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P2 spanned footage/incomplete clip issues
Hi,
So my coworker transferred 6 P2 cards worth of footage to an external harddrive and then imported the footage. Here’s way more detail than you probably need, but I’m semi-new at P2 stuff, so I’m including as much as possible. We’re having the following problems:
1. Clip 00134S – The second to last clip from card #3 was imported (I didn’t import it, but supposedly it imported just fine the first time around) but is now saying it is offline. I can’t reconnect it because the QT file that Final Cut should’ve created during the import doesn’t seem to exist any more. I’ve tried simply reimporting from the P2 files, but that doesn’t work either (and yes, I followed all of the guidelines in Shane’s Stock Answer #36 – see below). It is a “spanned” clip (although sometimes it says “incomplete” next to it rather than “spanned”) and it looks as if the next three clips should all be a part of it but it certainly isn’t automatically finding them and putting them together when I try to reimport it. Each time I try to import them, it looks like it’s going to import properly but at the end it goes idle. It will let me watch the clip in the viewer in the Log & Transfer module, and it seems fine until the end when it starts to skip for the last 30 seconds or so.
2. Clip 00134T – Final cut seems to have created this clip out of its own volition, because there are no P2 files for it anywhere. Our thoughts are that it created this clip out of 0013S and whatever the other clip is supposed to be (which is something we are having trouble figuring out). This is also showing up as offline too though and there is no QT file for it either.
3. Clip 0001WJ – The first clip on Card #4. At first this wasn’t showing up in the log and transfer tool at all, even though other clips from card #4 were. Now it is showing up with a hollow circle next to it (as opposed to the dark grey circles all the other clips have next to it) and it says “incomplete” next to it. When I try to import it, it simply goes idle toward the end of the import and doesn’t work. It will also let me watch the clip in the viewer.
Now, I don’t know if this is pertinent, but here’s the the time code on these clips that should be spanned (two of which transferred just fine, and two of which seem to share the exact same duration for some reason):
~Clip 0134S in the Log and Transfer dialogue: start – 1:52:49:04, end – 2:20:37:23, duration – 0:27:48:20. This would mean all 3 of the next clips should be a part of it. However, when I put it in the cue, it has the same time code as the Offline Clip: start – 1:52:49:04, end – 2:05:11:15, duration – 00:12:22:12
~The next clip in the bin, which is the last clip from card #3, is 0014XQ: starts – 2:05:11:16, ends – 2:06:08:15, duration – 0:00:57:00. This clip imported fine and is online, although it does say it’s incomplete when I bring it up in the Log and Transfer dialogue.
~Clip 0001WJ would be the next clip (and the first clip on card #4), starts at 2:06:08:16, ends at 2:18:31:03 and also has a duration of exactly 0:12:22:12 (the same as the first clip, 00134S – is this just a coincidence?).
~Clip 0002BQ: starts – 2:06:08:16, ends – 2:20:37:23, duration – 0:14:29:08. This clip also imported fine and is online, despite being incomplete in the Log & Transfer dialogue.I’ve looked through the forum as much as I can and tried many of the suggestions, but nothing seems to be working. Would very much appreciate any help you could offer! Thanks!
Emma
Shane’s Stock Answer #36 – “One or more clips failed to import…”
Very often in the field with this camera the camera operator will delete clips from the P2 card that they just don’t like. That is the beauty of this camera. But, the still for that video file (located in the CLIP folder in the CONTENTS folder)…the still that you see when you are in the P2 Import window…is not deleted. So you will see the image, and the name, but the video file would have been deleted.
What you can do it compare the file names in the VIDEO folder and CLIP folder and see if anything is missing. If something is, then you know what the problem is. You can then just import the rest a few at time, skipping that one.
ALSO…in the P2 Import window…in the P2 Browser, there is a little sprocket drop down menu. Click on that and choose PREFERENCES. Uncheck REMOVE PULLDOWN and then try importing again.
ALSO…make sure your file names aren’t too long. Try shortening them and see if that works.
ALSO make sure that the folders that contain the CONTENTS folder doesn’t have any odd characters like /!@#$%^&*()?.
