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Should I string 5 sequences or 1,000 clips?
Latest FCP, MacPro. Project is DVCPROHD 720 23.98 feature doc, 70 minutes.
The feature is edited in 5 sequential timelines, all now fully rendered and ready to go. The next step is to get the complete movie onto a single timeline to export as a self-contained movie. That’s the end product. From there it gets conversions for a festival showing (they want an h.264) and for encoding to a DVD.
So to assemble the master timeline should I:
a) string all the contents of each timeline onto a single timeline
b) render each timeline to same settings QTs and string those onto a single timelineI’ve done both in the past without hitches, but it occurs to me there may actually be a quality difference adding a same settings render (b). There may be… but is there?
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5 Replies
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I do option (a) all the time without issue. I’d avoid exporting a QT for each sequence then tying. Copy/pste into new sequence, then export a self contained QT of the whole thing. Or just output that timeline.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Have done both, and haven’t noticed any difference.
Depending on machine and codec, you will sometimes “lose” render files when copying form one timeline to another. But with 720p 23.98 DVC Pro you should be fine.
I usually copy and paste because it’s easier during the QC process, but if that’s not something you’re doing then Individual sequence renders, then one final output should work fine.
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Thanks, gentlemen!
The only renders I lose by stringing the clips are the audio mixdowns of each timeline. No biggie because the mixdown of the string takes mere minutes.
Onward…!
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I shouldn’t make a difference. Where I have notice a difference is in the way you export it. If you export the final timeline as a self contained movie and bring that into compressor for exporting to your various formats, there will be more quality loss than if you export directly from FCP with compressor. In toticed the difference with animated items, but it does make a difference in video itself (just not as noticeable to a casual viewing.
I was told that this is because when exporting from FCP, compressor ignores your render files and re-renders the material directly in that output format. Whereas a self contained movie just converts what is already rendered. Your exports will take longer and tie up FCP, but it should make some difference.
Of course, going from HD to SD DVD has never looked very good to me, no matter how I export it 🙁
Ray Lane
Visual Dreams -
Hello, Ray. Interesting issue!
Considering what you were told about a direct export to Compressor from FCP, would I even want to render anything in my timeline in the first place? If Compressor will do a better job for the target format?
And also, would a direct export of my unrendered (except for the audio) timeline to Compressor be the same as first exporting a reference movie, and bringing that into Compressor?
Anyone know for sure?
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