FCPX newbie question

[Jeff Greenberg]

[sean pollaro] “you know for changing codecs, frame sizes, field order, RGB 8 bit or YUV 10 bit rendering etc.?”

You don’t have access to any of that. It handles interlaced video formats in their native field order; it works 10 bit YUV (no RGB access). Everything is rendered into ProRes.

[sean pollaro] ” Also when I input my 720 prores HQ footage it always looks blurry when I hit the play button. then looks sharp again when I hit stop. why is this happening?”

FCPX degrades the playback to get RT ability and shows you all the information when you pause. As much as possible view elements at 100% (or 50%)

Best,

Jeff G

Certified Master Trainer | Adobe, Apple, Avid
————
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[Sean Pollaro]

So.. Why would they take these options away? I’ts very confusing to me.. I mean, What about footage that has a native format of DVCPRO HD? Are they forcing us to recompress our footage? Also when you say Pro res which PR codec is it? 4444, HQ, 422, LT, Proxy? What if I’m using 720p and 1080i footage together in 1 timeline? the 720 is non interlaced while the 1080 would have an upper field order. How does that work out?

So how do I get it to playback normal and not blurry? I have to view it at 50%? why is this? can I change this option?

[Jeff Greenberg]

[sean pollaro] ” So.. Why would they take these options away? I’ts very confusing to me.. I mean, What about footage that has a native format of DVCPRO HD? Are they forcing us to recompress our footage? Also when you say Pro res which PR codec is it? 4444, HQ, 422, LT, Proxy? What if I’m using 720p and 1080i footage together in 1 timeline? the 720 is non interlaced while the 1080 would have an upper field order. How does that work out?”

FCP 1-7 was designed in 1997-99; they didn’t have HD on the table, they never foresaw highly compressed footage (like HDV or h.264) where 1 in 15 frames has all the information. It was optimized for broadcast formats; later they grafted on HD; DVCProHD is a full frame codec.

This is part of the reason Apple threw us all a curveball to FCPX – they felt they were best served looking at the future and throwing off the bonds of the older versions.

You can work natively with h.264 or DVCPro HD (in QuickTime wrappers) but the renders will be all ProRes.

ProRes 422 – the other ones are for higher/lower data rates (Do you want the reasons for each codec? If so, let me know, I’ll write it out, but I’m about to get in the car for the next 6 hrs.) But they just pick ProRes422 for most card based HD (unless of course you pick to work natively, which you can do)

I think apple’s decision was that leaving the switches there were wrong for 99% of the people. They’re not chasing after the 1 percent that it matters to.

[sean pollaro] “What if I’m using 720p and 1080i footage together in 1 timeline?”

Whichever timeline type you start with, it conforms to. I’m assuming that they got the blending of interlacing correct in FCPX…given that frame rate changes and interlacing were pretty poor in FCP7.

Me? If I was outputting a 1080 timeline, I’d start there. If I was outputting a 720 timeline, I’d start there.

[sean pollaro] ” So how do I get it to playback normal and not blurry? I have to view it at 50%? why is this? can I change this option?”

I don’t think it’s a switch you can throw; I picked 50% or 100% because the methods software use to quickly downconvert for playback look best at these sizes. If you know the quality is there, does it matter? (I come from post environments where we used to cut at 320×240 – so I’m a bit more acclimated to the idea I can cut so-so footage and know the final version will be correct.)

What sort of footage are you needing RGB 8 bit for? How are you monitoring (what’s your setup?)

Best,

Jeff G

Certified Master Trainer | Adobe, Apple, Avid
————
You should follow me (filmgeek) on twitter. I promise to be nice.
My book (with Richard Harrington and Robbie Carman)- An Editor’s Guide to Adobe Premiere Pro
Lynda.com – Compressor Essentials 3.5 and 4
Contact me through my Website

[Sean Pollaro]

Thanks for your help man! tried playing back the footage at 50% and it’s clear with no blur. Thats irritating though because its so small. As long as my export is clear I’m ok with it I guess. You’ve been very helpful

[Andy Neil]

[sean pollaro] “What if I’m using 720p and 1080i footage together in 1 timeline?”

You can adjust settings for your sequence (project) by hitting CMD+J (shortcut for project settings), then click the little wrench icon at the bottom right of the inspector to make changes. You can chose to create a 1080 project or a 720 project, whichever you want.

[sean pollaro] “So how do I get it to playback normal and not blurry?”

There is a setting in your preferences, under the playback tab. Playback is either set to high quality or better performance. It’s set to better performance by default which is why the picture degrades when played. The computer is attempting to make sure that it’s played back in real time. You can force it to play back at high quality, but risk dropping frames if you have a slow computer, lot of extensive unrendered elements, etc.

Andy

https://www.timesavertutorials.com

[Walter Soyka]

[Jeff Greenberg] “it works 10 bit YUV (no RGB access).”

I thought all of FCPX’s processing was 32-bit floating point RGB?

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Jeff Greenberg]

I’ll be honest. I’m not 100% sure. I don’t know if Apple is working in 32 bit float RGB space (the way Motion is now) or in 10 bit YUV space (or 12/16 bit which would be best for ProRes). I do have someone who might be allowed to answer so I’ve sent that email off. Will report back.

Best,

Jeff G

Certified Master Trainer | Adobe, Apple, Avid
————
You should follow me (filmgeek) on twitter. I promise to be nice.
My book (with Richard Harrington and Robbie Carman)- An Editor’s Guide to Adobe Premiere Pro
Lynda.com – Compressor Essentials 3.5 and 4
Contact me through my Website