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6 Replies
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1. Mount ALL the cards for that shoot…or at least the one that followed the one you are trying to ingest. Spanning happens across cards too.
2 and 3…again, this might all relate to SPANNING of the footage across cards. Mount all the card images and see what you get.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Emma Marie] “2. Clip 00134T – Final cut seems to have created this clip out of its own volition, because there are no P2 files for it anywhere. “
L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,…T
FCP increments a file if it sees that there’s a file in the capture scratch that already has the original name taken. At some point, you had 00134S in the capture scratch, then tried to reingest and FCP made 00134T.mov. Now in that project, that file is associated with 00134T.
Like Shane says, you have to load all of your cards in the Log and Transfer window to get all of the spanned clips to see each other.
Uncheck the remove advanced pulldown/dupe frames option in the L&T prefs to try again.
[Emma Marie] “Clip 0001WJ would be the next clip (and the first clip on card #4), starts at 2:06:08:16, ends at 2:18:31:03 and also has a duration of exactly 0:12:22:12 (the same as the first clip, 00134S – is this just a coincidence?). “
No. P2 cards are formatted FAT32, that means that any one file on that card won’t go over the 4GB limit of that file system. That’s why you have all the spanned clips as any one file CAN’T be over 4GBs, but the metadata will point any application that understands P2 to what the next clip is going to be. The reason why your clips are the exact same duration is because they are probably part of another spanned clip that went over 4GBs. It is not a coincidence, but rather it’s how the p2 file system works. The reason it works this way is that some PC operating systems won’t see individual files over 4GBs.
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Thanks so much for your help guys, but here’s the problem with this particular scenario: for clip 0001WJ, the first clip on card #4 that I had said doesn’t always show up, it ONLY shows up if i ONLY load card #4. If I load all the other cards (or even just one other card with it), clip 0001WJ disappears, which I think is one of the spanned clips… Any idea why it’s not showing up and what the hollow circle means?
And in fact, when I load multiple cards, clip 002BQ, the following clip on card #4 disappears from the list as well, even though that clip imported properly on its own in the previous import. These clips now showing up could be part of the problem with why 00134S can’t import or find the other spanned clips I’m guessing. But how do we get them to show up?
And as for 00134T, I realize that Final Cut created it, but there’s not a Quicktime file to go with it either… It disappeared just like 00134S.
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[Emma Marie] “If I load all the other cards (or even just one other card with it), clip 0001WJ disappears, which I think is one of the spanned clips… Any idea why it’s not showing up and what the hollow circle means? “
That’s it exactly. If it is part of a spanned clip…the second or further on down the pipe span, then it won’t show up. The clip will only import with the first clip name in the span. When the first clip isn’t present, then you can see the second one.
Hollow circle means that it is part of a span and is incomplete…that it was imported before, but as part of a span.
Look at your footage…ignore the names for a moment and look at the footage. Is anything missing? if not, then this is all due to spanning and you are chasing after chickens.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Emma Marie] “Any idea why it’s not showing up and what the hollow circle means? “
It’s not showing up as it’s a spanned clip and FCP will name the clip after the first clip of the spanned set. SInce the clip on card 4 is not the first clip, it gets wrapped in to the clip before it. The hollow circle means it’s not been transferred. A half circle means you have marked in and outs and have transferred a portion of the clip and a full circle means the whole clip was transferred.
[Emma Marie] “But how do we get them to show up? “
My guess is that they are all there, it’s just that you are expecting to see one movie per P2 clip. It doesn’t work like that as FCP joins the clips that are over 4GBs (spanned) in to one clip when you log and transfer.
[Emma Marie] “And as for 00134T, I realize that Final Cut created it, but there’s not a Quicktime file to go with it either… It disappeared just like 00134S.”
I think you are misunderstanding the process. My advice would be to completely start over. Go in to your capture scratch and delete all the quicktime movies that are associated with these cards. YOu can then reload the cards into the log and transfer window, and then transfer them all. You should have all of your media then.
Jeremy
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Thank you very much! I haven’t been aware of that option and it prevented me from ingesting footage 😉
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