FCP vs AfterEffects – importing Image Sequences

[Walter Biscardi]

These are two completely different products.

Final Cut Express / Pro are video editing tools.

After Effects is a digital composition / SFX / animation tool.

What do you need to? Edit or create digital comps?

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

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[Michael North]

Thanks for the response.

It seems to me that there’s a huge overlap.
Especially if you add Motion 3 to the Mix.

I would love to have them both … but that’s not feasible right now.

It’s the delay after importing that I’m experiencing with FCExpress
that has me hesitant about going to FCP instead of AF …

I’m not totally sure what that delay is about
and weather or not FCP/Motion has it too.
-That’s- what I’m hopping to find out here …

I need to bring in seven or eight tracks of Image Sequences,
in 1920×1080 targa format from Lightwave; each about 7000 frames.

Aftereffects can do it with out breaking a sweat.
FCExpress can to it, if I take a lot of coffee breaks 🙂

It seems like FCP/Motion should be able to do it
unless they too go off to “conversion limbo” every time I import something big.

Motion -is- a compositing program … right?
And FCP can deal in multilayer tracks with alpha channels … right?

It seems like the combination of those two programs
should let me do anything that AE can do, with in reason.

That’s -IF- they don’t make me wait while they convert everything I import
into “intermediate Codec” or something …

Help 🙂

[Walter Biscardi]

[Michael North] “It seems to me that there’s a huge overlap.
Especially if you add Motion 3 to the Mix. “

Again, now you’re adding a third application to the mix. Motion is a Motion Graphics Application and it is a standalone app. If you are talking After Effects vs. Studio 2, Studio 2 is much more versatile than the single application After Effects.

[Michael North] “I need to bring in seven or eight tracks of Image Sequences,
in 1920×1080 targa format from Lightwave; each about 7000 frames. “

And you have properly set up FCE to import those image frames as 1 frame each, correct?

FCE and FCP are video editing software, they are not optimized for image sequences so that portion of the application will be slow.

[Michael North] “It seems like FCP/Motion should be able to do it
unless they too go off to “conversion limbo” every time I import something big. “

FCE is limited to a few formats so this is why it keeps converting everything. In FCP you would not have a conversion. I have never used FCE so I have no idea how many formats are available to you, but in FCP pretty much every format that AE handles, FCP can handle as well.

[Michael North] “Motion -is- a compositing program … right?
And FCP can deal in multilayer tracks with alpha channels … right?
“

Motion is a Motion Graphics program with compositing features. Yes, FCP deals with alpha channels.

Again, not really sure what you’re doing that you have to import the 7000 image sequence into a video project, but as someone who has used NLE editing software since 1993 and After Effects since 1997, they are nowhere’s near the same thing.

Again, what do you need? A video editing tool or a composition tool?

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

STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
Read my Blog!

[Michael North]

You right! …. my bad
I -am- thinking in terms of Studio 2 vs AfterEffects.
I should have titled the post that way.

In fact, all I really wanted to know was that FCP/Motion
wouldn’t make me wait after every import …

Yes … I set up the Image Sequences as one frame per frame 🙂 in FCExpress.
After FCE does its song and dance upon import
it composites fine …
Except of corse there’s a small issue with 1920×1080 size frames.

From the training videos on the Apple site it “appears” that Motion
would deal with image sequences well …
And in combination with FCP would make a good tag team.

Aside from the size of the image sequences, my compositing needs
are not -that- demanding. As long as FCP doesn’t coke on the files like FC-E
the available effects should be more that enough. And when you throw in Motion,
and the rest of Studio 2, I think it would be a bigger bang for the buck.

And … I -do- have to edit video as well; mostly in preparation for use on cards within Lightwave.

You’re right … neither FCP or Motion are sold as compositing programs.
Apples compositor would be … Shake … right?
I hung out with the Shake demo and hated everything about it 🙂

I’m not a new to AfterEffects. I just have an old version (6.5)
that doesn’t run well on that Mac Pro.
So my choice is to upgrade to CS3 first.
Or … upgrade to Studio 2 first.

I’m I correct to assume that FCP can deal with ACVHD?
iMovie deals with it on a Device level … but … this is perhaps better left for a different post.
… after I do a little bit of searching on this great form.

Thanks Walter … for your informed replies …

Michael North