Replace audio Cineform track in FCP

Anmol Mishra · May 24th, 2011, 12:05 AM

Hi! I am using pluraleyes to replace an audio track from the camera with one recorded off camera. I have the camera file aligned with the off-camera audio.

Now I proceed to delete the audio from the camera file.

At this time when I export, (keeping the same settings) FCP should just re-encode the audio. This should not be more than a few minutes.

I get 7 minutes on a quad core for a 2 min Cineform file. This leads me to believe that FCP is re-encoding the original file.

Is there a way to prevent this ? To force a "Smart Encode" where only the audio is encoded ?

Craig Davidson · May 24th, 2011, 10:50 AM

When you export (Export QuickTime...) make sure that the option to "Recompress All Frames" is not checked.

Anmol Mishra · May 24th, 2011, 11:12 PM

Hi Craig. That option is not checked. I have exported qt references before and they work well with ProRes.
Could I suggest that you try this on a Mac ? Its easy to see what would or would not work.

A qt reference would be faster than realtime - so a 1 min. clip would take less than a min. If you are taking 20 min to export a qt reference, clearly FCP is recompressing the CF file.

Craig Davidson · May 26th, 2011, 10:33 PM

I tried that on my laptop (Mac) and exported a timeline almost 3 minutes long in 5 seconds.

Anmol Mishra · May 27th, 2011, 04:45 AM

Interesting, is there anything special in your Sequence or A/V settings ?

I only have the recommended settings in Sequence, CF as the render codec, everything else the same.

Does it matter if there are lots of cuts in the timeline for a CF qt reference ?

Craig Davidson · May 27th, 2011, 02:54 PM

It should not matter if there are a number of clips in the sequence. I tried a longer 'movie' with 4 clips and it still only took about 5 seconds. I added a title over some clips, and that did render.
The sequence matches the source clip. Start with an empty project, add a clip and let FCP match the sequence settings to the clip.

Anmol Mishra · May 28th, 2011, 01:40 AM

I did a few experiments today. Turns out that when I created my projects, FCP asked me to match the sequence settings. I said No.

Now I have an hour of edited footage that refuses to conform to the sequence settings.

Hence I cannot make a qt reference, and everything is re-rendered. If I start a new project nd bring in the files fresh from the hdd, it renders fine.

I tried using the manual conform - that does not work either.

Any suggestions ?

May 24th, 2011, 12:05 AM	#1
Anmol Mishra Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 401	Replace audio Cineform track in FCP - unnecessary encode Hi! I am using pluraleyes to replace an audio track from the camera with one recorded off camera. I have the camera file aligned with the off-camera audio. Now I proceed to delete the audio from the camera file. At this time when I export, (keeping the same settings) FCP should just re-encode the audio. This should not be more than a few minutes. I get 7 minutes on a quad core for a 2 min Cineform file. This leads me to believe that FCP is re-encoding the original file. Is there a way to prevent this ? To force a "Smart Encode" where only the audio is encoded ? __________________ mishra.tv Productions A Sydney-based group for dance movement-based video and film productions.

May 24th, 2011, 10:50 AM	#2
Craig Davidson Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 142	Re: Replace audio Cineform track in FCP - unnecessary encode When you export (Export QuickTime...) make sure that the option to "Recompress All Frames" is not checked.

May 24th, 2011, 11:12 PM	#3
Anmol Mishra Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 401	Re: Replace audio Cineform track in FCP - unnecessary encode Hi Craig. That option is not checked. I have exported qt references before and they work well with ProRes. Could I suggest that you try this on a Mac ? Its easy to see what would or would not work. A qt reference would be faster than realtime - so a 1 min. clip would take less than a min. If you are taking 20 min to export a qt reference, clearly FCP is recompressing the CF file. __________________ mishra.tv Productions A Sydney-based group for dance movement-based video and film productions.

May 26th, 2011, 10:33 PM	#4
Craig Davidson Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 142	Re: Replace audio Cineform track in FCP - unnecessary encode I tried that on my laptop (Mac) and exported a timeline almost 3 minutes long in 5 seconds.

May 27th, 2011, 04:45 AM	#5
Anmol Mishra Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 401	Re: Replace audio Cineform track in FCP - unnecessary encode Interesting, is there anything special in your Sequence or A/V settings ? I only have the recommended settings in Sequence, CF as the render codec, everything else the same. Does it matter if there are lots of cuts in the timeline for a CF qt reference ? __________________ mishra.tv Productions A Sydney-based group for dance movement-based video and film productions.

May 27th, 2011, 02:54 PM	#6
Craig Davidson Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 142	Re: Replace audio Cineform track in FCP - unnecessary encode It should not matter if there are a number of clips in the sequence. I tried a longer 'movie' with 4 clips and it still only took about 5 seconds. I added a title over some clips, and that did render. The sequence matches the source clip. Start with an empty project, add a clip and let FCP match the sequence settings to the clip.

May 28th, 2011, 01:40 AM	#7
Anmol Mishra Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 401	Re: Replace audio Cineform track in FCP - unnecessary encode I did a few experiments today. Turns out that when I created my projects, FCP asked me to match the sequence settings. I said No. Now I have an hour of edited footage that refuses to conform to the sequence settings. Hence I cannot make a qt reference, and everything is re-rendered. If I start a new project nd bring in the files fresh from the hdd, it renders fine. I tried using the manual conform - that does not work either. Any suggestions ? __________________ mishra.tv Productions A Sydney-based group for dance movement-based video and film productions.