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HD aspect ratio and motion settings madness
I’m working on a project right now that is natively 1440 x 1080 XDCAM. The Editors work in a native sequence, but insert clips from the graphics department in 1920 x 1080, which is our final resolution for going to tape via a Kona 3.
The projects are cut on separate Mac Pro workstations and media managed for delivery to the online suite. The material is media managed to the native XDCAM settings. If we use ProRes we lose all our alpha channels. The last step in the workflow is to send all the XDCAM sequences to Color, then rebuild a final 1920 x 1080 timeline with all the GFX and graded clips.
Here’s the problem: it’s been a huge hassle trying to move material to a 1920 timeline because Final Cut Pro distorts clips improperly. For instance, if I simply copy and paste all the graphics clips (1920 x 1080, Animation) into a new 1920 x 1080 timeline, it brings distort settings. I can use ‘remove attributes’ to remove the distort. However, if there are any motion settings on these clips, they get mangled in the new sequence. For instance, if graphic elements have been moved around, they all get shifted in the new sequence and each one has to be repositioned. Ugh.
Is there any way around this? Or does anyone have a more clever way to go about media managing the XDCAM-native projects?
We’re using the final version of Final Cut Pro 6 on all of our workstations.
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6 Replies
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Try “Conform to Sequence”. Not sure what will do with the attributes that you had changed.
Anyway I think that you are wasting your time going now to 1920.
If you go through Color, you end up in 1920. Color do not export 1440.
And don’t blame FC of your mistakes.
Cheers,
rafael -
Rafael,
I don’t take the graphics into Color. They’re already graded and in Animation format. They’re 1920 x 1080. So I have to go to 1920 and have no choice. The graphics look soft in the 1440 timeline and plus, like you said, I come out of Color at 1920.
Unfortunately, it’s Final Cut Pro wasting my time. I’ll try what you suggest, though.
Thanks!
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Hi Ron,
I don’t say you to send the graphics to Color.
What I say is that when you send to color a 1440×1080 sequence, you get a 1920×1080 sequence out of Color.
I think you should have send your first sequence and fix the graphics in the “out-of-color” sequence.
Rafael -
Thanks, Rafael. The problem occurs when I do exactly that (move my graphics into the 1920 timeline). Final Cut Pro mangles any motion settings, which means every graphic needs to be repositioned. It’s very time-consuming and tedious work.
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Yes, if you move the graphics from one sequence to the other, they will keep their attributes.
Removing them any animation get lost. But even if you could conform Size and Distort and keep “Center” and Anchor point you would need to re do the animation. The reference for your key frames is a 1440 canvas, no 19020.
Rafael -
Could you have imported the 1440 footage through the Kona and capture as 1920, then work everything in a 1920 sequence? Or, can you now export your 1440 footage with the Kona and let it covert to 1920 in realtime, then reimport at 1920 and work in a 1920 sequence, keeping away from 1440 entirely?
Mike
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