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GoPro to ProRes to FCP 6 = 10x storage space???
Hello!
since i started using HDSLR and GoPro files with FCP I have had frames dropping during playback (this is ONE stream of video, no FX). See signature for HW details. i have tried editing from my System HD, and from a FW 800 drive, both with skippy results.
My questions are as follows:
1. is there a setting that will enable me to view these files as-is, without transcoding?
2. I have tried a test on a few resolutions of GoPro files, using mpeg streamclip to transcode to prores 422. the quality seems unchanged, but the file sizes are prohibitive! it is roughly 10x the size of the original! with 40 GB in the original project, getting 400 GB of HDD space jammed with duplicate material is unacceptable. what else can i do?thanks in advance
YohananSound Editor / Video editor
Macbook Pro 15.4″ | OSX 10.6.5
2.5 GHz Core2Duo | 4 GB 667MHz RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8600MGT 512MB VRAM
FCP Studio 2 (FCP 6)
Pro Tools 9 (Digi 003 Factory Console) -
4 Replies
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[Yohanan Braunschvig] “1. is there a setting that will enable me to view these files as-is, without transcoding?
“Not at this time. FCP isn’t set up to deal with the distribution codec (extremely lossy) that is used in a GoPro. They actively suggest using ProRes.
[Yohanan Braunschvig] “2. I have tried a test on a few resolutions of GoPro files, using mpeg streamclip to transcode to prores 422. the quality seems unchanged, but the file sizes are prohibitive! it is roughly 10x the size of the original! with 40 GB in the original project, getting 400 GB of HDD space jammed with duplicate material is unacceptable. what else can i do?
“That’s about right. You could go to ProResLT and save about 30% of that…
Look, I know what you want: You want to have tiny file sizes and editing that works well.
Tiny file sizes = super compressed codec (lots of decoding= bad performance; lots of caching since not every frame has all the information)
Works well = large files (uncompress SD eats 1 gig a minute, uncompressed HD eats 6 gigs per minute.)The general consensus: If you can afford FCP @ $1k, then a $100 hard drive (which in itself is a serious compromise) isn’t a significant expense.
Best,
Jeff G
Apple Master Trainer | Avid Cert. Instructor DS/MC
Come See me speak at NAB!
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As you have discovered, the current version of FCP cannot smoothly edit h.264 in its native format. There are no ways around this other than transcoding to ProRes.
Your only options are:
1. Buy more storage
2. Switch to Premiere Pro, which handles h.264 natively
3. Wait to see what the next version of FCP brings…
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The Canon HDSLR’s shoot h.264. h.264 is a GOP format structure. ProRes is an individual frame format. This lessens the load on the system, as GOP formats are processor intensive. It also makes renders and exports occur faster. That is why ProRes files are bigger. Hard Drive are super cheap.
Stephen Smith
Utah Video ProductionsCheck out my Motion Training DVD
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i-frame baby!
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