best source file for editing in fcp… dvd or dv avi?

[Nicole Haddock]

Ugh. How’s neither for an answer?

Can they send you test files from a previous event to see the quality? Sometimes the hardware these companies use requires proprietary codecs to read .AVI files as well. See if you can find out what they’re recording the event on.

[Subbu Arumugam]

hi nicole –

thanks for your quick two cents…

let me pose the question in a slightly different way…

they’re shooting in dv – what would the preferred file format be to request?

i apologize in advance for my naivete – we normally capture our own footage in avchd format, convert that to .mov via imovie and then edit in fcp… we’re in the unusual situation of working with another onsite crew at a conference, and are trying to not be redundant about things, tripping over each other etc. (they’ll have to be involved in the onsite filming and responsible for that alone)

thanks!

[Nicole Haddock]

Assuming getting the source tapes isn’t allowed, can they use FireStores and record to Quicktime that way? That would be ideal for all parties I would imagine- the Firestore records as they’re shooting and you offload the files and as soon as they’re done copying, you’re editing. They might have to bring a harddrive or a few onsite, depending on how much is being recorded, but it will be a much lesser headache than ripping and transcoding DVDs, or transcoding mysterious .AVI files.

[Dave Johnson]

As Nicole said, neither is the best answer …

DVD isn’t editing quality and is often a pain to digitize (especially relative to editing-quality files that you wouldn’t need to digitize).

AVIs are wrappers (versus codecs) so they can be in any number of codecs … some of which can be very problematic.

I’d word my answer so that it emphasizes the advantage to the other company … being that they’re shooting DV, they should be able to easily provide DV QuickTime files without the extra work on their part of converting it all to AVIs or burning DVDs. You wouldn’t need to do anything to DV25 or DV50 QuickTime files to work with them in FCP … better quality output, easier workflow for all parties … what more could anyone want?

[Subbu Arumugam]

so here’s a question – is it easy to copy the source dv tapes? then would the preferred method be for me to convert those to quicktime? (i have a friend with a production company, i think i can get that done fairly easily/ cheaply)

i doubt they would be able to do the FireStores process…

i originally asked them for the files as .mov’s – their “guy” said that the quality would be terrible, and that’s why we’ve gone down this road of dv avi and dvd’s etc… i’m trying to get the best possible quality, and then i’ll worry about converting them to an editable format myself…

thanks for being so helpful!

[Chris Babbitt]

I’ve never had an issue with editing AVI / DV files in FCP. The program will usually give me a warning (non-optimized file), but there doesn’t seem to be any problem. If it were up to me, I would take the AVIs over the DVDs.

[Subbu Arumugam]

hi dave –

yes, they seem to be a “pc shop” which is a bit strange in this world. i’ve always asked for .mov formats in the past from others when we’ve encountered similar situations.

i’m going to explore the dv quicktime angle again – i have a call in with them.

assuming they’re a “pc shop” – that shouldn’t be an issue for them, or would it be?

s

[Subbu Arumugam]

thanks chris – depending on what i learn, and the capabilities of the other group, this may have to be my option – they’re pushing to give me a dvd – i wonder if that’s the easiest for them…

[Chris Babbitt]

Easiest for them perhaps. More trouble for you, and an inferior end product.

[Nicole Haddock]

They probably have a mini-dv to DVD deck, so they just feed the tapes and discs and out pops a DVD. Very easy for them. If they give you .AVIs then they have to ingest the material, oh the horror!

I’ve encountered much attitude from PC shops in the past over the issue of Quicktime vs. AVI and usually their lead argument is AVI is lossless! So much better than Quicktime! I always counter with, well, so is Quicktime AND what format hasn’t been updated in teh past 10 years? Hmm? Would that be… AVI?

Like I said, if you can get a test 10 second file of a .AVI from them, you’ll be alot better off knowing how to handle post on your end. They should be able to do this very easily for you. If it works, hurrah, mo middle man digitizing. If not, come back 🙂