Rendering and Outputting question

[Todd Gillespie]

It sounds like you’re a little off from charging clients for all of your services…
Clients will pay for what they believe is valuable services/labor at a productive rate. You don’t sound like you are at the capacity to charge for services that you are not that comfortable with. Whether a clients is sitting behind an editor or not, the editor should be able to move the ‘edit’ along at a productive rate. Not with a lot of downtime, trying to figure out how to render, edit, author, compress, etc. Once you feel comfortable with having a client sit behind you and tell you what to do -and you keeping up with the tasks-then you’ll be ready to charge whatever you want.
The short answer to your posts; yes editors will charge for anytime the edit bay is being used for the project. From digitizing to authoring a DVD, as long as the computer or edit bay is being used to work on the project-an editor can charge. Of course this will vary wildly from market to market.

Good Luck,

Todd at UCSB
Television Production

[Kevin C.]

thanks, but that did not touch upon any of my questions.
I’m hiring an editor btw, I don’t edit or charge, I pay

[Todd Gillespie]

Hi Kevin,

I thought I touched on a couple of your questions…but I think you’re asking the oppisite way.

Yes you could create your own DVD, exports for the web, etc. with FCE/P, DVDSP, and Compressor. You would need Flip for Mac or someother software to create wmv files (the HD version for HD size)
If you are just taking the completed video files, dropping it into FC, then exporting for web, that should be ‘fairly’ straightforward. Although some people have issues with Compressor and figuring out how to use it.

IF I understand you’re question correctly, you’re trying to take on more of the post on your own? You might want to slowly work your way in. Probably starting off with the end-then working your way back. So you could start off with exporting to the web first and work your way back to feeling confortable with editing on FC. Of course, this all depends on how confortable you feel on learning new software.

Hope this helps,

Todd at UCSB
Television Production

[Kevin C.]

Very convoluted answers Todd.
I have FCE 3.0

My editor however edits on FCP studio 1

I want to take his project files and render and output them.

Can I do all this from FCE 3.0?

MY Ouputs will be web and DVD both standard and HD.

I ready to buy Flip for Mac, but am open to other better options if exist.

[Todd Gillespie]

lol, Kevin-through me a bone please.

You would have gotten a much better answer with the FIRST post had you been this clear. You wouldn’t have needed to read as I rambled on in a post that didn’t fit with your question. 😛

[kevin c.] “My editor however edits on FCP studio 1
I want to take his project files and render and output them.”

No, you can’t open FCP projects with Express. I believe the only solution for bringing in video from FCP to FCE would be to export DV files out of FCP for you on FCE. HD? Do you mean HDV? It makes a difference web and DVD? FCE only does HDV.

FCE does NOT come with Compressor or DVDSP, which you’d need to create MPEG’s and author DVDs. FLip for Mac is a plug-in that lets to watch and compress to wmv, but it isn’t a stand alone app for compressing-so you’d still need a compression software. Either Compressor or Sorenson Squeeze. (with FLip for Mac)

Todd at UCSB
Television Production

[Kevin C.]

thanks Todd, I’m going to print out your last response and take it to the Apple store and see what I need.

What are you doing at UCSB and why put UCSB in your name?

I’m a 1984 alumni in History.

[Richard Harrington]

I have a workaround for opening FCP projects in FCE

In FCP export an XML Level 1 file

then change the extension to .fce or .fcp (no ton computer now)

Drag it onto the FCE icon

An XML converter option opens and allows you to import the project

Relink media

[Kevin C.]

Thanks Richard:
Remember, right now I cannon export anything, I would have to tell my editor to do this.

But essesntially, this is an easy process, and once we have it down, then there is no great benefit of me going out and buying a copy of studio pro 2?

This isn’t such a hassle? I could then render and output the material myself?

[Kevin C.]

PS just thought of another thing, Editors charge for everything except breathing, and my guess is there will be a “hour or two’ charge for exporting, no?

Which would defeat the whole point of me doing things myself to save money.