DVD Studio Pro 2 Question
 

i am currently working on a custom dvd in dvd studio pro 2 and i ran into a little problem. the graphics were all done in after effects and the way it looks is that there's words on a slant such as Play, Song Selections, Extras...and they're all really close together, not touching, just really close and on an angle. when i created a button, it's on such a slant that it runs into another button, so then the button i don't want highlighted is highlighted. is there any way to customize the button box, so that it's not a rectangle, and so that i could add more points to the button box, to avoid running into other words. kind of hard to understand, but if you could help me at all, i would appreciate it. thank you.

Does QT7 Pro have MPEG-2 export feature?
 

Hi everyone,
I've held off purchasing tiger because I prefer using the QT/mpeg-2 export option in QT6 pro for use in DVD authoring. Does anyone have tiger/QT7 pro installed? Is there an mpeg-2 export option? Thank you.
doug

exporting anamorphic footage to .mp4 in FCP HD
 

is there a way to do it, and get it to unsqueeze the footage?

Online Offline in FCP ? about sequence settings.
 

If I do an offline edit to save disk space and have the sequence settings set for the lower quality, will I be able to change them later for the recapture?
Do I need to edit with sequence settings set for the higher quality even though I am working with the offline media files that are captured at lower resolution? The reason for my confusion comes from page 121 in the onscreen manual about half way down the page it says.

"Even if you'll be outputting at a smaller frame size for multimedia use, it's best to edit your video at its full size, then scale it down."

There are a heck of a lot of gottchyas in this program and I just don't want to spend a week editing something with the wrong setting only to realize it will have to be done all over again with the correct one.

Motion demo reference
 

Last year, Apple had posted on their quicktime site a movie file of a demonstration of Motion - as part of a larger conference presentation as I remember. I am in need of referencing this movie file and I am unable to find it now that Apple has updated all of those sites to reference the upcoming FCStudio. Does anyone know where I can find the Motion demonstration video that was posted last year. Thanks in advance.
-Jon

What does "Make Freeze Frame" actually do?
 

My co-workers like to use the "Make Freeze Frame" command in FCP 4.5 all the time, and they are terrible with media management. When they run the Media Manager to clean up their acts a little, they often lose the freeze frames they make with that Shift-N command. From what I can tell, it appears to me that Make Freeze Frame just creates a reference to the original master clip instead of creating a still image file (as I can't find any of these in the capture scratch or elsewhere). Can anyone confirm this for me? I can't find the answer in the FCP manuals or in forum and Google searches.

If that is the case, then I have a related question. When they run projects through Media Manager, they seem to lose the original media timecode on all the master clips. I don't trust the Media Manager so I rarely run it, but this doesn't seem right to me. Is there a reason the Media Manager would ditch the original timecode (i.e. can I fix this by tweaking a setting I'm not seeing?) or is this error coming from somewhere else? If I could preserve the original timecode then I imagine that would solve the freeze frame problem as well. Anyone have experience with this?

Compressor adding title names to video
 

When I export a quicktime file with chapter markers from FCP 4.5 and run it through Compressor to add to DVD Studio Pro it adds white lines at the top with the name of the chapter. How do I get rid of these?

Stand-alone software Color Correctors?
 

I'm looking for a stand-alone software color corrector for SD to use on my G5. I know of Final Touch SD, but are there any others? I can get by with Final Cut Pro's color corrector, but secondary color correction is nearly impossible.

RAM issue affecting 15" Powerbooks, possibly others
 

I posted in another thread about an odd memory glitch I noticed today while upgrading my 15" 1ghz aluminum powerbook. I thought it went away, but in fact it's still there. After reading through the support forums on apple.com I learned that I am not alone on this, and a number of users are having the same problem.

At some point during the past year - hard to say when - the original Apple 256MB SO-DIMM in the lower slot stopped working. I never even realized this until today because I don't usually do RAM intensive stuff on my Powerbook. But this summer I will depend on it while working in South America, so I decided to upgrade to 1.5 GB.

