File too large

[Kylee Pena]

You need to transcode the file to something other than H264 first. That is a delivery codec, not an editing codec. Search the forum for this and you’ll see further explanations about the inner workings of H264 and why this occurs. Transcoding to ProRes should work for you.

You say you “can’t play” the file in FCP. Do you mean that you can’t play it in real time, and there’s a red render bar when you lay it into the timeline? Transcoding should fix this for you. Or do you mean it won’t play in the viewer? I’ve edited from nearly hour long source files with a similar setup as you after transcoding and not had any issues with their playback..

[Danielle Warren]

Hi Kylee,
Thank you so much for the fast response! I am not familiar with transcoding, but will look into it right away. Your information is all very useful in helping me understand this file and what I need to do with it.

When I say “can’t play” I mean two things. One, there is a red render bar when I drop the file into a sequence, but I think it is the audio that needs to be rendered because when I delete the audio or turn it off, there is no longer a red render bar. Two, the clip in the timeline and in the viewer is stuttery and doesn’t play smoothly. It may play for a second, then freeze while the timecode continues to count, then jumps to a shot seconds later. Does that make sense? I am hoping the transcoding solution will work and allow me to watch and edit smoothly. Thank you again, I will report back.

[Kylee Pena]

Yes, this all sounds like it’s caused by H264. You have Compressor, right? Just open it up, stick your original source file in, and then drag ProRes 422 onto it and submit. The new file will be much bigger in size, but it’s a nearly lossless conversion to an editing codec.

When you say that you play back the footage in the viewer and it seems to skip ahead suddenly – I’m not a super codec expert, but this sounds exactly like why H264 isn’t editable. See part of one of Dave’s Stock Answers:

“These kinds of footage use temporal, or interframe compression. They have keyframes at regular intervals, containing complete frame information. However, the frames in between do NOT have complete information. Interframe codecs toss out duplicated information.”

Basically (as I understand it), this codec picks up a keyframe every 15 frames or so, and then only reads what changes in those frames to save on information (only recording what has changed vs. recording redundant information). This space between is called a group of pictures. The skipping about in the Viewer or timeline is it skipping from one of these key frames to the next. Very efficient for delivery to the web, not so much for editing where having every single frame is kind of vital 🙂

This has taken me quite a long time to grasp, so I apologize if it’s not clear or slightly wonky.

[Danielle Warren]

Kylee, thank you again. This sounds exactly right! Everything you said makes sense, at least on a very simple level.

I do have compressor, and one last question. Which Apple ProRes 422 setting should I use? There are 4 settings ready in there, 2 for Interlaced material (1 HQ), and 2 for Progressive material (1 HQ).

[Joey Burnham]

Step through your footage frame by frame and see if it’s interlaced or not. That should clear that up. And HQ isn’t really necessary but can’t hurt.
Also, what are your system specs / drive arrays. The stuttering could be from H.264 or not having a fast enough system for “HD”.
Joey

[Danielle Warren]

Thanks Joey. I know this sounds silly, but how can I tell if it’s interlaced? Going frame by frame isn’t showing me anything. My system specs are:

Macbook Pro
2.16GHZ Intel
2 GB RAM
10.5.8
FCP 7

I’m using a small USB external HD. But I also tried running the file off my hard drive thinking that was the problem, and the issues were the same there as well.

[Kylee Pena]

If you go under Apple > Formats > Quicktime > ProRes 422 in Compressor, that should be sufficient for you regardless. Or at least it has been for me.

And yes, it could be like the above response that it can’t keep up with the flow of data…though I’ve run files just like that from an external (no arrays or anything) and been fine. I would try this first and then go from there.

[Joey Burnham]

So no external monitor to see fields? I guess in FCP right click the file, go to item properties, then format. What is the frame rate?

Also if you can’t play the file off your hard drive or the external, FCP might not let you either… We will see when it’s prores.

Joey

[Danielle Warren]

The frame rate is 29.97

[Danielle Warren]

Sounds good, thank you! Also, it says it will be an estimated size of 57 GB! Is that right? Is there any way to get it smaller? Thanks again