Panasonic HVX200/Final Cut workflow questions (used to DVCAM).

[Shane Ross]

[iMan] “Question 1: P2 cards are still a bit pricey, so can I buy a Focus Firestore and record in the best quality DVCPRO50HD mode direct to it, or do you need P2 cards for the highest HD recording quality?”

The Firestore and Cineporter should get you the same quality as the P2.

[iMan] “Question 2: Depending on the answer to the above, I intend editing in my Final Cut Pro 5 HD suite, which is installed on a Dual 2 Ghz G5 Powermac with an extra internal 500GB hard drive and two 250GB external LaCie FireWire 400 hard drives. RAM is 1 gig. Can this computer handle it or will I have to buy extra hardware? if so, what?”

I am currently editing DVCPRO HD with a very similiar setup: Dual 2ghz G5, 2 G-Raids and 3.5GB RAM and it works just fine.

[iMan] “Question 3: From the Firestore (if question 1 is answered yes), can I import that footage straight into Final Cut Pro from the Firestore with a timeline sequence set up as DVCPRO50HD at 1080×1920? (am I right with these resolutions?)”

DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD are different formats. DVCPRO 50 is SD and 720×486. DVCPRO HD can be 720p (1280×720) or 1080i (1920×1080). Yes, you can import that footage, in the same way you would from the P2. See my tutorial at http://www.proapptips.com/shane called P2 INTRODUCTION.

[iMan] “Question 4: I need to author in DVD Studio Pro (latest one as part of Final Cut Studio) and burn out a master DVD that can be sent off and replicated so the DVD can go on general sale. I assume this stage will have to be Standard Def”

Yes…the DVD you burn will be an SD one. The HD DVD player JUST came out, but I am not sure how you would author for that, or if your clients would even have one. The DVDs look great authored SD anyway.

[iMan] “Question 5: There is a little gremlin in this post. For this production I’m shooting on the HVX200, I am also using another cameraman with another camera for cutaway footage. This other camera is a JVC GY-HD101E, which only shoots in HDV progressive mode, or SD interlace DV mode. How will these two different formats mix in the same sequence in Final Cut Pro?”

Not without a bit of work. HDV and DVCPRO HD are completely different codecs. To get the JVC to intercut with the HVX, you need to capture it as DVCPRO HD (with the use of a deck and HD capture card) or convert it to DVCPRO HD with FCP or QT after you capture it as HDV. Either way, work will be involved. Equipment cost on one end, and render times on the other.

[iMan] “To wrap up this question, should I just use the HVX200 to shoot in standard def mini-dv mode and wait for the HD workflow to get easier, or is it easy now?”

The HD workflow, DVCPRO HD in particular, is very easy. And the P2 workflow is smooth, as long as you do things right. Throwing HDV and DVCPRO HD into the same mix complicates matters quite a bit. You should really reconsider that. The biggest issue with HD is the cost factor. Now you need faster drives (FW800, SATA RAID, Fibrechannel Raids), capture cards or DVCPRO HD deck purchases…and an HD monitor. None of this is cheap.

For my workflow and issues, please go to my blog at http://www.LFHD.net.

Shane

Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net

[Jan Crittenden livingston]

iMan asked>What is important about this post is that I am talking about shooting on a HVX200, NOT a DVX100 and I will be shooting in the HVX200’s best possible mode, which is DVCPOR50HD (note the HD on the end) and in interlace mode, not progressive (unless you guys think progressive would be better?).

It is either DVCPRO HD or DVCPRO50. DVCPRO HD is High Defat 100Mbs, DVCPRO50 is a 50mbs Standard Def format. Progressive will always net a better result.

>Question 1: P2 cards are still a bit pricey, so can I buy a Focus Firestore and record in the best quality DVCPRO50HD mode direct to it, or do you need P2 cards for the highest HD recording quality?

The Firestore will work just fine for all levels of recording.

