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FCP – Flip formatting
I’m trying to work with footage from two sources and cannot seem to get the formats to match. I’m not an advanced user of FCP, but am decent with the basics…
I’m capturing footage from my Panasonic DVX 24P camera which seems to be a 4:3 format but I’m also trying to convert the MPEG4 footage from my Flip, which seems to be 16:9. I’m using MPEG Streamclip to convert the Flip footage but when I try to make it 720×480, it causes distortion of the original footage. When I use the larger sizes, it doesn’t match the DV footage when I put them both in the timeline…
Does anyone know what I need to do in any of these steps to address this issue?
– conversion of Flip MPEG4 to .mov
– capture of 24P footage (currently using the 2:3:3:2 pulldown for NTSC)
– inside the timeline, making the formatting matchThanks so much!
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8 Replies
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Are you trying to create a final 4:3 master using your DVX footage and the 16:9 footage? If so then create your 720 x 480 DV NTSC timeline and drag your DVX 4:3 footage into it.
[Lauren Williams] “I’m using MPEG Streamclip to convert the Flip footage but when I try to make it 720×480, it causes distortion of the original footage.”
You have to tell FCP that your flip footage is actually widescreen footage. In the Browser window select one of your converted Flip clips and put a check mark in the anamorphic column then drag the clip into the timeline. FCP will automatically letterbox your clip. Resize your clip in the canvas until the top and bottom edges of the frame is filled. The sides will have disappeared off the edges but now you’ll have a 4:3 or “centrepunched” version of your widescreen clip. Once your edit is complete you can highlight the centrepunched clip and copy it to the clipboard (Cmd-C). Then highlight all the other Flip clips that aren’t resized and then hit “Option-V” without the quotes. A dialogue box will come up with options on which attributes you wish to paste onto the highlighted clips. Choose to keep the “scale” and “distort” attributes and click OK. Now all your other Flip clips should match the first one you fixed.
– Don
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Don,
You are my hero tonight! Thank you so much. I have spent over 10 hours trying to figure this out (trying every conversion option and every capture option etc) and you made it sound so simple! I tried everything you said and am very happy right now. Thank you again…
This is my first posting here but am a convert!
So how much do you know about muffled sound repair? 🙂 That’s my next mountain…
Lauren
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[Lauren Williams] “This is my first posting here but am a convert!”
Well, you just stumbled onto the best FCP help site in the free world (maybe that other world, too). Not me, mind you. I just help out when i can but I’m no expert. It’s others here that are.
[Lauren Williams] “So how much do you know about muffled sound repair?”
Not a lot, I’m afraid. I’m usually blessed with the option of having multiple audio tracks to choose from during the edit but I also make sure the audio is sounding good before I roll the cameras. So….
I have changed the subject title to reflect your new request, so maybe someone more knowledgeable than myself will respond. I know there are several audio filters in FCP that can affect the higher frequencies and make the audio pop a little more so it’s a bit more understandable. I think the best program for this might be Soundtrack Pro, though. Anyway, here’s a link to a detailed 2 part description of all the audio filters in FCP.
https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/basic_audio_filter_guide.html
https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/basic_audio_filter_guide_pt2.htmlPerhaps you’ll find the right one for your application. It’s always been my experience, however, that the way to fix poor audio is to re-shoot.
– Don
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Hi Lauren and Don,
About theFlip footage (1280×720, Square pixels), I think that is a mistake that you convert it to NTSC in MPGSteamclip.
With the original size/pixels you will have more options (re-sizing/re-framing) in FC.
Another thing you should consider is that the Flip footage is 30fps. You should go the way of conforming to 29.98 in CinemaTools.
In this thread you have some info about the process:https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1034206#1034477
rafael
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Flip video is square pixel web video? Okay. I thought it was some sort of consumer camcorder. If it’s 1280 x 720 square pixels then you can still down convert it to 853×480 square pixel DV NTSC if you want. It’ll work out to the same thing in the final render, anyway. I would use Compressor to do the down convert.
– Don
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Hi Don,
Yes, the Flip Mino makes a 720p30 MPEG-2.
I never heard about this camera until few weeks ago, but looks great for some 100 bucks.
Rafael -
Thank you for your thoughts on the Flip. I actually have the Flip Mino HD and it must be converted to something in order for FCP to accept it. So I’ve been converting it to QT (.mov).
If there is something else I can do, please let me know. It’s really a cool little camera (though this one is $250, not $100!) and was used for our b-roll. Thankfully no sound will be used from it… or perhaps with my current sound problems, I should re-consider that!
I’m trying to cut that with the 24P footage… slightly in over my head (as a relative novice) but a quick learner, so any thoughts or advice is so greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for providing input…
lauren -
Thank you once again for your help.
As far as the sound goes, we were using Sennheiser wireless mics (lavs) and the DP I hired didn’t want to use the ‘mini’ mixer I have which would have been attached to the bottom of the Panasonic DVX camera. Instead, he fed the mics directly into the camera (my instinct said that was a mistake but he was supposed to know what he was doing and said the sound was fine!).
I’m now working with the footage and am not happy with the sound. The footage is solely interviews (btw, with some of the most amazing producers, agents, managers and development people in Hollywood, so I can’t just ask to do them over…) and I’m suffering from a ‘muffled’ almost tinny sound. Absolutely dreadful to deal with and I know near impossible to fix but I’m a hopeful person. I tried to add a soft layer of music underneath but that just sounds strange on interviews (unless someone has a good suggestion here on the type of music or sound to add…). I suppose ultimately, I’ll have to take this to a sound person but wanted to try my hand at it first.
I removed one of the tracks on one of the interviews (there are 14 in total!) and that helped a little but am looking for anything else I can do (I’m not an expert working with audio…). I tried the ‘hum remover’ but don’t hear a difference… Any thoughts are appreciated. I’ll check out the links you sent… thanks.
Thanks for any assistance.
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