The G5's are not brand new machines when thought of as using high technology that is in a constant state of change. The G5's were introduced in June of 2003. The first G5 (single processor 1.8GHz) was discontinued 5 months later. The current G5's are expected to be replaced within the next month or so. Major upgrades to Panther are expected at the same time.

Monitor set-up with FCP
 

I am using FCP with a G5 and I am going to be connecting two standard computer monitors to my system. I will also be connecting a broadcast quality JVC monitor and I am getting a lot of conflicting information as to how to connect the JVC to my G5. Do I need to connect it through my DVX-100A as the FCP manual states? or is there a direct connection/card etc for the G5?

Many thanks.

Rich,

To answer your monitor question...

The simple and quick answer as to why most editors use two monitors is because of screen real estate, or space. When you open your timeline, your viewer, your browser, and any other new windows in <Insert Your Favorite Editing Program Here>, things can get pretty crowded on just one screen.

Having the ability to move windows around and onto a completely separate monitor will create a comfortable and organized workspace that will probably help your workflow.

The most common connection is via the video out jack on your camera, or preferably, an external deck.

DVD's & AC3 Audio ?
 

I'm wondering if all DVD's use the AC3 audio format ? I have QT Pro 6.5, and just bought the MPEG-2 Playback Component because it was "capable" of playing VOB's. Of course it isn't much use now that I've found out it doesn't support AC3 audio. Thanks !

Kirk

If you're burning your own, you can write either AC-3 or AIFF. The advantage to AC-3 is that it has a lower bit rate and you can put more video on a DVD at a higher bit rate.

See this article: http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage..._warmouth.html

ND Filter in post using FCP4 ?
 

I have some rather nice clips that should have been shot using an ND filter- is there a way to tone down blown-out highlights or areas of over-exposure in post using FCP4?

audio waver in FCP4 after render
 

Hi,
I am working on a project in which there are multiple songs playing. some of the Songs I got for mp3s some from cds, all but 1 sond fine. There is one slow motion sequence in which I have put an mp3 over and this is the only place in the project that says the audio requires rendering. After being rendered there are strage blips and wavers in the song, it isn't constant but sounds quite anoying. I am using FCP 4 on an 876 mhz PB G4 running OS 10.2.8, 768mb of RAM and editing off a firewire maxtor hard drive. Can anyone help me with fixing this?

Thanks,
Drew

MP3's need to be converted (I use QuickTime) to AIFF files before use in FCP. When do the conversion make sure the audio settings match your project settings.

You can also do 5.1 channel audio with AC3, which most professional DVDs have. Stereo is soooo "yesterday". Step up to 5.1, folks. Give your audience a treat.

Nope. Just like distorted audio, once it's gone, it's gone. You can lower the brightness, but the blown out areas will still be blown out.

You can try rendering some CG to fill in the blown out areas. :)

Text and title preference, FCP or LType?
 

Just wondering how most liked to use each aspect of each program with regards to titles and text-

Jeff

Scrolling text speed controlled by clip length, right?
 

Don't seem to see any adjustments in the controls tab or anywhere else for he speed of the scroll. Am I corrrect in that in depends on the length of the clip?

Just curious if there was a way to dial in an exact speed since I have read that by setting the speed at certain intervals (even/odd numbers) you can reduce flickering. I've certainly noticed that scrolling text looks very different depending on the speed-

Jeff

What editor are you using?

Also, what facility in the editor are you using for your text?

AIFF is not a DVD compatible format. Perhaps your DVD authoring
package accepts it, but the current list of supported formats are:

- PCM
- MPEG audio
- AC3 Dolby Digital
- dts

All can be stereo or multi channel surround.

See the DVD FAQ for more info...

FCP and DVD Studio Pro title questions
 

Well, the subject could be a tad misleading, but I don't think it is.

I filmed a wedding a little over 2 weeks ago, and I'm nearly ready to burn it onto DVD, using DVD Studio Pro 2. What the happy couple asked me to do, was, when the DVD is put in, and they wanted to play through the movie, the only title that would appear would be the first one. Saying something like So and so's wedding on this day...

Now, when what they also requested, which is the main reason I'm seeking advice, is when they go to the chapter selection page, when they select a chapter they want to watch, they want a title to appear, then the movie starting. So, my question, is how to I set it to do that?

I thought I had it figured out, but I don't remember anymore... I guess turning 20 really is old...

Anyways, would you be able to export all of the titles, 25 total (it's a lot, I know, but it's what was requested) and somehow put each titles before the video on the chapters page?

I'm looking for the easiest way, but I'm ok for doing things which take some time, but the end justifies the means.

Thanks again!

Nice catch, Rob. I was thinking of the AIFF you can bring into SP2 rather than the PCM output. I still like the bit rate budget of AC3, even when it's just stereo.

Cheers

If I remember correctly (and this is from long ago) AIFF is basically
just another form of PCM. So your authoring package is just
writing it to disc as PCM (probably) or perhaps recoding it to
MPEG audio. Keep in mind that PCM encoding is LOSSLESS, which
the other formats aren't and it can even go to 96 khz / 24 bit
if you want (only not with full surround then due to bitrates),
although not a lot of people have the audio equipment to hear
the difference with that.

So if you want maximum audio quality PCM is the best way to go,
but ofcourse AC3 and especially dts sound good as well.

If you want more technical details on the possible audio formats
and what frequencies etc. are supported see section 3.6.2 of the FAQ.

Yes, the speed of scrolling text is varied by how long the clip is. I do not know of a way to input the speed you want it to travel at, I would just recommend playing with some of the controls, because there are a few options, but I found that it's a quick trial and error thing. It usually takes 2 times, maybe 3, to get the speed you want it to be at.

