I bought a 120 (115) gb IBM deskstar a month ago and it has served me just fine.

Very basically it can be down by creating a matt or a mask over the top of your video. It can be tricky and takes some time to get the first one sorted but after that's it's a relitively simple compost.

Cross-dissolve duration problem
 

Anyone have an idea on how to get around a problem I'm having?

I made a JPEG file with the name of my film company on a black background and imported that into FCP. Then I sandwiched it in between two black slates so that I could slowly cross dissolve from and to black. I set the first dissolve duration at 02:30...then went to the second dissolve to set it as the same....but it won't let me! It's set really short...00:29...and won't let me increase it.

Any ideas?

Just to let you know...I left ample slate on both sides to trim the side opposite the dissolve...so having enough room shouldn't be a problem. Same with the JPEG itself, I left it intentionally long to allow the long cross-dissolve on both sides...and plan on trimming from the middle when I'm done fixing the dissolves on each end.

Thanks guys. As always, I appreciate the advice and info!

josh,
LaCie is not a hard drive manufacturer. They package others' drives and resell, generally external kits.

I would agree with Mathew and avoid that deal.

I just found another company with pretty much the same deal...only this one is $40 more. These are actual retailers selling FCP 3.0 upgrade version with version 1.2.5 and a serial number.

I first noticed it in an ad in the back of Macworld magazine and this second one I found while looking at eBay as Matthew suggested.

I sent an email to one of the stores asking if there was any catch. I'll let you know what their reply is.

I'm still leery of this deal. But, it's got me rather curious.

Calibration Unnecessary When Shooting In DV???
 

Is it true that when editing footage shot on DV (in FCP 3) there is no need to calibrate using the Color Bars &/or tone? It seems like that is what the FCP 3 users manual is saying.

And could someone explain the difference between a dropped frame versus a timecode break.

PS
Thanks to everyone at this site for all their help! I just got a Dual 1.25GHz Mac & I couldn't be happier!
Erik

Well, re. callibration thats a hotly debated issue =) I prefere to shoot and adjust the image based on a waveform monitor. This gives me a hands down direct feedback on what range i have in the image and where my blacks & whites are. This way i can look at the monitor just for the composition of the shot and dont worry about wether or not its calibrated or not.

As for difference between a time-code break and a dropped frame its as follows. A dropped frame is when it cannot handle either the digitizing or the transfer of the image stream so it has to skip one or more frames in order to catch up in the timing. A time code break is when the timecode is messed up on the tape. Usually because someone stopped the recording and rewinding back/forth and started up outside the existing time-code. so it is reset to 0 again.

This btw is the reason to why you "stripe" tapes. It means putting a consistent timecode track all over the tape. So no matter how you mess around with the tape, whenever you press record, it always has a running timecode. It makes the editors work a LOT easier.

/Henrik

The Apple Store for Education Individuals
 

If you are enrolled in school, teaching school, or know someone who falls into either of those categories, you can get FCP 3.0 from http://www.apple.com/education/ for $299.00.

This is a full version, but Apple definately does not approve of any commercial use of these educational licenses. Fantastic deal if your uses will be personal, though. Let your conscience be your guide.

lyd

So, here's the reply I received from the company selling v. 1.2.5 with the v. 3.0 upgrade:

"Imagine you purchased Final cut pro 1.2.5 back when it came out in the
mid
90's. Now its 2002 and you want to finally upgrade to the newest
version of
final cut pro. You would obviously buy the upgrade because you already
have
an older version.... This is the same situation only you are buying
both at
the same time.


The Final Cut pro 1.2.5 is a CD only version that has a valid serial
number
from apple and it is new and never been registered. The 3.0 upgrade is
the
retail boxed and sealed version as if you would have bought it from a
retail
store..."

Any thoughts ??

still sounds a little shady to me!
why would they be offering just the CD of FCP1 and not the whole package?
if it were a sealed retail version then it would probably be an all right deal.if your serious enuff about your editing then why not just drop that cash down for the full FCP3 from Apple? they have a nice little loan option too!

Mike,
I would also avoid this "deal". It's some type of pirate scheme that should not be supported. What is your recourse if you're stung by this offer? FCP is already a great bargain and Apple deserves the little bit it makes from this great product. If your budget is very tight consider taking-up Apple's financing program as Matthew suggested.

In the end, it's -your- money Mike.

Hi Guys,

Yeah, I agree with you, seems very shady to me. I have no intention of going with this deal...like you said Ken, if there is some type of problem I'm out of $549 . . . that's half the price of legal FCP from Apple.

I just found it very interesting that this is the second shop I've seen doing this....one has an ad right in the back of Macworld magazine.

So, I'll keep saving up my cash and purchase the real thing down the road.

As always thanks for all your opinions!

Do the right thing...
 

I absolutely do not encourage the practice of purchasing software in this manner as described above. Also, in general, I would only purchase from an authorized dealer, this way you are covered in support.

Final Cut Pro is a defacto editing tool and it deserves the price tag that Apple asaks for it. Sit back for a minute and review just how powerful this software is and you will understand its' value. The $995 price tag is very reasonable considering what you can achieve with this software.

Also, in general, we on this forum do not endorse the outlets where you can buy software in this fashion.

Happy filmmaking,