Editing SLR Footage

Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

Editing SLR Footage

Posted by Rich Peart on February 5, 2011 at 5:08 pm

Hey Guys quick question ,
Ive just started to edit with some 5D footage, and some other footage shot with a Nikon.
All the files have imported as H264 1920 x 1080 .Mov’s

Im editing in Final cut studio 2 so have version 6.0.6 or whatever.

I have a mac book pro I7, but find the footage dragging and stopping even with unlimited RT turned off, when Im trying to play through my edit, Ive tried using my internal disk plus my Gdrive both are the same…

Should i be converting this footage before I edit and if so to what ? I read somewhere about editing it as Prores 422 ? but I thought H264 was a apple standard so surely it should edit ok ?

Any help appreciated as Im going to be doing a few projects using this camera .
Thanks

Jeffrey Di lullo replied 15 years, 3 months ago 5 Members · 5 Replies
5 Replies

Zane Barker
February 5, 2011 at 5:17 pm

[Rich Peart] “I read somewhere about editing it as Prores 422 “

Absolutely correct.

[Rich Peart] “but I thought H264 was a apple standard so surely it should edit ok ? “

Wrong. h.264 is fine for some delivery (depending on the delivery) but it is NOT a proper editing codec.

**Hindsight is always 1080p**
Jeff Greenberg
February 5, 2011 at 5:26 pm

FCP isn’t optimized to edit with h.264 files (which can be used in everything from cellphones, DSLRs, BluRay dvds.)

Will FCP allow you to put it in the timeline? Yes. Does it work well? Not so much.

You’ll need the original cards…canon has a plugin for FCP Log and Transfer – I think it works in FCP 6.

Best,

Jeff G

Apple Master Trainer
Avid Cert. Instructor DS/MC
Avid & Color Videos Vasst.com
Compressor Essentials Lynda.com
Frank Giardina
February 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm

Hi…

Another option would be to transcode to Prores 422 using Mpeg Streamclip, it’s free too.

https://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html

This freeware utility is a joy to work with, and it’s fast!!

There are a few settings you’ll have to tweak to get the most from MPEG Streamclip

* First, move the quality slider all the way to the right for the best quality.
* From the drop down menu choose ProRes422LT.
* Since this footage is 1080p (progressive) we need to UN-check the de-interlace option. And we want to leave the image size and frame rate to “same as source”. We’ll get into frame rates in minute.
* Once you have all of that set, just hit submit and go get some coffee.

Frank Giardina
17 Video Production
Rich Peart
February 5, 2011 at 11:43 pm

thanks for all you advice guys, all taken onboard =)
Jeffrey Di lullo
February 6, 2011 at 12:15 pm

I wouldn’t use ProRes422LT. Choose ProRes422.

Jeffrey Di Lullo
jeffedits.com

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