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HDV project already captured in HDV – best way to color correct? Final Touch?
A client has aleady captured and cut an HDV feature in FCP 5.1 They are looking to me to color correct and output.
Having never worked in HDV (I specifially bought the Panasonic HVX200 to avoid HDV)
what is the best way to color correct?
A) leave it in HDV and color correct (it should output a preview fine on my Kona 3 to the PVM20L5)
b) export to an DVCproHD codec (I dont think I have enough drive space for full uncompressed – though I do have the bandwidth for it)
c) leave in HDV codec, color correct, then change seq to DVCproHD codec and re-render entire seq before output to tape.
d) though a big investment, buy Final Touch HD and do all CC in there. (I belive it can read HDV files – then I just render to whatever codec I want)
(I have played with a FInal Touch system a number of times and while not 100% up to speed – I could be pretty fluid by the time the session starts)
E) find a new profession herding sheep and forget I ever heard the term “HDV”
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11 Replies
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A) leave it in HDV and color correct (it should output a preview fine on my Kona 3 to the PVM20L5)
DO NOT DO THIS
b) export to an DVCproHD codec (I dont think I have enough drive space for full uncompressed – though I do have the bandwidth for it)
CONSIDER DOING THIS. THINK ABOUT 8-bit uncompressed
c) leave in HDV codec, color correct, then change seq to DVCproHD codec and re-render entire seq before output to tape.
NO NO NO
d) though a big investment, buy Final Touch HD and do all CC in there. (I belive it can read HDV files – then I just render to whatever codec I want)
That’s a thought
(I have played with a FInal Touch system a number of times and while not 100% up to speed – I could be pretty fluid by the time the session starts)
E) find a new profession herding sheep and forget I ever heard the term “HDV”
Ah!!! Now you are getting somewhere!
David
Seriously.
How would you like to do it all uncompressed 10 bit and then and have it be the same size as DVCPRO HD. YOU CAN. Since you know that you are going to render it anyway I would suggest that you install the Sheer Video codec. This will allow you to run it all in lossless 10 bit uncompressed but with a file size of about 7MB/sec. I have been experimenting with this in my place. I have replaced all of my AE renders with this codec to save space (about a third of annimation codec with the same quality and carries an alpha).
This is not an RT optimized codec but since you will be rendering everything anyways it will be great. Check this out. If you capture CC’d masters you can use this codec to capture and then create a sequence preset to match it. This will keep your SD file sizes down as well.
This is the one of the greatest hidden gems in FCP codecs. I will be coming out with an article about all of this soon.
David
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final touch works better than fine with HDV. it depends how much work you want to do with it. i would recommend brining as uncompressed as possibly, but if it is simply long form HDV you want to make look much better, i recommend graeme nattresses final touch plug ins. they are almost as amazing as final touch and do wonders for many of HDVs visual ailments.
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Uncompressed –
You are obviously biased towards uncompressed codecs since that is your family name…. Seriously though have you had any trouble with XML import/exports from FCP- to FT back to FCP? I have done test with it but not a feature length project. I hear the laterst version of FT with FCP 5.1 handles XML alot better.
David – The sheer codec – even though it doesn;t have RT – Once I render to that codec- can it play out Kona 3 with no issues? I have played with the Pixlet codec and found to compress really well.
Thanks
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We’ve been playing with Final Touch HD since about Christmas and are going to sell it. It’s been a complete fiasco here and after about 8 weeks of waiting for 2.5 update and now two more weeks of testing / working with 2.5.4 we discovered that it is scaling DVCPro HD renders up by 2 – 3%, which the company finally admitted today.
They have a beta 2.6.1 version, but that’s unusable to us as well. As long as you’re not working in the DVCPro HD codec, apparently it works. Unfortunately, about 90% of our work is DVCPro HD so we’re going to put it up for sale and go back to simply CC’ing using FCP’s 3 Way Color Corrector which has been simply outstanding for us for dozens of broadcast episodes.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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i prefer to stay camera native if it is long form and not too much work, but for graphics intensive apps, uncompressed is better.
i have not had the XML issues, but my naming convention does not use “illegal” characters
the only issues i have had are speed ramping from FCP to FT and reimporting–it requires some tweaking at the moment to get it back perfect.
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Hi Walter,
That’s is pretty shocking to hear about FT and DVCproHD codec. That’s what I was planning to do with it since I have the HVX200.
Do they anticipate they can fix it?
Have you played around with Color Finesse? I haven’t used the latest version, but I seem to remember it working really well, and of course no XML needed.
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[uncompressed] “the only issues i have had are speed ramping from FCP to FT and reimporting–it requires some tweaking at the moment to get it back perfect.”
You need to bake the effect into your timeline before you export your XML to FT.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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[Deadhead] “That’s is pretty shocking to hear about FT and DVCproHD codec. That’s what I was planning to do with it since I have the HVX200.
Do they anticipate they can fix it?”
I would really rather not get into all the details on a public forum, but let’s just say I’m not overly impressed with the way information is disseminated by Silicon Color. The product has honestly hurt our workflow more than it has helped. One day I suppose it will work as advertised, but right now we’re selling it off.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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[Deadhead] “Have you played around with Color Finesse? I haven’t used the latest version, but I seem to remember it working really well, and of course no XML needed.”
We’re looking at that and actually also going to look at Shake 4 as it looks like it has a nice suite of CC tools for $2k less than Final Touch HD. Honestly, the 3 Way CC in Final Cut Pro has served us extremely well for everything we’ve cut so far and we just thought FT would enhance that workflow.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.comDirector, “The Rough Cut”
https://www.theroughcutmovie.comNow Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network
“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters
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The sheer codecs will play in Real Time through the KONA no problem. Apple has not enabled these codecs for RT (which is a shame because a lot of people could be running uncompressed on FW drives with this codec installed) so if you drop a filter on you will get a red bar and need to render.
I am using this as an archive codec as well. I Media Manage and archive with this codec so that I can easily recall jobs and save a ton of space.
It’s worth a look. You have to render everything in FCP anyway, Why not save yourself the Hard Drive real estate.
David
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