Donnie,
I think this thread might give you some insight. Basically, you work with a highly-compressed (JPEG) version of the footage, do your edit, and then re-capture the footage in full DV format to finish up.

Well firstly, you need skill/talent/experience.

And you also need an idea and things to shoot.

I don't know what else you need since I don't know what exactly you plan on shooting and editing, but generally to make a great video you will need (in addition to camera + NLE):

good sound gear (which gear depends how you shoot)
good monitors if you are going to mix
headphones to monitor sound

tripod

NTSC monitor (depends on your needs)

lights (depends)

2- The VX2100 doesn't need an additional lens. Maybe you mean something else?

3- Extended warranties usually aren't worth it. It's up to you though.

Hi Ken

thanks for that. I had read it already and was hoping to get some input from somebody who actually uses this feature and has the time to discuss it's shortcomings/benifits.

I gather from that thread that the original capture is done using photo jpeg? Am I correct? In that case I should not be logging these massive DV format clips?

I edit using the photojpeg clips and then I re-capture?

There are lots of options and I suppose I want somebody to hold my hand for fear I'll screw the whole lot up. I don't mind playing about but if I'm going to commit and edit using this mechanism I'd like to be sure I'm doing it right...

What confuses me are options like "take offline". What does it do? When I select it on a clip it just removes the link to the original media. The manual is great but I think it lacks a bit in describing this area, or maybe I'm just too dumb to own a computer ;)

regardless, I'm going to try playing about a bit more and try to tame this this thing they call FCP (Freggin Complicated Program).

thanks for a great site, it'a a lifeline for me...
Donie

firstly, you need skill/talent/experience.

Got it, over 4 years of Hi-8 shooting

And you also need an idea and things to shoot.

Got it

I don't know what else you need since I don't know what exactly you plan on shooting and editing, but generally to make a great video you will need (in addition to camera + NLE):

What's NLE, by the way?

good sound gear (which gear depends how you shoot)
good monitors if you are going to mix
headphones to monitor sound

Apple 17" flatsceen, I don't think that's the best for editing, but that's what I got.



2- The VX2100 doesn't need an additional lens. Maybe you mean something else?

Century Optics .3x ultrafisheye

3- Extended warranties usually aren't worth it. It's up to you though.

Was $149, includes one head cleaning per year, as well as repairs ect., seems like a good deal

NLE: Non Linear Editing. We usually refer to non linear editing softwares to NLE. You said that you have Final Cut Pro 4, so you already have a NLE.

Correct. When you start your capture, you'll see a tab on the Capture panel titled "Capture/Input". Select "DV to OfflineRT NTSC (Photo JPEG)". (Or select the "Anamorphic" option if your footage is 16:9.) Then just capture as you normally would.
Yes.

The term "offline" is imprecisely and ambiguously used so, indeed, your confusion is understandable. The other context of the term is when a clip is inaccessible. That is, it's been logged in the project, with in and out points, but FCP can't find the source clip at the expected location. Reconnecting the clip is generally just a matter of telling FCP where to find it.

Unless you're under the gun, experiment! Remember, FCP can't trash your master tapes. The worst that will happen is that you'll have to trash your project and start over. But you'll certainly learn something along the way.

Have fun!

Success! Trashing the preferences and repairing permissions worked - Thank you.

Final Cut Jitters
 

Last night I captured a miniDV tape recorded by a friend and burned it to dvd. It looks great on the computer monitor, but terrible on the television. Everything is jittery when movement is involved, almost as if repeating frames. At first I thought it might be the tape, but recorded new footage with my own camcorder and burned that to dvd. It resulted in the same jitter-look as my friend's footage.

I'm pretty sure this isn't camcorder related because, when plugging the camcorder directly into the tv, the footage looks great. I'm also pretty sure its not related to field dominance because I've changed those settings as well, but received the same results. Also, frame mode seems to look better than interlaced, but still a little funny.

This is my first project since updating to Quicktime Pro 6.5.1 and Toast Titanium 6.0.5. Could this update be related? Has anyone else had similar problems?

You need to make sure that your capture settings are correctly set, the settings might have changed or you need to change them for this camera or this footage.

I'd start there.

Did you shoot this footage differently then other footage you've captured?

Footage Archive Options
 

I've got some footage that is of part of a documentary we shot for a company, I captured all 4 tapes onto my system before I shipped them the tapes (being paranoid and wanting to get paid) but now I've got these four big files (11, 10, 11 and 1.9 gigs) on my media drives and I want to get them off but don't want to delete them since I might want to use some of it for a reel or something.

I know the simplist answer is going to be "buy a big ass hard drive and dump them on that and unplug it and store it. " but I just don't have the cash to drop on a 100+ gig HD right this week.

I have been thinking about using a compression program to split them into sizes that would fit onto data DVDs.

Any sharp ideas or suggestions would be MUCHO appreciated!

Thank you guys both. I posted this same question on other forums and it sounds like APC is tha way to go.

Mac OS X 10.3.4 Update released
 

Apple has released a new update, possibly the last before Tiger, which is due the end of summer or early fall. The following is a list of improvements:


The 10.3.4 Update delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" and is recommended for all users.

Key enhancements include:
- improved file sharing and directory services for Mac (AFP), UNIX (NFS), PPTP, and wireless networks
- improved OpenGL technology and updated ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers
- improved disc burning and recording functionality
- iPods connected via USB 2.0 are now recognized by iTunes and iSync
- additional FireWire audio and USB device compatibility
- updated Address Book, Mail, Safari, Stickies, and QuickTime applications
- improved compatibility for third party applications
- previous standalone security updates

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n25764


It can be down loaded via Software Update (System Preference, or Apple Menu) or at the link above. If you down load via software Update I recommend downloading only and not installing directly.

Transparent Photoshop CS Graphics in FCP4
 

Hey everyone

I'm working on a wedding video, and having some problems with photoshop graphics. I attempted to do a scrolling credits file with fairly large text (approx. 20-25 pt) and once it is keyframed, the text jitters on playback.

I thought that a deinterlace filter would help fix this problem, but it did nothing.

I have also had some text jitter problems on static graphics (no keyframing) with somewhat smaller text (around 15pt or so). Is there a general rule for a minimum text size to prevent these jitters?

does anyone have any ideas on how to fix these problems? I love the new non-square pixel compatibility in photoshop cs, but i really need these files to display properly in final cut!

This tutorial should help. I would also consider Live Type as well.

Thanks Kevin, but it actually ended up being the Toast update. For some reason it goofs up the mpeg-2 encoding. After trashing that version and installing 6.0.3, everything worked just fine. At this point, I'd advise against updating until Roxio makes a patch or something for this.