To make a long story short, many people are experiencing failure of the lower DIMM slot on newer powerbooks. Apple has to replace the motherboard to fix the problem. Fortunately for me, I have Applecare. Others don't and aren't very happy about all this. And people who have had their machines repaired fear that the same thing will happen again after the warranty expires.

Apple hasn't acknowledged the problem, but obviously it's real. If you have a 15" powerbook.... have you looked to see how much RAM is being recognized recently? You may get an unpleasant surprise like I did! There seem to be some reports of similar problems on the G4 iBooks.

There are several threads on this in Apple's own forums. The following one describes all the symptoms, and urges people to report this to Apple in the hopes they will do a recall or warranty extension:

http://discussions.info.apple.com/we...5976@.68ab7b77

Download the new Final Cut Studio manuals here
 

http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutstudio/

See the PDF files in the Documentation bar on the right side of the screen. Click on each application for the full manuals plus additional resources.

Apple recalls iBook and Powerbook batteries
 

Here we go again! Apple is recalling a bunch of batteries from 12" and 15" Powerbooks plus 12" iBook G4's. See this page to determine if your laptop is affected:

https://depot.info.apple.com/battery...x.html?lang=en

FCP5 and Ultimatte
 

After installing Ultimatte plug in. I created two clips A and B on tracks v1 and v2.

1.Select the foreground v1 choose effects- video-filters-ulitmate-advantedge
2.Double click the foreground layer to load in viewer window
3.selete the filters tab in the viewer window
4.Drag the background footage from the bin to the BG preview icon.
5.Click on the AdvantEdge logo button to launch the AdvantEdge interface.
6.Click on Overlay and Add overlay and do video correction and roto correction. then click ok so the final merged clip will be available on the viewer window in FCP.

This is rough work i did last night My question is how can drop the merged clip into my time line or should i created a separate sequence and drop the clip there. Becuase when i delete the source clips the merged clips from Ultimatte also gets deleted. Should i make it as a independent clip. Its just confusing. Please help!!!

Final Cut Express Keyboard Commands
 

Does anyone know where the file that controls the keyboard commands for this program is at, since you can't change them to your liking as in FCP?

If I could find that file I'm sure I could modify it, the odd ball command keys bug the crap out of me!

DVCPROHD to transport stream atsc?
 

Hi Guys

there a way to convert DVCPROHD into Transport Stream ATSC HDTV?(not transport stream HDV)?


or maybe only th video to mpeg2 1080i/p?


best regards



Gabriele

From FCP5 HDV to SD DVD w/Compressor?
 

I have a 27 minute HDV sequence in FCP5 ready to export to Compressor for use in DVD SP. I intend to downconvert the HDV content to 16:9 letterboxed SD (4:3) on the final DVD. This is the first time I have used either Compressor or DVD SP (I used to go straight from FCP to iDVD with previous SD DV projects), and even after pouring through the manuals and the workflow guide that came with the Final Cut Pro Studio package, I am utterly confused at the bewildering array of codecs and settings in Compressor.

I am starting with the DVD Best Quality 90 minutes 4:3 preset, and setting the Frame Controls in the Inspector to Automatic (assuming it will fit the wide format HDV picture into the normal 4:3 video frame with letterboxing). This is taking a ridiculously long time - an estimated 8 hours for the 27 minute sequence.

Can anyone tell me if I am headed in the right direction or list the steps to do this the right way? Does it make more sense to use DV-NTSC anamorphic and let the DVD player letterbox the output on 4:3 screens?

Sorry if these sound like idiotic questions, but I haven't found any useful answers in the manuals so far.

Thanks for any assistance you can give!

EDITED: Another Approach...

The method outlined above failed for a number of reasons, but even if I had gotten the right files to import into DVD SP4, the 14 HOURS Compressor took to manage the conversion makes that approach unworkable.

