it's a 30 gig drive, and i have around 10 gigs of space left.
i will try the pref+restart thing.

Now I'm certain. "10 gig left" is not good, particularly when it's on a (very) slow Powerbook internal system drive that's probably fragmented worse than a hockey player's teeth. Get a good external FW hard drive, set your prefs to use it and your problems will, in all probability, disappear. You can reinstall untill your fingers bleed and you'll wind up back in the crapper before long. Trust me.

Ken's correct. I missed the PowerBook and saw G4. It is a problem on a slow drive (5400 RPM) that every thing is on one partition. This will even bog down a Power Mac G4 with 7200 RPM drives. Having the OS, application, media (clips and renders) all on the same partition of 1 drive will really slow things down or even freeze it. external FireWire drive will be most reliable in the long run. Once your current project is done, delete all the media files and defrag your drive. that will help some. But I discourage people from defragging in the middle of a project. Sometimes media dissapears etc. The preferences fix is cheap if it works. But in the long run you'll need the external drive.

jeff

I think only the new G4 powerbooks with a 60 gig hard drive are 5400rpm, the other size drives are running at 4200ripm.

Does that 1200rpm make a big difference? I thought a 5400rpm drive was the minimum when doing video,

Your right. I think it's a special order BTO from the Apple Store. The extra 1200 RPM does make a difference. Editing and capturing on a PowerBook is really pushing the envelope. Most users don't know to partition the drive, which helps a little, too. But External is really the way to go.

Jeff

What if you did all your editing on a laptop using the RT offline mode. With the smaller files sizes, would freezes, crashes, drop frames go away?

Using RT Offline format media for editing would certainly help alleviate problems by reducing media file sizes and drive/memory bandwidth taxation. In fact, laptop editing is largely what RT Offline format was developed to enable. Partitioning a main drive can also provide temporary relief, although it does not remedy the fundamental problem. You're still trying to push the same number of platters and heads to do the same work; you've just limited the amount of chasing around they'll need to do by giving them a fenced-off media playpen.

With really good medium-capacity (20-40Gb) bus-powered Firewire drives readily available for less than the price of a good dinner for two there's really little reason for anyone to dink around trying to cram an edit on a system drive, certainly not on a Mac!

I must be a cheap date or quarter pounders went way up.

Jeff

Hey, whaddya doin' Friday night?

ohkay, i shall switch over to using my external 120 gig FW drive for all DV after i finish the latest project. thanks all for the advice!
i've actually been meaning to do this, i even partitioned 80 gigs off of it dedicated to DV.

thanks again!

educational FCP3 edition
 

I am a college student and because of this I can get a college student discount on the FCP3 software. It is however listed as an educational edition. I was told by a roommate of mine that his educational software(which isn't film related) has a little statement that prints out with his stuff saying that it is for educational use only. While I do not plan to break the deal (that I cannot use it to make money) I do want to know if my projects will be litered with something similar. Does anyone have an educational edition that can answer this question for me?
thank you
Ryan

It is the exact same software, but it has a different EULA (End User License Agreement). Nothing is done to degrade the image quality in any way.

Jeff

Glad to hear it, thank you.
Just out of curiousity what exactly does the user agreement ask of me since it is educational software?

Basically that you are in an educational setting and will not use it in a professional setting where you get paid. If you use it in a paid setting or work for hire arrangement your asked to purchase another license.

Jeff

How does one purchase another license without having to buy a whole new boxed set. Could they just pay the extra $700? Because college students may graduate and decide to do that work professionally.

I see, well that seems like a great deal.
THanks for all your help.
I plan to pick up my power g4 twin 19inch monitors and FCP3 in Nov. Can't wait!

The license can be upgraded for the difference ($700) by contacting Apple Customer Care. They do not need to purchase another copy.

Jeff

VTR - FCP 3 XL1S compatible
 

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on purchasing a VTR (mini DV/SVHS/VHS in one deck) that is compatible with both Final Cut Pro 3 and the XL1S. I was just about to purchase the JVC SVS30 when the tech support person at JVC told me that it is not possible to batch capture with this hardware and it may drop frames if you are using the XL1 to shoot on. Cannon was of no help either - they recommend purchasing a second camera to use as a VTR. I have also consulted the apple device list but there isn't to many VTR's on the page. I don't want to spent more than 1500 USD... slightly less preferably. Currently using the camera as a VTR and it is putting a lot of wear on the heads - doing commercial work - corporate videos, etc.

Any advice or experience would be of assistance. Thanks

eliquidmedia

I don't know of any combo DVD/VCR decks that are certified by Apple for use with FCP3. I would suggest buying two seperate devices to maintain maximum compatability.

Jeff

I use a JVC HR-DVS2 deck. (See my review of the deck posted here: http://new.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...=&postid=28126.)

I have no problems with batch capturing or with using tapes originated in my XL1s. I use a DVStorm PC-based system, but I can't imagine the protocol is any different from the Mac system used in FCP3.

FCP3 and Premiere6
 

Can these two apps peacefully coexist on the same system? I want to have the ability to use Premiere on my Mac while I learn FCP. I know that XDV3 has problems with Premiere being on the same system.

FCP 3 on G3?
 

While taping with the PD 150,I have a Mac G3(blue and white monitor) that I am looking to put Final Cut Pro 3 on,and to edit my programs.The G3 is maxed out on RAM,and has 40gigs
internal hard drive.Now,I will be getting external hard drives from Lacie to daisy chain from the Mac in order to store footage-
yes,I'm planning to have several hard drives altogether.Folks,I'm
too poor to afford a G4(great system,but too costly),and I have concerns whether the G3 can handle the load.Any comforting and
calm reassurances would be welcome.Thanks.

