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ProRes 422 vs. FCP 5.0.4
Hallo folks,
I sincerely apologize in advance to anybody I may or may not irk with the banality of this post. I know you’ve heard this topic a million times before, and I’ve followed your FCP vs. ProRes 422 discussions for a while, but tonight I’m JUST… NOT… GETTING IT.
Ok, here’s the deal. The system at hand is the following:
1.67 Ghz PowerPC G4
OS 10.4.11
FCP 5.0.4
QT 7.1.6
Apple ProRes QuickTime Decoder IS installed.I received a project originating in FCP7 and living (alongside its media) on a Gspeed drive.
Proper XML files (both versions 1 and 2) of the project were included on said drive.
I imported XML ver.2 into my FCP 5.0.4 without much ado– sequences and bins are there.The sequence settings in the Browser are as follows:
frame size 1920 x 1080
vid rate is 29.97
compressor is H.264
pixel aspect is square
field dominance is noneThe sequence, however, opens into the Nightmare-Red-Render line. I can barely click around on it before FCP freezes up.
There are all sorts of mixed media in the sequence and project.
At first, I tried to change the sequence settings into a dozen different variables, but, every time, I came to a standstill. I finally contacted The Client, yet he said I had it all right– I merely needed to “just to set the render controls to ProRes422.” I see no such Render Controls in 5.0.4, and I feel like a horse’s arse right about now. Drive in hand, project imports OK, notebooks full of “HD lessons I’ve studied online” in the other hand, and one brand new client waiting on my horse’s silly arse. Mercy.
I KNOW I’m missing something small, and I know it’s most likely going to be something embarrassingly big once someone explains it to me, but… I really don’t care how stupid I look in a forum tonight, so long as my client gets what he wants tomorrow. Please help. I’m currently on Boston time, and hopefully there’ll be some patient folks (perhaps in the earlier L.A. time) who might have a moment to tell me what I’m simply not getting.
Cheers! xxLN
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9 Replies
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Sorry Linda, but you’re most likely SOL.
Under normal circumstances what you would do is: go to Sequence>>Settings and under the Quicktime Video Settings change the Compressor drop down to ProRes. However, since you only have the decoder installed and there is no encoder, you can’t change the Compressor to ProRes, because that would require encoding to ProRes when rendering.
However, you could change the Compressor to 8-bit uncompressed, but I seriously doubt your computer has the ability to playback 8-bit without dropping frames, unless you have at least two and maybe more drives striped in a RAID configuration.
Don’t you know anyone near you with a later version of FCP?
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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The ProRes decoder allows you to decode and view ProRes QT files….not make sequence settings in your FCP 5.0 software. That would be ENCODING. The only way to get ProRes sequence settings is to get FCP 6 or FCP 7.
And H.264 is a HORRIBLE format to try to edit. Even if you render to ProRes. It needs to be converted.
I’m with David…this is a nightmare project with your current version of the software. If I were in your boat, I wouldn’t attempt it.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I’m with Shane.
You may read Prores, but NO WRITE Prores.
About H264, to try anything with that codec, probably you need a more updated QT version.
rafael -
Hallo David, Shane, and Rafael–
I’ve been following all three of yours’ posts for a long time, and I am both very honoured and grateful for your prompt responses. Thank you so very much!!!
The bad news is…
I think I’m going to stand outside for a moment and have a cry over what’s about to happen to my Visa card. A newer version of FCP means a brand new processor– I’ve known this for a long time, and today must be piper-paying time 🙁 Ugh.The good news is…
I UNDERSTAND what you all are saying, so at least I’m stepping in the right direction 🙂I’ll be giving my client a call first thing in his time zone’s morning, and honesty will be the best policy– it’s high time I bought a new system (Intel w/FCP7,) and I hope he’ll be able to hang on for a few days while it ships here.
Again, I thank you gentlemen for your time and expertise! I’ve bookmarked many of your threads for emergency purposes 🙂 LN
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The video gods always reward us when we buy new systems Linda. So, you will undoubtedly find a new client knocking at your door just in time to help pay your credit card bill. BTW, check Craigslist for a used MacPro with 8Gb RAM, you might save a bundle.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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Thank you for the suggestion, David 🙂 I decided to go straight to the mothership for this: there’s a brand-new MacBook Pro and the FCP7 box set on their merry way. Oh, and my client is happy to wait a few extra days! So all’s well that ends well, and I couldn’t be more excited over finally investing in the upgrade. Thanks again to all for your time and kindness– LN
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Congrats!!! Meanwhile, I hope you got the MBP with 300 processors and the 102″ screen… Darn, I forgot, I’m not supposed to divulge information about that one, it’s still under NDA.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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One suggestion in case anyone else follows in your footsteps would possibly be to re-encode the h.264 or the prores files to animation. You could relink the footage and keep limping along. Any amount of animation footage will be much larger than the prores footage, but that may be the price one would have to pay.
In the end I think you did the right thing by upgrading, that g4 isn’t getting any faster! Congrats on your new toys!_______________________
you down with FCP?
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That’s an interesting idea, Ross, thanks! I’m definitely saving this thread for future reference as there’s so much to learn from you folks. Your suggestion would be a great workaround if, say, someone were dealing with a short spot or segment; but the key word would be certainly “limping” if not “downright physically impossible” with a 20-minute show such as mine at hand.
Yes, sirs, my MacBook Pro arrived two days ago. Took I think 90 minutes to load the entire FCP7 box set on, but oh boy was it worth it! I plugged in the worrisome project about which I had started this whole topic, and it immediately played like the sweetest dream. No relinking, no fuss, no settings changes, no NUTHIN!!! And the speed at which this processor is handling life, the universe, and everything… I think I’m in love 😉 LN
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