Instead, I have successfully sent my completed project back to my FX1 via Print To Tape as a full bore HDV transfer. This takes about four times the project length to pre-convert before being ready to re-record in real time.

Then I created a standard DV project in FCP, changed the FX1 settings to downconvert via iLink (firewire) so that it creates a letterboxed 16:9 picture in a 4:3 format, and captured the whole thing back to the computer.

It was then a simple thing to Export a reference (not self-contained) QT Movie and use iDVD to burn the required disk. Total time for this process was less than 4 hours. Hardly speedy, but at least three times faster than using Compressor. Of course, the settings I used in Compressor - which produced an unusable file - may have been responsible for the lengthy conversion. If someone knows the right settings, I would be happy to try this again without the trip back out to tape / recapture.

The final DVD looks like a good quality DV product. Fast motion produces noticeable compression artifacts that seem more pronounced than they were in HDV, but the overall impression is that it was shot on a very good SD camera - kind of what I was hoping to see.

HDV Transcoding Redux: Give Me Your Ideas and I'll Try Them All :D
 

I hope I'm not starting too many threads about this in various places, but I'd like to again ask for opinions on getting the best possible quality out of HDV content when transcoding to an SD codec for output to videotape. Let's for the moment NOT discuss the topic of transcoding to MPEG-2/DVD.

I have a 3.5 minute HDV sequence sitting in my FCP 5 timeline right now. I have to get in onto a DVCPro50 tape. Here are the various software/hardware options open to me, as I see it:

- Export a self-contained Quicktime reference movie from FCP using a custom DVCPro50 sequence setting. I use NTSC DV pixel size (720x480), and check "anamorphic." (Any ideas on field order setting here? I know HDV is upper but DV is lower. :\ ) This exported movie could then be brought back into FCP 5 and dropped into a native DVCPro50 sequence. Connect firewire DVCPro50 deck, print to tape.

- Record sequence back to HDV tape (lossless). Recapture as DV, then print to tape. Of course this is a notch down from DVCPro50, but might actually look better if Apple's transcoding in #1 above is subpar.

- Record sequence back to HDV tape (lossless). Recapture as HDV. Use DVHSCap or HDVxDV to extract the .m2t transport stream. Open .m2t in MPEG Streamclip and export as DVCPro50, deinterlacing. Could also do the "Steven White" method of deinterlacing to 1080p 59.97fps, then 720p, then 720i to preserve best quality. I guess this is pretty much the same as #1, it's just the MPEG Streamclip folks vs Apple in terms of compression.

- Record sequence back to HDV tape (lossless). Digitize via Kona 2 card from HDV deck's analog component outputs as uncompressed into FCP. Export DVCPro50 from FCP.

I am in the fortunate position of having access to a Firewire DVCPro50 deck, and my boss has the Kona setup (RAID and all) in his office. After my deadline, I'll try to run a test of all methods and post the results. In the meantime, please let me hear your speculations... Thanks!

FCP 5 question and thoughts
 

I'm loving FCP 5, esp. with a project I was trying to cut from iMovie HD footage--FCP 5 detected it and I set my sequence to HDV 1080i and checked the anamorphic flag, and I was good to go. Sure, iMovie HD has some artifacts, but I really don't want to have to re-capture and re-cut my short film. It's done, I'm happy.

However, one quick question, because I haven't captured any HDV footage yet: will FCP 5 detect timecode on the HDV cameras (HD10, FX1, etc.), so I can do logs and batch captures? And possibly re-captures?

Thanks,

Heath

Motion filters to track the color change
 

I have a object in the video clip that moves randomly and i want to lock a specific color on the object so that it remains in the same color where it moves.

I tried Garbage matte, 3 way color corrector but couldn't get the desired result. Any idea what specifics should i follow. Any help in motion would really be appreciated. I'm new to motion.

Mac-based Station Playback
 

I was wondering if anyone had any experience using any sort of Mac-based playback application.

