jump cuts (with almost 0 cross fades).

Don't be afraid to let your actors do the work for you. On the editing table it feels to much like you cut it up for the sake of cutting it up and not because you had a visual plan to enhance the story. Editing is all about rythm, and just as with playing the drums or another instrument, rythm is not all about banging away. From the video materials shown its evident that you have a lot of material to cut from so you should be able to tone it down a bit, letting the action unfold itself properly before you cut it up.

Now. having said that, your target audience is friends and family who will undoubtly be thrilled to see this in any form. And if you have that pesky uncle going "uh. but you cut it up to much" just refuse him that last drink and cigarr (btw. im usually that pesky uncle :)

Hope you got some constructive feedback from my ramblings =)

Regards,
Henrik

Henrik,

your response was...extremely useful and constructive.
Thanyou so much. It sounds as if you have not only experience, but a passion for this art and science of editing.

I will use your tips in future editing.

Dan and Brian,
I appreciate your responses as well...and I'm always glad to bring a little "Chicago" to the world.

Regards,

- Chip

Thanks Jeff much obliged. I'm going to be outputting to DVD without using an EDL. So you've answered my question perfectly.
Erik

Ahh, very interesting. Learning more & more all the time. I appreciate your help.
Erik

I was kinda let down on the inability to right click and down load your movie to the hard drive so I could see it full screen and compare the quality to my new GL2.

You can right click and save on my web page:

http://homepage.mac.com/bhardy3/iMovieTheater17.html

Although some say it is choppy and some say it is very smooth, it depends on your system. You can play it full screen, about 8 MB I think, compressed but watchable.

But I suppose the length of your movie required a massive compression that would not look good full screen.

I really did not have time to look at your movie closely as I had a girl friend in my room who wanted me to edit her movie. But I will get a second chance to see it tonight, hopefully.

FCP is a more expensive program, I am wondering what are the biggest advantages. if any. for someone doing small documentary style projects.
RH

Erik,
Re: color bar calibration, the need for it depends on what you are "calibrating". Using bars to calibrate footage captures is largely a remnant of the analog world where relative signal strength dictated the appearance of captured imaging. But in the digital world a bit is a bit. You would normally make your primary image adjustments with the camera before shooting. The bits the camera lays onto tape are identical to those transferred from the tape to your computer. Adjustments in your computer's nle generally come under the heading of color correction and not calibration.

Calibrating studio reference monitors to SMPTE color bars, however, is still a necessary practice, initially and periodically, to ensure that you're able to accurately view your footage. (Note that I'm referring to crt-based professional monitors and televisions. LCD monitors are generally more problemmatic to accurately calibrate.) Video University has an excellent tutorial on this calibration prrocess at:

http://videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm

Well, as with all tools, it a matter of your own personal taste. Both Premiere and FCP have a basic toolset that is more than adequate for most projects you will encounter. I prefere FCP mostly because of its waveform & monitor tools and its excellent colorcorrection. These functions can be had in Premiere aswell with a plugin. Another good thing with FCP is the ability to create own transitions and effects without being a pro software developer. Though how many non-programmers that use that feature is another matter :)

Both programs will let you do what you are looking for. And both programs will have hardware support if you have the budget. What you use is in the end a matter of your personal taste.

Regards,
Henrik

FCP, imo, is quite superior to Premier in that it has an extensive palette of compositing tools. I'm sure this has all been covered before, so i went go to into it. Do a search on the forum.
Basically, to get all the features of FCP, you need both Premier and After Effects.

I find I am able to do all my compositing fx *within* FCP w/o ever touching AFX!

Yes. but how often do you need compositing tools when doing small Documentary films =)

And there are compositing plugins to be had for Premiere aswell (if you dont wanna go full out and get AFX).

In the end, Premiere vs FCP vs Avid vs Edit* vs Whatever comes down to two things. Budget & personal preference. Its like with cars, do you need a Ferarri to drive to work or will a Honda do just as well? Both will get you to your destination if you drive them well, but one will do it faster (and more expensive (and with more people going ahhh when you swoosh past :) )

Regards,
Henrik

Not one response! Holy toledo!

