FCP 6 reads P2 files as Quicktime?

[Noah Kadner]

Ha- this is a loaded question. I suggest just reading through the forum a bit so that we don’t have to re-enact this discussion for yet another round.

Noah

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[Beth Segal]

Ya, sorry about not reading the thread. I did a number of searches under subjects such as FCP quicktime, FCP conversion, etc. and did not come up with a response. I am also new to Creative Cow….

beth

[Shane Ross]

All it does is copy over the file and put it in a quicktime wrapper. Timecode information is retained.

Here, I have a tutorial on importing P2 into FCP 6…

P2 Workflow with FCP 6

Shane

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[Beth Segal]

Shane,

I watched this tutorial which is extremely helpful (I actually had watched before posting – it was easy to find on the site – thanks).

I think I am not being clear with my question. I am worried about how FCP reads TC and how it converts/wraps footage. I am worried because my director wants to use FCP at home and I will use Avid at work. So how will these interchange especially if the media itself needs to be converted. I looked at your recommendations to buy a platform to wrap the P2 media files in QT. But if I import an Avid seq into FCP or at least use an EDL how will FCP read the timecode? I suspect that I am fighting a losing battle and will have to use FCP. I have used FCP in the past (early versions 4.0) and had problems with stability and media management, hence my aversion to FCP.

Thanks again,
beth

[Marcus Van bavel]

I would suggest you use Raylight for Mac ( https://dvfilm.com/raylight/mac ) and then both Avid and FCP can work from the same source files — the MXF files.

You will also be able to keep and read the metadata from within your FCP project, something that Avid cannot even do. Shane needs to update his tutorial to point out there is a much better alternative that skips the log and transfer and retains metadata, and can also automatically organize and rename your clips based on the metadata.

[Noah Kadner]

That’s a whole other issue- you *really* do not want to have an Avid and FCP trying to edit the same project. Pick one or the other and stick with it. And mixing MXF vs. QuickTime into it will make things even more complex.

If you *must* do it this way- you need to get Raylight so that you can cut MXF in FCP. You also need to get Automatic Duck to exchange Avid projects with FCP. Otherwise you’ll be in for a huge amount of extra busy work.

https://dvfilm.com/raylight/index.htm

https://www.automaticduck.com/products/options-fcp-user.php

Noah

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[Shane Ross]

Beth…the timecode information is all intact. Nothing is altered. But Noah is right…mixing platforms can really confuse things. And I will also add my voice into the fray in saying that doing this is unwise. Pick one platform and use that.

Marcus, I intended on making a tutorial specifically for alternative import options including Raylight and P2CMS, but have been bogged down. I highly recommend Raylight as it displays all of the metadata that the camera records. FCP ignores all of that if you use the Log and Transfer method.

BUT, I still recommend backing up the original P2 footage, copying all the files to the media drive, THEN using Raylight. Never work with the originals if you can help it.

Shane

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[Beth Segal]

I appreciate everybody’s input. Your site is great as is the quality and speed of the responses. Looks like I might be delving into FCP!

beth

[Phil Jones]

Shane,
A Tutorial would be great since although Raylight is supposed to be straightforward I think it is a bit light on help info for the price. It just doesn’t seem to work as simply as advertised. Your tutorials are clear and concise. The dude is making a killing on this little piece of software, maybe he should pay you to do an intro to raylight for him.

[Greg Booth]

I have BETA P2 MXF/DVCProHD QuickTime plugins that might help you out at http://www.calibratedsoftware.com . The Apple version will be for sale soon, in the meantime you can still use them in a limited(demo) capacity.

Greg