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DVCPRO HD and FCP workflow issue
I have some questions about editing HD with FCP and what the proper workflow should be. Here’s my problem.
I’m working on a feature length doc to be released in film. We’ve shot mostly with the Panasonic HDX900 at 1080p24. We digitized the DVCPRO HD tapes at 1080i60 using the Panasonic HD1400 deck connected via firewire into Final Cut. There is now about 30 hours of footage in our system in this format. We have about 10 -15 hours more waiting to be digitized but I wanted to see if I could get this codec business right once and for all before I load any more footage in to the system. After speaking with Panasonic engineers and Apple FCP support, I still am unsure of our best workflow so we can finish on film with the least amount of problems and cost. There seem to be so many ways to do this that the more I learn, the less I know.
A friend suggested converting the existing 1080i60 footage to get rid of the extra frames (2:3 pulldown frames). He made a Compressor droplet that takes the 1080i60 footage and makes it 720p24. I question whether we want to use 720 or to keep the footage as 1080. (The friend hasn’t responded yet to my question.) I looked for a 1080p24 setting in Compressor but couldn’t find one. Does such a setting exist, even as a third party plugin? Using the droplet I did a test with three of our 1080i60 clips which turned them into 720p24 clips. I also converted those same three 1080i60 clips using Cinema Tools to do a reverse telecine. Those clips are 1080 at 24 fps. (Does that mean they are 1080 progressive or are they interlaced? Does that matter to me at this stage of production? Again, I’m only trying to find the best workflow so we don’t run into problems down the road.)
So now I have three different versions of the same three clips and I’m not sure which one I should use. If I use the 720p24 format where will that leave us when it comes time to online the show? Will everything in the final show have to be reloaded at the online facility so it’s at 1080? Is it better to work with a smaller 720 picture for offline now or is it better to stay 1080? And is it 1080i or 1080p? How would working in 720 affect graphics, compositing and other outside footage sources? No matter which version of the clip I go with, what should the FCP project setting and the timeline setting be? And then there is the matter of mixing footage; there is some shot on DV, some in the Sony XDCAM format (XDCAM EX 1080p24), some HDV and whatever stock shots we get.
We are running a Mac Pro 2.8 GHz 8 core, 8 GB of RAM, FCP 6.0.4, a Decklink Extreme HD card (which we seem to be just using as an audio connection device), at least 8 TB of storage (2 – 2 TB Raids + 4 individual 1 TB drive), an eSATA connection card for the Raids and we are anxious to start editing but I want to make sure of the work flow before we get too far into the edit.
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1 Reply
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If you’re going to release “in film”, then the best person to answer this question would be your contact at the lab.
Your delivery specs, on-line/offline workflow, graphics, titles, sound(!), etc. should all be decided in consultation with the people that will be handling the film out. Talking it through will them, rather than taking a shot in the dark, will improve quality and save cost in the end.
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