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5DII files into FCE
I USED to edit a bunch (and I thought it was complex back in the 90’s!)
After doing stills for a decade, I’m back, but not with the Media 100. I’m attempting to use my 5DII and FCE to put together some video and still, and I don’t think I need the full capacity of the camera at this moment – HD will be fine! So, in order to get this project moving, I downloaded Streamclip, but I’m thinking I can convert to less than the 1920 x 1080 – perhaps 1280 x 720 will be more than my clients (weddings) will need from me. I’m thinking this will make the edit process much easier on my mac (2.66 QuadCore x 8 gigs, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120. I’ve yet to confirm my drives are running full capacity, but should be up to the work, but so far, this has been far less than RT.Any hints on the setup of the converter would be much appreciated, as would any hints at all. My first attempt with Streamclip was to use Quicktime (100%) 1920 x 1080. Doggy. So, maybe 1280×720, 100%? Interlaced scaling checked??
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13 Replies
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These are progressive cameras NEVER interlace the footage, NEVER.
The codec is what is going to make playback better, QuickTime is not a codec, it is just the wrapper. I don’t know what codecs FCE can use, without FCP you don’t get ProRes or DVCProHD so maybe your best bet is to use AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) with Streamclip. I would give it a try at 1920×1080 before scaling down to 720p.
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I agree with Michael, try it at 1920×1080 first (full frame HD) before you try scaling. I don’t use FCE but I think you will be crippling your workflow by adding unnecessary time in the transcoding process and a loss of quality using the AIC instead of transcoding to one of the advanced codecs.
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Thanks, Michael. I KNOW there’s no interlacing, but couldn’t understand why it should show up – well, Streamclip is free…
I’ll try the AIC at 100%, see how that goes. My past experience was with Media 100, presently with stills, I live on LightRoom. Too bad there’s not a ‘LightRoom’ for video – easy to view, mark and adjust clips before utilizing them…
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So, I shouldn’t use AIC? There are a number to choose from with Streamclip…Seems there’s an app out there (about $40) that might be more desirable for moving files from the 5DII to FCE?
I’ll be adding a regular video camera to the bag soon, want to keep the same size and format – probably a Sony prosumer… -
[Kris Merkel] “instead of transcoding to one of the advanced codecs”
I agree but the problem is that they are not available with FCE, ProRes and DVCProHD are bundled with FCP and not the Mac. I can purchased DVCProHD but I’m not sure I would use it as a conversion codec and ProRes codec available for download is playback only (just the dec part, no co) -
Final Cut Express is very much a consumer version of Final Cut Pro. Video formats it can work with are restricted to consumer formats, pretty much DV (PAL & NTSC), HDV and AVCHD.
To maintain the image quality of the Canon HDSLR cameras you need to bring the highly compressed H264 Quicktime files they record to in as a format such as Apple ProRes or maybe AIC. FCE cannot work with these codecs.
In FCP you can log and transfer clips setting in and out points whilst converting the clips to one of these formats. If you use the Canon Movie plugin it will convert the camera’s time of day data to timecode. All other adjustments (grading, audio levels etc.) can then be done in Final Cut Studio to a high degree.
You really need to consider changing up to FCS if you want to get a professional quality end result from these cameras.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
yeah, I seem to be bumping into these limitations. However, I’m almost capable of doing what I need with iMovie – FCP seems overkill – and pricey. I’ve actually got an older copy but the upgrade cost is as much as a new one. Rendering time is killing me (titles, mostly) but I’m not sure that’s due to the underlying clip. I keep thinking ‘Streamclip’ and size down to 1020×720, see if that gets speedier. Missing my old Media100!
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I was recently on the set of a short film and helped the person shooting behind the scenes videos to set up a preset for bringing 7D footage into FCE. 5Dmii should be exactly the same. After experimenting, it turned out that the best route (highest quality, no rendering in FCE) was AIC at 1440X1080, and leave the frame rate blank (So it maintains current). If you make the files 1920X1080 you’ll have to render when they go onto a timeline – 1440 worked perfectly fine. I would create a preset of that, so you don’t have to remember it every time you need to convert footage.
It could be that I missed something when figuring out what to convert to, but we couldn’t get anything 1920X1080 to work without rendering in FCE. Does anyone have any suggestions that would help? I’m a FCP user, and don’t often have access to FCE, but filmmakers often turn to me for help with their questions, and I’m sure someone on the Cow has dealt with this before and has a satisfactory answer.
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Because I’m flying blind, help with a couple of people on FCE but don’t own it, I would say the issue with having to render 1920x was because the timeline was set up for 1440x. 1440x is a HDV thin raster, I would never recommend transcoding true 1920x to that (unless you really have to). The computer actually has to do a lot more work to convert each frame as it plays to display the video correctly.
Anyway AIC is available on FCE and it recommended for the highest quality for FCE, everything else a lot more compressed. Once this step is done you have to match your sequence to the footage, Codec, frame size, frame rate and you should be okay.
FCE is a semi-professional app that is geared towards a very specific workflow for very specific camera formats. Once your footage is converted to what the app can handle with have a much higher end editing tool vs. iMovie.
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Michael,
I think you’re onto something. Although I can’t seem to alter the sequence or project (haven’t learned where that is yet), I do see that I can play the clips (from the 5DII) in the viewer with no rendering, but not on the timeline (turns red when I drop them there). I’m looking for the setup controls – even for a new project – and suspect I’ll be able to correct this. At the moment, all I see in AIC in 1920 is 1920x1080i x 60, and I know that it’s progressive, not interlaced. frustrating! Thanks – I’ll keep researching…bartone.com
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