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Final cut “pro” X and closed caption
Aloha,
With some change coming up in the near future requiring closed caption on most program, how does final cut “pro” X handle caption? if at all. Anyone? -
6 Replies
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FCX, because it does not support SDI output, is not a candidate for adding closed captioning to tape programming.
Conceivably, you could use something like the AJA VTR Xchange stand-alone module to master a closed caption tape master. Not as convenient as an ETT from the master sequence in FCP7… but…
I’m on record in many places as hating FCP’s ETT module with a violet fury anyway. They have finally succeeded in fixing that problem, right? Just hit “delete”. See? No Problem.
jPo
You mean “Old Ben”? Ben Kenobi?
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I guess we could go back to the black movie, which was a file that had the closed caption on top of the frame and then needed to be cropped. Render the whole thing and then output. (not sure how it works with HD, caption is in a different position)
Well if there is no other ways to add caption to a finish program it shows once again that the program is not ready for primetime. -
Hi Daniel,
As with anything related to captioning, it depends on what you need to deliver.If you’re delivering tape, then you can use VTR Xchange (AJA) or Ventura (Matrox) to output a HD/SD file with closed captions to tape. The closed captions track is created in MacCaption.
If you’re delivering some kind of file, then FCP7 didn’t really handle this either, so nothing has changed. You export your (uncaptioned) movie to the required file format, then embed captions into it using MacCaption.
Shawn mentioned Manzanita, which is a plugin for MacCaption if you need to deliver CableLabs-spec MPEG-2 transport streams. For other file types, including program streams, QuickTime, MXF, etc. you can caption them natively in MacCaption without needing any other software or hardware.
So, other than the lack of tape output, FCPX hasn’t changed much on the captioning side of things.
Best regards,
Jason Livingston
CPC Closed Captioning -
[Daniel Bernardoni] “(not sure how it works with HD, caption is in a different position)”
HD captioning is a whole different beast — it’s imbedded in the data stream, not visible information in the blanking. Can’t crop and key HD captioning like in the SD days…
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I use the SCC embed capabilities of FCP7 all the time to output captions to SD and HD formats. You just create the SCC file with MovieCaptioner, attach it in the ETT function, and rock and roll. It is so easy once you figure out the deck settings, etc.
Now it looks like I’ll be editing in FCP X, then dragging my finish movie file back into FCP7 to output to tape with captions. Some of the other programs mentioned above may work, but I’ll be sticking with what I know, and will NOT be deleting FCP7.
Extra work is never welcomed, but hopefully the upgrades to FCP X will be worth it.
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