Hope this helps.

i just like plain text. Plain text over video or on black. But then perhaps I just have no imagination....

Under your Tools drop-down menu, you can use Quickview to check up to a 10 second segment for speed. It's pretty handy and saves having to render the entire roll to check it.

I'll second that, Joe: I'v efound that if you can keep the text relatively simple, it's impossible for the guy at the VHS copy place to screw it up, or bad technical quality on a broadcast system to mess up.
Having said that, of course, I must add that a good technician can and does preserve quality on titling (no bleeds/jitters etc.)

24p & FCE
 

I can't seem to find the final answer to this. Is there any way to shoot 24p and edit in FCE? Thanks, Grant

I don't use FCE, but my understanding is that 24p can't be edited in FCE. You'll need to get FCP in order to edit 24p.

Emergency..plsease Help Asap
 

What is the best way to unmount my Lacie d2 Firewire External HD since my eMac (running OS 9.2.2) frooze and needs to be shut down. Could someone respond asap? I have two important projects on the Lacie and cannot afford to lose/damage them. Thanks.

I don't think there's a lot you can do other than shut your mac down if 9.2 has crashed. Generally speaking you should be OK from my experience. But I would go out immediately to a local store (like CompUSA perhaps) and get a copy of DiskWarrior. Then after re-booting the mac run DiskWarrior and have it check the drive before attempting to do anything with it. While you're at it, you might want to invest in another external drive and run a backup.

I had a crash during a backup between an internal and external drive (under 9.2) and to my horror both drives appeared to be trashed! Of course this was at 4:00 AM while finishing a huge project as well. I spent some nervous hours until I could get back with a copy of DiskWarrior. Happily it repaired the damage on the external drive, although the internal was never the same.

Boyd, thank you so much for your quick reply.

Should I unplug the Lacie before shutting down the eMac?

importing graphics help!!
 

I used a scanner to make some copy's of graphics out of a book. I plan to zoom and move over them to give them just that little bit more. But when I put them in the timeline they all of sudden have "lines" running downward and when I pan and zoom they show up because they start to interference like a tv monitor would do when you shoot it( or if you are filming a person with a shirt that the camera has problems with, you know what I mean?)
I have no idea what is causing this, the files are frame size 1639x1275 and photo JPEG,
I tried tiff files but no difference ...

I checked the manual and I saw that you need to import the grahics the size dv would like but I have no idea how to do that + I would like to zoom so they need to stay good when I get close( I use wireframe and resize the image the way I want)
Is this the proper way? and next what is wrong with the images to behave in such a way?
ps
Because I wanted to check the sequence settings I did that command but fcp then all of sudden quits on me, any suggestions?

Hi David,

The images probably have a fine dot matrix in them if they are grayscale or tonal. This is a part of the printing process and will cause a moiré effect when combined with the grid system of a video image.

You can try slightly blurring the images in Photoshop before importing them to FCP.

I hope that's a help,

Just reboot the Mac. You should never unplug a mounted drive. If your machine is locked up, the drive can not be unmounted. Your drive will probably be OK, unless it is the source of the error.

thanks for the info, I will try that...but is that really the only way? cant I do that in fcp as well ? or will that not work as good?
Do I need to a fotoshop file at DV targetresolution or can I leave them as big as they are?

I tried that and it works fine!! If it wasnt for this forum I would have pulled my hairs out a long time ago....
thanks!!

no problem,

I'm glad it worked.

downgrading the OS
 

I have to downgrade my OS from panther to jaguar because avid wont run under it. I have everything so it is not a problem...but I noticed that it will put all my old OS files in a special file and create a new OS Jaguar... Will I have to install all the programs all over again or can I simply place them in my NEW HD?

greetings

The OS installer will move all your applications to the new Jaguar Applications folder (assuming they were in the applications folder to begin with).

cannot launch FCP version 3
 

I tried to launch Final Cut, and couldn't, followed by a message "please insert the original CD that was used to install Final Cut Pro"...Any thoughts whilst I try to re-locate that disk?

Sounds like the invisible file that contains serial number data is corrupt, or got moved. You can try deleting the preference files and restarting. Do a search and you'll find by instructions. There are three preferences files that need to be deleted.

chapters on iDVD3 with FCP4. Can I do it?
 

I'm sure this has been covered, but one of the advantages of iDVD3 over iDVD2 is that it can include chapters. I know that it can add them with iMovie, but can I add these markers with FCP4 and have them recoginized by iDVD3? If not, I guess I'll have to get DVD Studio Pro 2 (which I want anyway, but $ is always in the way!)
If it's easy, how do I do it? If it's hard, I guess I'll honker down and read the manual.
Thanks
-Kyle

Many users report lots of trouble upgrading to iDVD3. I wouldn't fix what isn't broken. If you do have to upgrade, I'd back-up before doing so.

In FCP you can add markers and change them to chapter markers. m to add and mm to edit them if I remember correctly. Otherwise right click and it's in a menu somewhere. I don't use iDVD2 (or iDVD :P) so I'm not sure if that works, but it should.

Did you move the software to another computer maybe? Otherwise I think Jeff is correct in that the file is damaged. Whenever you install or move FCP you will need to have the original disk that came with the software. In fact they have used some sort of copy protection scheme such that a backup copy of the CD won't even work, it must be the original Apple-supplied item. I think they can send you a duplicate for a fee, provided you can prove registration. However FCP 3 is old now, so I don't know that they're still supporting it in that way.

Start searching for that disk, I think you're going to need it...