-
MISSING/EMPTY WAVEFORMS–ROUND #2
Has anyone else experienced this before?
I recently was endowed with a screaming new MacTel machine, top-of-the-line model. And I was upgraded to FCP 5.1.2
I’m trying to work with some video that was digitized with our previous version of FCP. The problem I’m having is the same one I reported back on November 7th (you can find that post if you scroll down far enough in the posts).
When I’m looking at the entire project at once, on the waveform (select the sequence and then hit Shift-Z), I can’t really see any of the waveforms. But when I zoom in all the way down–looking at almost individual frames–the waveforms mysteriously start drawing themselves. A couple taps of “Apple-minus” or “Apple-dash” to zoom back out… and the waveforms disappear again! I have tried every conceivable way of making these audio waveforms appear, all I get on the audio tracks is a series of small X’s. Looks something like this:
——X—-X—-X—–X——X—–X—–X—–X—–
You get the idea…
I can *hear* my audio perfectly, clear as a bell. I just can’t see the waveforms.
Now, before you answer, you should probably know…
1) Yes, I have checked the box marked “Show Audio Waveforms” that is found in Sequence Settings —> Timeline Options. I have checked, unchecked, and re-checked this box several times, accessing it through both the “Sequence” pulldown menu from the top menu bar, as well as through “Final Cut Pro” —> “User Preferences.”
2) Yes, I have closed and re-opened and re-closed and re-opened the project several times.
3) Yes, I have rendered the entire sequence, several times over.
4) Yes, I have FCP Rescue installed. Yes, I have trashed my settings and restored my settings, several times.
5) Yes, I have powered down my Mac and restarted it, several times.
Now, this may or may not pose a problem, but I have two different types of video loaded onto the same timeline/sequence. Some of the video was digitized via SDI directly from tape; the other was recorded onto a FireStore capture drive, and the files were ported over directly from that drive. These files show up in the bin as .mov files.
The following characteristics are common to all the video:
720×480
29.97fps
DV/DVCPRO-NTSC
48KHz audio rateHere are the differences…
DIGITIZED FROM TAPE:
3.7MB/sec data rate
24-bit integer aud formatFIRESTORE (.mov files):
3.6MB/sec data rate
16-bit integer aud formatThe aud format for the sequence itself says “32-bit floating integer.”
Any ideas? Thanks!
–“Radiohead”
-
1 Reply
-
Don’t Panic!
FCP does this to minimise lag when a lot of the project is visible – imagine having to draw the waveforms for a two hour timeline when you are zoomed out so far that the whole thing is visible… I’m thinking you won’t be doing much waveform editing / mointoring at that scale 🙂
I’m pretty sure if you look in your settings where you find your “show waveforms”, you’ll find a setting where you can tell FCP to draw or not draw waveforms above or below a specific zoom factor.
I say pretty sure because I am not at my machine, and it’s something that hasn’t bothered me in the past ’cause I usually go in pretty close when I need to look at my waveforms.
Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, AustraliaYouTube Channel – http://www.youtube.com/outpostpps
Check out the Outpost Video Podcast – http://www.outpostpps.com/podcast/
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up