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Premiere CS3 on mac- 40 hrs of footage, crashes constantly
I’ve been wrestling with attempting to edit 40 hrs of HDV (from Z1u) on Premiere Pro CS3 for a documentary on cancer survivors.
I’ve experienced problems throughout. To fix the problem I’ve wiped out the hard drive and reinstalled the OS (Snow Leapord), reinstalled premiere Pro cs3, done the updates, all to no avail. I’m working on a Mac Pro dual quad core 3.0ghz with 6gig of ram.The problems have persisted throughout: first problems were out of sync audio and video, then it started crashing (a safe number is it crashes about every 10 minutes while I perform very basic functions like clicking on the timeline) constantly. Add in the amount of time it takes to conform and index every clip and this just isn’t cutting it.
Is this every premiere’s user experience? Admittedly this is my first all HDV project. I’ve done XDcam on premiere pro and had no problems. We purchased the Mac Pro to be our HD editing station and it’s not working. I’d be grateful for help. I’m considering switching to final cut. help. and thanks.
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2 Replies
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I’m really curious to see suggestions on this one. Can the size of the project (40 hours of footage) impact performance?
It would be good to hear from somebody who regularly uses HDV in Premiere Pro CS3: what capture settings do you use? I remember reading that CS3 can work with HDV native. Is that the case? Or do you need to capture it as some intermediate format?
Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films -
This post maybe no help at all to you but I’ve just dragged a long form windows HDV project kicking and screaming to completion in CS4. It was a nightmare from start to finish and, to be honest, I don’t think the results are worth the hassle.
HDV gobbles up processor power because its MPEG based. Throw any decent effects – BCC, Graffiti etc on to the timeline and you have a recipe for miacardial infarction on a regular basis.
I’ve had similar sluggishness in FCP and Avid too so although Premiere is a dog when it comes to memory, it’s not the only package to struggle with this format.
On a different issue – 40 hrs is, in my view, unmanageable for any system. Might you consider doing a simple ‘assembly of usable footage’ from the rushes – consolidate it into a new project and start the edit from there. This will reduce your timeline length and vastly improve workflow. (You can always go back to original rushes from the capture project if you feel you have missed something.) If you can’t even get past first base and make simple edits on the timeline, cut your project into segements and then stitch the consolidated elements together when you’re ready to begin serious cutting.
Sorry if I’m telling grandmothers to suck eggs!
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