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HDV & HDCam timeline: update and final solution?
hi, i had started a related thread awhile ago, and have been pouring through other people’s similar threads to try and get a final answer on this. in a nutshell: i have a new series where we just shot 3 episodes with our A camera (Sony 700, HDCam), and B camera (Sony Z1U, HDV). at my place, i’m limping along with a BetaSP system (deck), Blackmagic Decklink SP card (no HD in/out), and FCP Studio 1 (no Pro Res). my end result needs to be output to an HDCam master tape. i’m sort of thinking out loud here, so bear with me…but also calling out for help on the HDCam capture questions…
so, i’ve already captured the HDV footage to my system in the HDV codec (via a day’s rental on the Z1 as my playback deck), and i’m going in tomorrow morning to capture my (6) HDCam tapes to my portable drive (the handy-dandy Seagate 500 GB eSATA) at the same post house where i will be “onlining” (for lack of a better term, we’ll just call it that).
my main question now is which codec to capture the HDCam footage? i guess my answer is that i’m probably stuck with capturing in HDV since that’s how my HDV footage has been captured, and then they will “match” on the timeline, though in the future it sounds like it might be better to shoot and capture in DVCPro HD (but that is the NEXT shoot, not tomorrow’s HDCam transfer). if i capture the HDCam tomorrow at HDV codec, when i go back to online i would then need to re-capture the final HDCam footage (via the lovely and talented Media Manager) in at least the DVCPro HD codec (but then it would be mixed with the native HDV footage as well?) render it out and dump to HDCam master.
OR, i capture the HDCam footage tomorrow in DVCPro HD (thus eliminating a recapture in online) but then i end up with HDV and DVCPro HD footage on my “offline” timeline. question: i know i can’t capture at DVCPro HD code with my Decklink SP card, but can i PLAY DVCPRo HD footage with it with no problems?
on the next shoot, it looks like i’m leaning towards dumping the 700 (“dumping” as in “not using”) for the technical issues above (or i go buy a whole bunch of new equipment for my NLE system). also, i’ve had THREE shoots now over the past two years where a 700 camera has gone down in the field. . . so for many reasons, that camera scares me a bit. but for now, i need to edit three shows on my offline system with FCP Studio 1, with HDV and HDCam footage.
thanks again for listening to me muddle through this. hopefully i have explained my situation clearly…
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7 Replies
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1st you can playback DVCProHD without a card, you would not be able to monitor it to a TV though with the card you have.
I think the idea workflow, if you can, would be to capture the HDCAM footage as DVCProHD and then recapture you HDV tape as DVCProHD also. Don’t know if the amount of footage you have or it the Post House has a HDV deck or camera with HD SDI out. This way you edit in DVCProHD and then take you project back and master that to the HDCAM deck. This may cause you more time and money at this end but it would save on the back end. Plus I think your quality is going to be better than editing and finishing in HDV.
Alternative would be to upgrade to FCS2 and use the mutl format timeline. Capture the HDCAM as DVCProHD, edit in DVCProHD Timeline it will playback with the HDV. render out the final as DVCProHD or ProRes.
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Mortimer,
You’re offlining and paying a post house to online right? Have you talked to them? What do they suggest? Path of least resistance would be to talk to them and see what they’re happiest with – that way the onus is on them to get it right. If they’re just chucking it back at you then the cart is pushing the horse to an extent and you will be the one liable for any cock-ups! They should be suggesting the optimal workflow (with an eye to budgetary constraints naturally).
If they’re able my inclination would be to offline HDV and then online HDCam. Either way you’ll need to transcode one or the other – and as your master needs to be HDCam it makes sense to go higher (HDV-HDCam) rather than the other way round. Your alternate of keeping it DVCProHD would work if you’d digitised the HDV material in to that format from the get-go, but mixing and matching formats (when you don’t have the mixed format timeline of FCS2) is a complete ‘mare.
Talk to your post house. Even if it costs you a couple of hundred extra to sort, I think it will be money well spent. You can’t put a price on hair…
Jason
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yes, i’ve talked with them a bit and they don’t have a rock solid recommendation. sort of “6 one way, half a dozen the other”…but i’ve pretty much decided to do the following:
– capture my HDCam footage today at the post house at DVCPro HD codec onto my new snazzy 500 GB Seagate SATA drive;
– upgrade the capture card at my facility to the BlackMagic Intensity (so i can capture DVCPro HD in the future) or Kona’s version – i’ll research that choice more next…);
– after getting my new card, rent an HDV deck or camera and recapture all my HDV footage at the DVCPro HD codec (yes, i know i won’t be gaining any quality, but it won’t have to render on a DVCPro FCP timeline);
– finish my “offline” in DVCPro HD;
– take it to the post house as is and dump it to an HDCam master tape;
– in the future, i probably won’t shoot HDCam anymore, but rather (2) DVCPro HD cameras thus eliminating several steps here (and saving bucks), and still yielding a high-quality 1080i master at the end.
– of course, i could also upgrade to FCP 5, keep shooting my B camera in HDV and mix the future DVCPro HD footage with HDV on the timeline, but it sounds like there are still too many bugs in 5 to make that move yet.(i heartily welcome any and all comments to this workflow plan!) : )
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doh! i meant, “i could also upgrade to FCP 6 (not 5)”…
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[mortimer heathcliff] “upgrade the capture card at my facility to the BlackMagic Intensity (so i can capture DVCPro HD in the future) or Kona’s version – i’ll research that choice more next…);”
warning on this card- it only does analog and HDMI, not really a good choice if you are going to be handling alot of content from HDSDI sources.
gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows -
thanks for the warning. well, all i will need a new card to do is to continue to have a set of component break-out cables to continue to be able to capture to/from my BetaSP deck, but then also allow me to capture (via firewire, USB or whatever from a camcorder or deck) in the DVCPro HD codec. is Blackmagic or AJA the way to go???
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[gary adcock] “mortimer heathcliff] “upgrade the capture card at my facility to the BlackMagic Intensity (so i can capture DVCPro HD in the future) or Kona’s version – i’ll research that choice more next…);”
warning on this card- it only does analog and HDMI, not really a good choice if you are going to be handling alot of content from HDSDI sources.”
All so, The Intensity card only works with Intel version presently. I was about to buy one for my dual core G5 and was informed it’s a no go right now.
Bruce
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