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Avid workflow for canon 7d footage
I’m about to edit in Avid MC5 a short file shot with the canon 7d.
I’d like some advice about the best workflow.Also, I have a couple of questions:
1) If I convert the footage in DNxHD 180, do you think my project will become too heavy for my machine (Mac Pro dual quad core, 6 gb RAM). Maybe is better DNxHD 36?
2) When I’ll have my final cut, should I stick to the DnxHD or should I going back to the native h264?
3) If I buy 6 extra gb of ram, will I improve avid performance? For what I heard, extra ram only improve multitasking performance, like working at the same time with avid and after effects. It is true?
thanks a lot!
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11 Replies
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DNxHD 180 is overkill, 36 if offline. Try 120,
But the compression isn’t the limiting factor. Data rate is.
Now 180 runs at 180 /8 = 22 megaByte per second.
Any half decent harddisk can do so.
No need to go back to the originals to conform, it won’t get better than this….Your machine seems fine, just toy with it and you’ll see.
Bouke
https://www.videotoolshed.com/
smart tools for video pros -
Any time i work with this footage, i try to get it away from the original file as soon as possible. It becomes pretty heavy lifting, pretty quickly for the box. Trying to play down a timeline of any significant length can be a challenge trying to keep audio and video in sync.
If you are doing an online somewhere else, than a lower Dnx is fine, but your box can handle it at 180.
If you switch to FCP, i would suggest converting the original to prores 422 and working in that as well. Either format will work for your final online version, and won’t put too much strain on your box.
I usually use mpeg stream clip for my conversions in final cut pro. They go quite fast, and you can batch them using multiple processors for an added speed boost.
Either way, don’t work in H264.
Glenn
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Just curious why you want to spend the time importing? I thought AMA allows you to link to the DSLR’s native format files an edit without having to use an AVID codec. Is AMA just not quite there yet?
jason -
[Jason Lyons] “Just curious why you want to spend the time importing? I thought AMA allows you to link to the DSLR’s native format files an edit without having to use an AVID codec. Is AMA just not quite there yet?
jason”H264 is processor intensive. Short sequences will probably work fine, but as the timeline becomes more complex, it bogs down considerably.
Also, if you are going to finish your audio in ProTools or some other DAW, you cannot export audio to AAF or OMF from an AMA sequence.
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Converting the audio to AAC is not a problem for Logic Studio.
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[John Pale] “Also, if you are going to finish your audio in ProTools or some other DAW, you cannot export audio to AAF or OMF from an AMA sequence.”
Is it possible to consolidate the sequence thus copying the regions needed with handles?
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“Just curious why you want to spend the time importing? I thought AMA allows you to link to the DSLR’s native format files an edit without having to use an AVID codec. Is AMA just not quite there yet?
jason”hi Jason
AMA is the proper workflow, and maybe not perfect, but quite there indeed
camera folders should be kept intact, stored and backed up in separate folders
link to AMA volume to get files in
organize, log, rename then transcode to DNX (either offline or online, 120 is good enough)
use subclips to reduce long clips and eliminate un-needed materialthis is far better than transcoding then importing, as media is interpreted correctly by AMA and avid, and links to originals (in case you are in offline/online workflow or if you ever for the strangest reason needed to transcode again to something else)
also, it allows working inside the familiar avid environment for loging purposes, alond side a multitude of tools you might need when doing so.it could be better (more FCP log and transfer like) but it is a good stable workflow.
and yes, for shorter, less complicated cuts on fairly strong machines you could work directly on 264 files via AMA
just remember to transcode (not consolidate) your sequence at the end to be able to export AAF for audio work
the fact that the files are hard to handle isn’t avid’s problem or fault, its canon who chose to work with the lowest type of 264 encoding, on a camera that is NOT professional whatsoever. xdcam and p2 files are handled natively via AMA and allow smooth workflow with no need to import
FCP too does not handle canon files well when working native
and nobody takes premiere seriously enough for heavy editing work
this does not leave many options than to conclude that the problem is the file and not the software
hector
Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting -
Hi,
I would use AMA to open the clips in Avid, then transcode them to a suitable DNX codec. I find that Avid works great with files that are mxf’d, as opposed to Final Cut, which always seems to want to render. -
Yes, these file are accessible via Avid’s Quicktime AMA implementation.
Is it solid with 7D & 5D? No. As stated, it is very CPU intensive, and playback in Green/Green mode 100% of the time is NOT guaranteed.
An Avid AAF export cannot be used unless the sequcne is consolidated and transcoded to an Avid DNxHD format.
It’s the concept of pay now or pay later.
PAY NOW: Import the files into a DNxHD codec OR Transcode them with a 3rd party app into a DNxHD codec and do a FAST IMPORT into Avid
orPAY LATER: Edit from the get-go, but deal with possible playback issues and the eventual consolidate and transcode after the edit.
Also – where is the most stress in a project? Day one of editing, or the LAST day when you need to output – and the edit isn’t done?
I am a proponent of PAY NOW – get the pain over with. PLUS – as a safety, if the transcoded media you are editing with is a DNxHD flavor of 145 or above, you have a broadcast quality output available if you need to output.
~Michael
.: michael kammes mpse
.: senior applications editor . post workflow consultant
.: audio specialist . act fcp . acsr
.: michaelkammes.comHear me pontificate: Speaking Schedule .
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PAY NOW: Import the files into a DNxHD codec OR Transcode them with a 3rd party app into a DNxHD codec and do a FAST IMPORT into Avid
What 3party apps do you know?
And what about the OMFI for the audio. I learnd when I transcode, it is better to transcode the audio into aiff ore wave because it is better to handle later for pro tools. Does anybody know if that’s true?
My problem when transcoding 7d material is that the avid crashes after 2 or 3 clips. When I select the clips one by one it works fine. That’s a quiet annoying work.
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