I work for a municipal access station and we are moving to FCP for our editing. Currently our playback is run through a PVC-8 (programable video switcher) and a Scala system (http://www.scala.com). MPEG2s running from the Scala look like crap, and running DV on the decks really wears them out.

Here is what I am trying to do:

Find a way to use a Mac-based system to playback videos and slide-content (ala the Scala). Scheduling would be an important part of the software package.

Thanks for any help.

Newb Q: AfterEffects export to FCP 5... What format is best?
 

Im pretty new to Mac and was wondering what format and compression settings
would be best to export into final cut pro from Aftereffects for the best quality, right now I am having to render my .mov files before I can view them in FCP 5.

Sorry if this sounds stupid.

steve

Any thoughts on switching from Avid to FCP?
 

I'm seriously contemplating switching from Avid to FCP, and I'm hoping to hear from anyone who may have done just that.

I'm sold on getting a Mac...and in fact I'm contemplating buying it in the next day or so. But, I have to admit, I still have some reservations about moving to FCP.

I realize that most editing systems are the same, and it's the editor behind the system that really matters.... Walter Murch on imovie is going to be better than me on an Avid any day of the week.

But, have those of you who switched from Avid to FCP had any regrets, suprises, etc?

Any advice or experiences on this would help.
Thanks.

FCP 4.5 and FCP 3.0 updates available
 

Apple has posted updates to Final Cut Pro 4.5 and Final Cut Express 3.0:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...deoupdate.html

These appear to address the problems which many users of FCP 4.5 reported under "Tiger." As with all updates, be very careful to have backups available in case they break something new. Not a good idea to apply updates to production systems which are currently working well...

Trying to achieve 16:9 Widescreen Anamorphic
 

Hello everyone,
I've been reading a few posts and maybe this question has already been asked and answered. I'm shooting 16:9, 24p with a 2:3:3:2 pulldown on the Canon XL2 and editing with FCP5. I set my capture settings menu in the log and capture screen to anamorphic. In the sequence preset I also use anamorphic and when I create a quicktime movie I also select anamorphic. Once I create a DVD and play the dvd on the computer to display my project on my 23" HD Apple monitor, I get black bars on both sides. I assume it's still in 4:3 mode? On my JVC production monitor the image is 16:9 due to the setting. Can anamorphic widescreen be achieved with the above tools mentioned without the black bars?

Thanks for any advice,

Reggie

Capturing analog video
 

I'm trying to capture some old VHS tapes. I have a Datavideo DAC-100. When I open the log and capture window it says "vtr ok," but the preview is disabled. How do I go about capturing analog footage with a bidirectional converter in FCP 5?

Thanks

Capturing Problem with G5, FCP4
 

I have a very specific problem and am hoping someone has dealt with this.

We are a church that is using four cameras through a Videonics MX Pro mixer and sending one s-video signal to a DSR-11 for our TV broadcast (we are tape-delayed). We then pull the audio from a separate audio board in the broadcast room. This all works fine. We capture the service to mini-dv, then capture the service on Sunday afternoon and edit for airing on Television at 8 pm Sunday nights.

This is a time-consuming process. In the absence of a Firestore or similar device, we need to capture this service live so we don't have to waste the hour after the service is over capturing it to the mac.

Here's what we have been doing:

We open the log and capture window in FCP4, set it to non-controllable device and use the capture live feature. The problem is that we have dropped frames. We're using a 1.6 Ghz G5 with 2GB of RAM. The funny thing is that we can capture from the tape for the hour and it will be a perfect capture…absolutely perfect.

If the mac has the "horsepower" to capture for an hour from tape, why can it not capture for an hour with the live feed without dropping the frames every few minutes? Is this a time code issue?

We have no other programs running, or even loaded, on this mac. It's not hooked to the internet and is dedicated to just capturing this service.