Here are the specs from Apple:

Link: http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs.html

Requirements

Macintosh computer with a 300-MHz or faster PowerPC G3 or G4 processor and built-in FireWire
— 500-MHz or faster single or 450-MHz dual processor Power Mac G4 or PowerBook G4 required for G4 realtime effects

— 667-MHz PowerBook G4 required for mobile G4 realtime effects in DV format


Mac OS 9.2.2 or Mac OS X v10.1.1

QuickTime (included)

256MB of RAM (384MB recommended for G4 realtime effects)

40MB of available disk space required for installation

I have Premiere 6.5 and FCP 3.0.2 on OS 10.2.2 with no problems what so ever. All I can really say is try it and if Premiere doesn't work rethink your strategy.

Jeff

I used a 300Meg B&W with FCP3 with good success. I had around 384M ram, and used OS-9.2. If possible, an internal IDE hard drive would be a better and less-expensive addition. It was easier to do this on some models than others, though. I believe that the IDE required the 1-piece drive sled. I had a real early G3, so I went the internal SCSI card/drive route from Macgurus, but that a few years ago, and more expensive.

Some have used external FW drives, but daisy-chaining them is asking for drop-outs.

Bottom line, though, is that the G3 will perform quite well.

Thanks, Jeff. I just wanted to see if anyone was doing it successfullybefore I gave it a try!

Flipping Flopping!!! FCP3 ...
 

Hi

Please help!

I am using a G4 with FCP3 and whilst filming this year took some images of still photographs to use in a doc i'm making. Unfortunately I recorded the images upside down, but didn't think that was a problem as i could use the 'flop' filter in FCP to rectify the problem.

Flopped image looks great in FCP but on my Television monitor any images that have had this filter applied wobble up and down and render the sequence unwatchable.

I've tried another monitor, same thing. I even tried flopping, recording the correctly oriented image back to DV and then re-importing into FCP. The problem didn't resolve.

Has any of you guys ever had this or got any suggestions?

BTW I can't easily refilm the images, they were taken in the U.S. and I live in the UK!

Cheers!

Simon

I can't post the whole procedure,(sorry I have my Cub Scout meeting to go to) but the fields are reversed. I'll post details later this evening.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff

I can't get back on the 'net until 6:30 gmt tomorrow, but very much look forward to your reply

Cheers

Simon

er..um...Jeff. Just HOW OLD are you?

Jeff is 14 1/2 so he is allowed to go to cub scout meetings..... but by now he should be a weablo (sic) or an eagle.


Just kidding,

I couldn't resist

I'll be 14 my next birthday.


Actually, it's my son's Cub Scout meeting (he got his Bobcat pin). He's 9, I'm 45. I think by rotating the scene you got the field dominance out of order. Normally mini DV is lower dominate. But by rotating the image 180¼ the dominance is out of order, causing the image to hop. The quickest way is to use the de-interlace filer on the clip. But it may soften the image too much after being rendered.

The correct way to do it is to nest the sequence, rotate the clip and under sequence settings, change the field dominance. Render the nested sequence and edit it into your sequence. FCP help will explain nesting and how to, just search nest.

Jeff

Jeff

Brilliant, thanks it worked!!

Simon

Of course, once you start using FCP, you won't want to use Premiere, and you'll be wondering why you even keep it on your system at all!
:-)

total newbie question! help!
 

Hey all,

I recorded a scene on a beach, and got a lot of wind pop in the mic I was using (I used a windscreen, but apparently it wasn't enough!), but I'm using FCP3, and it came with a copy of Peak-DV from bias. How do you open the dialogue of the clip in Peak, so that I can try to eliminate the wind pop, because it's distorting the actor's lines?? Do you have to unlink audio/video, and then export the clip to a file, or is it just a plug-in for FCP?

Also, and suggestions as to what filters to try?

Thanks a million!! :)

It's a plug-in, but I don't use it, so I can't help much in that reguard. Peak has a PDF on reducing noise etc. It comes with the full version. You can download it here http://homepage.mac.com/jtdonald/Fil...ng5.html<br />

Jeff

Hello Matt and Welcome,
As with most other types of noise, removing wind noise is problemmatic, although a bit less than other noises. Wind noise generally occurs within a relatively narrow band of low frequencies. I would be inclined to try working within FCP by opening the affected clips in the viewer to get a big view of audio waveform. Start by applying the low-pass (rumble) filter and adjusting it to see how it affects the clip at various settings. From there, just experiment. Even if you fail it's a great opportunity to learn about manipulating audio with FCP3 and PeakDV.

BTW, PeakDV, which ships with FCP, can also be opened as a stand-alone application. If you want to enter full-blown audio editing that's the way to go. You won't need to separate audio and video with PeakDV. Just open the Quicktime file containing the caputured footage.

Unfortunately, no matter what you do you are bound to adversely affect your base audio. That's why voice-overs will be part of the audio scene forever. <g>

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks, Ken. I didn't know Peak DV was a stand alone program too. I'll have to play with it when I have some time.

Jeff

Thanks Guys!
 

Hey Ken and Jeff,

Thanks for taking the time to respond! I really appreciate it! If I have any luck, I'll post again and let you know how it turned out!

Thanks again,
Matt

iDVD and FCP3
 

Is it possible to edit a movie in FCP3 and set it up be played back on regular DVD players in iDVD? I'm not talking about a small project or quicktime movie, I'm talking about an actual feature. I want three menus and will probably need five submenus for on of the primary menus. I guess what I'm asking is can a make a professional looking DVD in iDVD or do I need DVD Studio Pro?

-Vinson