HD footage to .mxf AND printed to mini DV tape via HPX170 & FCP

[Jeremy Garchow]

Wy not edit the HD and make an SD DVD?

It will produce a cleaner encode and will require way less transcoding/conversion problems you might get with creating mini DV tapes.

Jeremy

[Tim Ryan]

I wish I was doing the edits but I am not. They are not yet ready to work with HD and just want it for future use. So that\’s why I\’d like to provide them with a hard drive copy of hd files and
mini dv tapes with same footage in sd.

[Jeremy Garchow]

Well, it’s going to be very time consuming. How much footage do you anticipate?

You can log and transfer the footage and then use Compressor to make AVIs, but your timecode might not match to the original HD footage which might be a problem for them later on.

You can bring in all the footage and downconvert out of FCP to make dv tape, but again, your timecode might not match.

I agree with your choice of 720p30 becuase whenyou downconverted to SD, it will still be 30p.
If you shoot 720p60, the footage will be 60i SD when converted. I’d shoot 30p to keep the progressive nature of the video for the web and DVDs on computers.

[Tim Ryan] “Would it be better to shoot in 720 60i vs. 30P?”

720p is always progressive never interlaced.

They aren’t ready for HD? I think this might be the time for them to jump in. What system do they edit on?

Jeremy

[Tim Ryan]

I expect 4-5 hours of footage and am not worried about time code. So, it sounds like I can do the following without HD to SD conversion issues (other than potential time code change):

1) log and transfer my HD footage
2) bring all of the footage into a FCP timeline (set to SD- NTSC 720 x 480 30P)
3) Print timeline to SD tape via DV deck

This then allows me to have the .MXF files on the hard drive as well as converted Quick Time .mov (via the Log and Transfer process) AND copies of the HD footage converted to SD on a mini DV tape?

Will the mini DV footage keep the 16:9 aspect ratio? Any other concerns?

Thanks!

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Tim Ryan] “I expect 4-5 hours of footage and am not worried about time code.”

Why not? If they do indeed want to match back to this footage some day, or they make transcripts, the SD footage won’t match the HD footage. Just a consideration…you know best as it’s your project.

[Tim Ryan] “1) log and transfer my HD footage
2) bring all of the footage into a FCP timeline (set to SD- NTSC 720 x 480 30P)
3) Print timeline to SD tape via DV deck “

1) Yes
2) No. I’d take your raw footage from the capture scratch and set up a custom preset in Compressor to process the whole thing in a batch. If you have a Kona card and a dv deck with SDI, you can also play the footage out real time to a deck if that’s easier for you.
3)Yes

[Tim Ryan] “This then allows me to have the .MXF files on the hard drive as well as converted Quick Time .mov (via the Log and Transfer process) AND copies of the HD footage converted to SD on a mini DV tape?”

That’s right.

[Tim Ryan] “Will the mini DV footage keep the 16:9 aspect ratio? “

I would make the footage anamorphic in the geometry pane of Compressor or if using a Kona card, use the anamorphic down convert option.

Jeremy

[Tim Ryan]

All cool; but don’t have KONA card.

[Jeremy Garchow]

Compressor it is.