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Mini-DV Onlining
Hey folks,
A client wants me to edit a video using footage all shot on mini-DV, but they want a DBeta master. I only have Firewire out on my machine, no IO Box, no AJa Kona SDI etc. As far as I can tell, I have these options:
1. Digitize into FCP, cut the project, output onto a Mini-DV tape, bump the tape up to DBeta at a transfer house. Would there be any benefit to outputting the show onto a DVCAM tape, then making the dump to DBeta from a DVCAM instead of MiniDV?
2. Digitize into FCP, cut the project, find a FCP system with SDI out and a DBeta deck, bring my drives with the media there, and output the project onto a DBeta.
3. Digitize into FCP, cut the project, find an AVID with a DBeta deck, use Automatic Duck and online the show, redigitizing the elements, and spitting it onto the DBeta.
Is there a noticeable loss of quality in any of these methods if my original media is the fairly low quality MiniDV to begin with?
How much quality am I losing by digitizing the tapes into FCP, then making a Mini-DV master? Would the DV output from my FCP be markedly worse than onlining from scratch into an AVID?
Thanks folks!Tim
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7 Replies
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If you are going to edit in the DV codec there is no benefit in options 2 or 3. Just output to mini DV and have it dubbed via SDI to Digibeta at a dub house.
There is no quality difference in using DVCAM.However, if you edit in the DV codec, but copy your final edit into an uncompressed sequence (you will have to render everything), you will see some benefit in composited graphics provided you master to Digibeta via SDI. So option 2 would work in this instance. However, you would need drives capable of playing uncompressed video.
If you can online on an Avid or FCP system uncompressed, you might see some improvement in graphics compositing, but only if you do not edit in the DV Codec.
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Option 2 is the common one used here. I have a DBeta hooked up with a Decklink card. Editors bring their drives in. We nest the sequence in an uncompressed timeline, re-render which helps shots with grades and titles. Most noticable are the titles, supers and credits which look cleaner when rendered as 10bit uncompressed then SDI to Digi beta. I also check levels for broadcast safe and if neccesary trim colour grades or apply the broadcast safe filter.
The render files go on my RAID so speed on the orginal drives is not a issue, although they are nearly always firewire 800 which is fast enough for 10bit uncompressed SD.
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Thanks for the answers guys. It sounds like titles/gfx are going to be noticeably lower res if I stay within the DV realm, and that the footage itself would be no different. Makes total sense.
In this case, since I only plan to have about 4 titles in the piece, I think I’m going to output a textless mini-DV master of the edit from my FCP and digitize that onto an AVID to do those titles, then spit it out SDI to the Dbeta. Does this sound like a good way to go? I’m trying to maximize time on the FCP for actual editing and minimize online time.
Thanks,
Tim -
Make sure you output via firewire and recapture from the tape to AVID via firewire so there is no trans coding.
However, text always takes so much time in online. Not sure why but it always seems that way. Four titles might not break the bank though.
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[Tim Rush] “In this case, since I only plan to have about 4 titles in the piece, I think I’m going to output a textless mini-DV master of the edit from my FCP and digitize that onto an AVID to do those titles, then spit it out SDI to the Dbeta. Does this sound like a good way to go? I’m trying to maximize time on the FCP for actual editing and minimize online time.”
Really no reason to do this. Just output your entire project to DVCAM tape and take that to a dub house to have it transferred to DigiBeta.
Normally I would recommend that you work in the uncompressed codec, but that really seems like it’s more hassle than it’s worth to output a textless master and then go into an Avid, add titles and then go to DigiBeta.
Perhaps use the funds from this project to invest in an Io so you can simply output the DV project directly to DBeta from your DV timeline.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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Tim,
To save time and money, why not create the titles at your place and just frop them in place at the Avid faciliy?
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Am I ever in danger of a Dbeta tape failing a QC test if it’s a dub from Mini-DV? Any different in IRE or saturation levels? Would a client ever kick back a product for having titles that look DV quality instead of 2:1/SDI? Or is that silly?
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