Editing 5 streams of multicam on fw 400

[Shane Ross]

[simon bryant] “5 cameras shooting XDCAM 1080i50, capturing off P2 cards.”

???? XDCAM doesn’t record to P2 cards. That format goes to either XDCAM disk, or SxS cards if you are using the EX cameras. P2 records either DVCPRO HD or AVCIntra, depending on the camera you are using. What camera are you using?

[simon bryant] “is there a way I can media manage down to a codec with a lower data rate to allow me to run all 5 streams in my multicam clip to run smoothly and then relink to my original source files when I’m done cutting”

Yes….read my article in this magazine:

https://www.lafcpug.org/nab_supermag_08.html

[simon bryant] “I’ll need to maintain frame size as I’ll be doing alot of resizing,”

AAAHHHHH….that’s the trick. The method I linked to is to OFFLINE RT HD which has much smaller file sizes. There is no preset offline codec that has the same dimensions as full sized HD. You will have to try to make your own. Photo JPEG at 25% or 35% might work…but then those are not RT formats, so multiclipping them…not sure about that. XDCAM is already a pretty low data rate format, but the GOP structure is what makes it a bear to work with. Gotta lot of testing to do…

I don’t envy you in this task.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
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[Eric Peters]

I’ve done some testing with the Photo JPEG format at full HD frame size and can say from experience that this would not be the way to go if you need to use multiclips. Multiclips of the full-size HD Photo JPEG variety are a real bear to work with. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this problem. To really achieve what you need to do and be able to use multiclips efficiently and effectively, you’d need to do a traditional offline-online workflow like Shane is recommending with the Offline RT HD codec.

[David Roth weiss]

Simon,

I usually let Bob Zellin jump all over people for posts like this, but I’m gonna lay it on the line myself this time.

You’re talking pure lunacy. Don’t get caught up in a lunatic workflow because you’re too cheap to invest in an inexpensive portable firewire 800 or eSata raid. Hard drives are cheap, cheap, cheap nowadays and so even considering an offline workflow for a multi-clip project just to be able to keep his/her firewire drives 400 in the loop is just being down right silly. That workflow is 6 steps backward and 1 step forward…

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Walter Biscardi]

[simon bryant] “. Problem is I’m going to have to edit some of it on location on a MacBook Pro 2ghz with 2gb ram using only a FW 400 drive. My question is is there a way I can media manage down to a codec with a lower data rate to allow me to run all 5 streams in my multicam clip to run smoothly and then relink to my original source files when I’m done cutting or when I get back to a tower setup with faster drives.”

Not to my knowledge. Get at least a FW800 RAID and you’ll be in good shape, maybe.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Eric Peters]

To characterize the offline-online workflow as “lunacy” is pretty narrow-minded. Sure, it might not be the BEST solution in Simon’s case, but for some of us it is the ONLY solution. We are regularly dealing with thousands of hours of footage per project, at which point going in at full res would be considered lunacy. Just because you don’t have a need for the traditional offline-online workflow doesn’t mean that you should discount it as something that has outlived its usefulness.

[Shane Ross]

I have to agree. The offline/online workflow is alive and kicking and the ONLY viable option in many cases.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
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[David Roth weiss]

Eric,

For sure, offline/online is not lunacy in every case, in fact, there are actually many new workflows, such as RED, 2K and 4K workflows that have in fact revived new incarnations the offline/online or proxied-workflow.

In this case however, it is lunacy. For $200 Simon could buy a LaCie firewire 800 Big Disk Extreme, and he’d be off to the races with his multi-clip edit and able to focus on being creative rather than managing media.

I don’t know how much he charges for his time, but $200 seems like a small price to pay when you think about the hours involved in off-lining and on-lining a multi-clip project.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Simon Bryant]

OK so with my curent setup, its not going to happen. The reason i’m tied to FW400 is that my MBP doesn’t have FW800. So maybe i’ll need to invest.

The drives I have available to me have FW 800, so if I buy a FW 800 card will I be able to edit 5 streams of XDCAM natively? Or will I still need to media manage, if so what work flow will I need to adopt?

Or am I better off going down the eSATA route – buying an eSATA card and two disk array – will I be able to run 5 streams of XDCAM then? Or will I still need to go offline/online?

If I upgrade but still need to offline/online are there any pitfalls I need to be aware of?

thanks in advance

simon

[Shane Ross]

Go eSATA…don’t bandy about. If you are going to get an Express34 card, get one that is FAST. Then a G-Raid 3 or CalDigit VR will suit you VERY well. 220MB/s read/write baby!

(yes…tested)

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[David Roth weiss]

[Shane Ross] “Go eSATA…don’t bandy about. If you are going to get an Express34 card, get one that is FAST. Then a G-Raid 3 or CalDigit VR will suit you VERY well. 220MB/s read/write baby! “

Okay, now we’re talking my kinda language. This is a much better direction for you Simon.

BTW, I have a very spiffy 2-bay Firmtek Sata enclosure for sale that would be ideal for you. https://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-1en2/

They make a great SATA Express card too https://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-2sm2-e/ as does CalDigit.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.