Burning a DVD… Export as media from FCPX?

[Michael Garber]

It works going straight out of FCP, but I have found quicker render times in Compressor if you export from FCPX first. I recommend rendering the timeline in FCPX as it allows for quicker exports.

Also, you have the added benefit of using Quickcluster encoding if you export first. But that’s a whole ‘nother thread… 🙂

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company

[Steve Connor]

[Michael Garber] “It works going straight out of FCP, but I have found quicker render times in Compressor if you export from FCPX first. “

That’s exactly what I do with longer projects, export a ProRes “Master” and bring that into Compressor. It’s actually quicker NOT to render your timeline before export in most cases.

Steve Connor
“The ripple command is just a workaround for not having a magnetic timelinel”
Adrenalin Television

[Jack Niedenthal]

Thanks, Michael. I’ll look into Quickcluster.

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
iMac i7 using Lion 10.7.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.

[Jack Niedenthal]

Thanks Steve.

Is there any loss of quality if you don’t render first before exporting?

This may sound stupid, but I thought the FCP Projects rendered as you went along… No? I thought that is what was going on in the background…

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
iMac i7 using Lion 10.7.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.

[Steve Connor]

[Jack Niedenthal] “Is there any loss of quality if you don’t render first before exporting?”

None at all

Steve Connor
“The ripple command is just a workaround for not having a magnetic timelinel”
Adrenalin Television

[Michael Garber]

If you are exporting the timeline multiple times, in the case of a client wanting little tweaks, then I think it makes most sense to render first and then export. This being dependent on how much rendering needs to be done in the timeline and how complicated the effects are.

I’d rather render it overnight or in the background/spare time (assuming what I need to render isn’t changing while I’m rendering). Then, come crunch time, I know that my exports will take a fraction of the time they would’ve taken. For example, I had an hour-long timeline with color and bcast safe – took a couple hours to render (rough approximation). But once rendered, it took 8 minutes to export. I was able to afford the render time upfront. But when the changes started coming in – boy, those 8 minute exports were nice (although QT reference movies were ooohhhh-so-much better).

I think we might have just a different workflow – or you might have a much faster processor than on my system for exporting.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company

[Jack Niedenthal]

This is going to sound dumb again, but once something is rendered, and you go back in and change it, will it take a long time to re-render it?

Jack Niedenthal
Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
http://www.microwavefilms.org
iMac i7 using Lion 10.7.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card
I live on an island in the middle of the Pacific, YOU are my only resource.

[Michael Garber]

Depends on what you’re re-rendering. Variables include native clip size, project settings (does clip need pull-down added), clip length, changes to clip (vis-a-vis motion properties – zoom, crop, etc…) and any filters added.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company