>Question 2: Depending on the answer to the above, I intend editing in my Final Cut Pro 5 HD suite, which is installed on a Dual 2 Ghz G5 Powermac with an extra internal 500GB hard drive and two 250GB external LaCie FireWire 400 hard drives. RAM is 1 gig. Can this computer handle it or will I have to buy extra hardware? if so, what?

This should be fine.

>Question 3: From the Firestore (if question 1 is answered yes), can I import that footage straight into Final Cut Pro from the Firestore with a timeline sequence set up as DVCPRO50HD at 1080×1920? (am I right with these resolutions?)

You will just use the easy setup and have those as defined by the codec in FCP. Do not try to resize the image or you will have noisy pictures.

>Question 4: I need to author in DVD Studio Pro (latest one as part of Final Cut Studio) and burn out a master DVD that can be sent off and replicated so the DVD can go on general sale. I assume this stage will have to be Standard Def? Not sure how this works as I recently shot footage on Sony Z1 in HDV mode, edited in HDV mode and authored in HDV mode and was left with a DVD that I could not watch as I don’t have a HDV compatible DVD player. Will shooting DVCPRO50HD on the HVX200 lead to similar problems?

The DVD that I created in HD, has two differnt playbacks. One is Windows Media 9 and it is closer to the HD playback but only computers can play that version back, the other was made from a first down converted copy to DVCPRO50 and then rolled to the DVD for Mastering in SD.

>Question 5: There is a little gremlin in this post. For this production I’m shooting on the HVX200, I am also using another cameraman with another camera for cutaway footage. This other camera is a JVC GY-HD101E, which only shoots in HDV progressive mode, or SD interlace DV mode. How will these two different formats mix in the same sequence in Final Cut Pro?

You will have a problem here. You will have to mix to a common format and frankly that would only be uncompressed HD. This changed everything I said back there about the system that you will need. You will require a raid array to capture the uncompressed output, and a card that will take the analog component output of the JVC and bring it and the HVX footage into an uncompressed timeline. Completely different animal. Also I do not believe that the 720P/25 is support in FCP for either format, but I may be wrong here. I am in the US but have seen grumblings for the other shore from 720P wannabees.

>To wrap up this question, should I just use the HVX200 to shoot in standard def mini-dv mode and wait for the HD workflow to get easier, or is it easy now?

Actually it is easy now as long as you stay with one camera. You could shoot in 1080i/25P and edit tomorrow on the system you mentioned above.

Best,

Jan

Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems

[Nigel]

Jan, you mention shooting in 1080i/25P mode. This is progressive and I have still to learn the correct (film camera) shooting techniques to eliminate jitter so I want to stick with interlace for now. I’m assuming the HVX200 does interlace?

Shane, is converting the JVC SD DV footage, or 720p HDV footage in FCP into DVCPROHD footage a straight forward conversion? Perhaps it would be easier to set HVX200 and the JVC to SD DV mode of 720×576 interlace PAL. This workflow I am used to and at least there will be no mix up in the sequence; is this right?

[Jan Crittenden livingston]

Of course the HVX does interlace, but trying to match it up with the JVC camera so that you have a similar look. Keep in mind that the JVC does not do 1080i.

Best,

Jan

Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems

[Shane Ross]

[iMan] “Shane, is converting the JVC SD DV footage, or 720p HDV footage in FCP into DVCPROHD footage a straight forward conversion? Perhaps it would be easier to set HVX200 and the JVC to SD DV mode of 720×576 interlace PAL. This workflow I am used to and at least there will be no mix up in the sequence; is this right?”

It really isn’t straighforward. Either you have to drop it into the DVCPRO HD timeline, resize and render, or you have to have a capture card and deck and capture it as DVCPRO HD (which the Katie Brown PBS show does). If you want to work with both formats as DV, you can and they will have the same frame size and rate, but then what was the point of buying HD and HDV cameras?

Shane

Alokut Productions
http://www.lfhd.net

[Kevin Monahan]

Are you guys saying that you can edit DVCPro HD on external FireWire 400 drives or a single SATA drive? I’ve always thought you needed more horsepower.

Kevin Monahan
Take My FCP Master’s Workshop!
fcpworld.com