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HDV sequence clarification
Hi All,
I read with interest an earlier post where Zane Barker linked some very informative HDV editing articles. Thanks Zane.
But it leads me to a question.
Say I have a HDV ingested project, long multicam project.
I have already edited this project using a HDV native sequence, and exported using ProRes 422 (not HQ), sent to Compressor and encoded for a SD DVD. The quality was OK but not spectacular.
At the time I did a small test, copied and pasted my edit (the whole multicam edit) onto a ProRes sequence, then exported a 3 minute chunk using sequence settings > Compressor > SD DVD. I didn’t really see any difference between the two. So I used the native HDV version.
Re-Ingesting as ProRes is out of the question, but I’m wondering, based on the info I’ve now read about HDV native editing the ProRes sequence should have looked better, right? It would have used a shorter GOP in edit. Or is it because I cut it in Multicam first then copied and pasted that the render frames for the cuts were already created.I know that anything that looks OK is the best way to do it, but I’m wondering if my test section was maybe not the best (no quick cuts or fast action) to use as a test.
Thanks,
Ralph -
5 Replies
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And one extra question.
I have been exporting ProRes as 1920 x 1080, but should I be exporting as 1440 x 1080 (as thats what the HDV footage was) and letting compressor deal with the frame size change when encoding for SD DVD?Thanks,
Ralph -
[Ralph Atkinson] “At the time I did a small test, copied and pasted my edit (the whole multicam edit) onto a ProRes sequence, then exported a 3 minute chunk using sequence settings > Compressor > SD DVD. I didn’t really see any difference between the two.”
First, however you manage to transcode your HDV to ProRes, during capture or afterward, it really makes little difference, unless perhaps you capture it full raster via a Kona card, which is a whole different discussion. And, transcoding or capturing HDV to ProRes doesn’t make it look any better anyway, that’s simply a misconception. It does have other benefits however, but you need to stay tuned for those.
Second, HDV doesn’t reveal its shortcomings immediately, so don’t think that just because your first generation HDV seems to look just as good as a ProRes transcode that it must be just as good. You just haven’t hung around long enough with HDV yet to discover its issues. So, stay tuned…
Unlike ProRes, which tests show can take several generational hits without issues, HDV doesn’t fare so well, and it begins to degrade fairly quickly. In addition, graphics and text also get hit hard with HDV compression when rendered in an HDV timeline, which is also not very good when compared with the really good compression the same graphics will get when rendered in a 10-bit ProRes timeline. And, those graphics rendered to HDV also begin to suffer down the line as they go down further generations and get further compressed for the web or for DVDs.
So, are you beginning to get the idea. The faster you get away from HDV and transcode it into ProRes, the better off you are, not so much because the video itself will be that bad, but because that’s usually not all you’re doing when you make a video.
Does this help at all?
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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[Ralph Atkinson] ” have been exporting ProRes as 1920 x 1080, but should I be exporting as 1440 x 1080 (as thats what the HDV footage was) and letting compressor deal with the frame size change when encoding for SD DVD? “
If you’re exporting at 1920×1080 before importing into compressor, that can only mean one thing, that you’re using QT Conversion instead of Export>>Quicktime Movie, which means that you are using an inferior app, and in addition, you’re adding an unnecessary scaling step that most certainly affects quality.
An export using Quicktime Movie at current settings creates a QT identical in every way to your timeline without and extra rendering or scaling.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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I’m not choosing Quicktime conversion, I’m just choosing >Export > Quicktime Movie, but changing the “current settings” pulldown menu to ProRes, as I had read somewhere earlier on this forum that ideally it would be best to export as ProRes rather than HDV, and, as I was editing in a HDV native sequence I thought that was the best way to go.
I am using some text so basically it sounds like my best bet at the moment would be to copy/paste the edit into a ProRes 1440×1080 sequence. Then export that using current settings.
Thanks,
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[Ralph Atkinson] “it sounds like my best bet at the moment would be to copy/paste the edit into a ProRes 1440×1080 sequence. Then export that using current settings. “
You needn’t do that actually. Just go to Sequence>>Settings and change the Compressor to ProRes in the drop down menu. Then, re-render the sequence, and then export using current settings.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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