This is my second post in this forum that went unanswered...so the stories must be true. There are only two people in the whole wide world using Macs for video and I'm one of them. The other doesn't like answering questions.

Oh well...seeyaz

John:
...Here's the other guy using Macs for video! :-)
You've probably already tried this, but try Control + clicking the transition you've set and reselecting the placement of the transition (Center on Edit/start on edit/end on edit): I usually want center on transition, but I've noticed that my FCP sometimes selects one of the other options for no apparent reason.
My two bits...
Best,
Ram

There is a much easier way to do a basic fade-in/fade-out...place your clip in the timeline (bag the two black clips). Set your timeline view to include rubber bands..(see the lower left corner of the timeline, click the button that looks like a line graph with two red points). The rubber bands are used to let you set the opacity of your clip. Use the pen tool to set keyframe points at the ends of the clip, and where you want your fade-in to end, and your fade-out to start, and then use the pointer tool to drag the endpoints of the rubber band to the bottom of the clip...render. Done. This is a very accurate way of controlling fading, as you can also set intermediate points to affect the "ramp" of the fade.

One other trick...if using this technique on a long clip, use the razor blade to separate out the transition areas of the clip (rendering will be faster.)

Barry (#3mac user)

Hey! There's three of us! Woohoo! I'm not alone!

Ram, thanks for the tip. I'd tried that and that's actually what had me baffled. Even though I control clicked the dissolve and typed in a new duration, FCP wouldn't accept it. Can't imagine why it won't let me.

But Barry...your suggestion sounds like just what the doctor ordered. I'd never even thought of doing it that way...so thanks! I'll test it out now.

Adios Mac Compadres.

Ive been checking out the prices on memory and hard drives. Im having trouble understanding how to tell the mac stuff from the PC stuff. Unless it has a chart or parragraph that tells me. Im lost.
Can someone help me out.

Also on a side note. Is there a difference in mac and PC monitors?
Thanks
Ryan

With respect to hard drives there really are no platform-specific distinctions. Interface type is the key issue. If you're looking for a drive that will mounted internally in a Power Mac G4, for example, you're looking for an ATA interface. If you're interested in an external drive you're looking for a FireWire interface. (FW drives are generally ATA drives mounted in an enclosure that provides the ATA-to-FireWire bridge interface.

Re: monitors, the display adapters in newer Power Macs feature Apple's ADC connector as well as a standard VGA connector. So you can use nearly any monitor with your Mac.

thank you for all your help. Now do you know by chance if the older version g4 quicksilvers have these adaptors to run any type of monitor?

Barry: Great idea. I haven't tried that out either...am trying it out - NOW. There, it works!
John: It goes beyond the 'control+click+change duration' technique :-). Sometimes the simplest way, I've found, is to simply delete the transition from the timeline, save and close down the project, and open it again after a few seconds. The transition will now accept whatever duration you tell it to!
Macs rule - but boy, FCP can be quirky!
Ram

If you repeatedly have to close out of something you may have a bad FCP preference file. To check remove the file and start FCP. It will create a new preference file. If problem goes away, then you know. If you delete the preference file you will loose all your presets, capture settings etc. So don't delete right away and write down your settings for easy restoration of your settings.

Jeff

I'm using the imac and right now I'm using iMovie. I think it's great. i shot my first wedding a couple of weeks ago using my XL1-s and editting with the Mac. It came out great. the people really liked it.

After buying Premier I discover only the PC version includes the mpeg-2 encoder for making DVD. What program can I use to get top quality encoding of my DV files?

Is DVD pro from
Apple the ONLY program for burning DVD on the mac?

I have a G4 400

thanks
robert

Haven tried cleaner will have a look at it.
thanks for the help
much appreciated.
blake

iDVD will work with an internal DVD burner. It will not recognize an external burner. Cleaner will do MPEG 2 encoding, but its not an authoring program. Toast can burn DVD's, but it doesn't encode or author.

Jeff