Does anyone have any ideas I could try short of buying the firestore?

audio drop out when printing to tape
 

I clicked "print to tape" and walked away while it did its work for the 48 minute length of the tape. I then checked the tape and all of a sudden the audio dropped out of one set of clips.

I then went back and closed any other programs that were open and re-did the print to tape. It seemed OK -- there were no audio drop outs.

Was this the problem (other programs like email being open)? Are there other tricks to avoid this problem?

Final Cut Pro 5 and HDV
 

hello out there..

Ill just jump right into it. im trying to work with footage from an hdv-fx1. footage taken at 60i with no picture profile. i have a g4 1.5 powerbook. i have final cut 5. ive successfully captured footage. i can edit just as ive edited dv on fcp4. rendering, however, is all screwed up. i modify(ie: de-interlace), render, and then my clip plays, in rendered form, at double speed. halfway through the clip it just goes to black and continues playing. ive tried several of the fcp effects and just get the same results.

anyone have any ideas?

thanks for taking a few seconds.

heath

Apple introduces new iBooks, Mac Mini upgrades
 

Today Apple announced a new 12" iBook with a 1.33ghz G4 processor and a new 14" iBook with a 1.42ghz G4. Both models come with 512MB RAM.

http://www.apple.com/ibook/

They also bumped the standard configuration of the Mac Mini up to 512MB RAM

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

FC5 Multi cam on a G4
 

Hi, I was currious,
has anyone tried running the multicam tool from FC5 on a G4?

How did it perform?

The G4 specs are:
733mhz Quick Silver G4
1.12 gb of ram

We are editing dv video over firewire, if that helps,

thanks

john

Anyone use the DRaid Serial ATA Raid yet?
 

Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on these:

www.thedrgroup.com

They look very fast and perfect for editing HD on FCP, but I've yet to see a review. Anyone use it yet or know of a review? Thanks. Kevin

Post houses that transfer from MOV to Digibeta (PAL)
 

I would like to export an uncompressed 8bit or 10bit quicktime file and take that file and layback to Digibeta (PAL).

Anybody know of any post places that do this, in Los Angeles, or anywhere else?

Has anybody done this? I assume the image will look exactly the same. Right?

Thanks
Bill

DVD Burner Trouble
 

Hi, I am having problems burning DVD's on my G5. I'm using a Pioneer Drive purchased from OWC and I'm not sure if it is the drive that is the problem or me! I get no success burning straight from iDVD or DVD Studio Pro. If I create an image in iDVD and burn it throught the Finder it works, but if I build a DVD throught DVDSP to my HD and try the Finder after burning Apple DVD Player says supported disc missing. I also tried burning a Quicktime M2v to take to another computer to author but that burn failed. Sorry for all the info, what I really need is some diagnonsis software that would tell me if the drive is the problem or not, does something like that exist? Thanks in advance!!
Nate

Encoding to WMV High Def from Final Cut 5
 

Hey guys I am looking to encode to WMV HD from final cut. I used to do this by encoding the video into an AVI in codex DV/DVCPRO NTSC. That file compression makes a perfect quality DV that I can bring into WME and encode to what I wish. The problem is I need to do this in HD now. I have a PC and Mac networked. What do you guys recommend?

Bizarre!
 

When I installed FCP 5, I had a film cut with FCP 4.5 with FX1 footage captured via iMovie HD (AIC). I would send an uncompressed HD copy of the film back to iMovie HD, then send it over to iDVD and make the DVD with no problem.

Well, with FCP 5, I had no problems with checking out and tweaking my movie in AIC from iMovie HD (yes!), but I did a regular compression via Compressor and made the DVD. It's all "choppy" and broken up when the people move.

It should also be noted that we shot in CineFrame 24, but I never had a problem like this. It was difficult to watch.

Any ideas what I may have to do?

heath

Posting HD100 in Final Cut Pro
 

Hi all...I have an HD100 on order...hope to get it end of the month like everyone else.

