FCP Easy Setup Setting for Multiple Format Ingestion

[Emile Wamsteker]

Can anyone advise me on how I should setup my Easy Setup in FCP when ingesting from an SxS card that has multiple formats captured to it?

Because I shoot mostly in 1080/30p, I currently have the following settings:

First pull down is set at:
SONY XDCAM HD
Second pull down is set at:
XDCAM EX 1080p30

The other day, however, I mixed formats, shooting some work at 1080/30p, and some cranked at 720/60p for slow motion.

In short, do I set the second pull down to 1080p30, or 720p60? Or does it make a difference?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

All the best,

-Emile Wamsteker

[Don Greening]

Hi Emile,

You don't have to worry about what your sequence settings should be before you transfer clips from an SxS Pro memory card. All you're really doing at that point is importing the clips for viewing in FCP's Browser window.

With FCP v.6.0.2 or better, which you should have in order to edit EX footage, you can actually create any old sequence you want. Then when you drag your first EX clip into the new sequence FCP will ask if you want to change the sequence settings to match the clip settings. Say yes, and FCP will change the settings for you so you don't have to figure out which easy setup to use. A very cool feature. Any subsequent clips with different properties that you drag into the same sequence later will automatically be conformed by FCP to match the sequence settings without prompting you.

Hope this helps.

- Don

[Joachim Hoge]

I suppose you get a better result if you down scale your 1080 footae to match the 720 footage, than "upscaling" your 720 to fit a 1080 frame.

I have done both though and not quite sure what it´s better.
I suppose it depends on your final output as well

[Don Greening]

I've done it both ways and I don't think you lose much at all by upconverting the 720p stuff to match the 1080p sequence. Certainly the average viewer won't be aware when watching on a television. If you're planning on downconverting to standard def for something like a DVD then my suggestion would be to edit everything in a 720p sequence anyway. That way you won't be upconverting the 720p stuff and then downconverting it to MPEG2. You're missing a generational up/down and possible quality hit this way.

But you're right. The way you edit will be determined by what your deliverables are. Just do some tests and see what looks good to you. Testing is what we all do these days.

- Don

[Emile Wamsteker]

Don and Joachim,

Perfect, thanks for the help. O.k., I understand now.

-Emile

[Mitchell Lewis]

Personally I've ran into trouble when combining P footage with I footage. That's where the problems start.....at least in my experience. I end up with lots of jagged looking video. But I've learned to keep a close eye on FCP's Field Dominance column in the Browser. If you're sequence is set for Progressive and you want to add Interlaced footage (1080 60i for example) you need to go the Field Dominance column and change the setting to None for that piece of footage. If will then look pretty good when you edit into your Progressive sequence.