I really need to know the challenges that I am going to have posting the 24p...etc on my Final Cut system. I have the Kona2 w/Kbox and the I/O LA.

Will I need a third party plug-in to post the 24p and other frame rates? If so, which would be the best?

A second question if you don't mind...does anyone know a resource for me that would explain the various frame rates/screen ratios and the instances inwhich I would want to use them...which one lends itself to what situation...ie. sports/low lighting/blah...blah...blah.

I am just a 29.97 shooter getting ready for the new wave...any help...a chart, a book, etc. would be much appreciated...I am just a little overwhelmed with the range of frame rates and screen ratios and which situations they may fit best.

Thanks in advance to all.

(another) Chroma Key question
 

I'm in a particular situation and need help from the professionals in the board.

I'm doing a commercial for a Fireworks display. What I want to do is key some fireworks to night shots I specifically shot for this commercial. I left about half the top of the image with pure black sky (no clouds, black and no stars), and the bottom half with buildings and scenery (no people). However, the shots have motion (they pan).

The commercial was shot in 25P, and the fireworks footage was done in 50i. Any suggestion? I'm working in FCP 5 (studio with all the other software), but also have After Effects. While I would like to be able to do this effect on my current workflow, If a particular program could make my life easier, than a purchase is a possibility.

All help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Apple updates OS X security patch
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...19/bs_nf/37859

All the more reason to be sure that you shut off automatic updates in the Software Update system preference pane. I have been burned before when the system updated something on its own. Best to let it ask you first...

Dolby sound for Digibeta tape format
 

I have my 30 minute film sound track in Final Cut Pro 5 at the moment. 6 channels from a previous mix imported back into FCP. I would like a workpath to accomplish a Dolby Lt /Rt mix which I can lay back to a digibeta for exhibition at a film a festival. The theatre has Dolby decoders. However, I am not sure how to get the Dolby mix into an analog format for the digibeta. I have been told that the digital Lt/Rt will not play on digibeta.

FCPHD (not 5) and HDV question?
 

Hello everyone.....I've downloaded tons of HDV clips in their .m2t format and have converted them using MpegStreamclip to various formats and am confused about a few things. If I simply demux to m2v, the file size for the resulting video is nearly the same as the source m2t- which is understandable- I can import these conversions (or is transcode the proper term?) into FCPHD with no issue and they're viewable in the viewer window perfectly......but when I import the clips settings to the sequence with the same settings as the clip- the timeline needs rendering- am I missing a setting to allow no rendering- or have I missed something?

If I convert the initial .m2t file to various quicktime codecs such as DV HD-1080i (even deinterlaced- which looks great!) it shows up on the timeline without needing rendering- but the resulting file is 4X bigger than the source .m2t..is this the proper workflow?
I would have thought the raw m2v would be better and is nearly the same size as the source file- but I can't seem to figure out the proper sequence settings to allow for non-rending on the timeline.

Obviously it seems wrong to have to convert/trasncode the m2t to a quicktime codec which is 4X the file size and 4X the data rate to allow for no rendering on the timeline- does someone see a flaw in my workflow?

<< Timeline Settings were: 1440 X 810 , and variations- all needing rendering except when clips were in a QT format >>

Setup: Mac G5 Dual 2.5ghz,2.5GB Ram, FCP 4HD and sample clip called TaxiLady which I downloaded some time ago- I thought the source file was from a JVC HD10 or HD1- but MpegStreamclip info window sees it as a 25mbps file which would seem to indicate it's from a 1080i camera and not a 720p camera (unless the data is wrong- but I recall it being from a JVC HDV cam??? I thought they used data rates of 19mbps??)

24P HD Compositing in FCP 5
 

I am offlining at DV resolution 23.98 for a 24P HD finish that will also be done on FCP. What plug-ins are people using most successfully for compositing 24P HD blue/green screens in FCP? Will these transfer effectively in my uprez process?

PS. I have been using the technique found on Ken Stone's pages.

Thanks in advance for your response.