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Sequence settings: HD to Betacam SP delivery
Hey folks,
I feel like a newbie here but I am having some issues. Here’s the deal: I have footage shot in DVCProHD on an HVX200 at 720p/23.98. I have a spot that must be delivered on Betacam SP, 4:3, full frame.
It was shot with 4:3 in mind so framing is not a problem. However, the piece incorporates some major graphic work that I have to put together as well.
Here’s my question: what kind of timeline do I work in in FCP, and (in Motion) what setting do I use to create my graphics? The “shot in HD/progressive” thing but delivering in SD/interlaced” need has gotten me really screwed up. I need my end piece to look clean, obviously, and I’m not sure the best format to produce my graphics.
For the overall FCP timeline do I create it all in the native HD and then drop that into an SD 720×486 sequence, adding in my graphics then? Do I make that sequence with NO field dominance; will the Beta deck interlace it correctly upon duping it off from a timeline that has no field dominance set?
I appreciate the help. I seem to be battling creating graphics that look clean versus footage that looks clean and I think I’m making a mess out of it by not starting out with the correct settings.
Thanks!
– Hans
Hans Damkoehler
VideoBloom, Inc.
Senior Video Editor/Producer -
11 Replies
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Your Hardware?
Do you have a Kona Card?Chris Tompkins
Video Atlanta -
No… That’s wrong way of doing this. You must have a capture/output card that is capable of down-conversion. Something like the Matrox MXO2 or the AJA Kona series of cards. This is the only acceptable medium for doing just this.
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
https://web.mac.com/schazamproductions
schazamproductions@mac.com -
I have an MXO2 mini with Max here at my studio but I will be taking the timeline into a studio that uses Kona cards, yes.
My main question is do I develop the piece natively using my footage as the default? … and then center cut with the Kona?
Hans Damkoehler
VideoBloom, Inc.
Senior Video Editor/Producer -
Hey Wayne,
So if that is the wrong way, what’s the right way? I am taking it to a post facility that can dup off to Beta via a Kona, yes.
Hans Damkoehler
VideoBloom, Inc.
Senior Video Editor/Producer -
Capture and edit in DVCPROHD Timeline
Take that project to the folks who have the Kona.
They’ll output to Beta with hardware downconvert.Chris Tompkins
Video Atlanta -
This is correct… The mistake that most make here is to down-convert in FCP. This will give you bad results. Output your program to tape in HD or see if the dub house will accept a Quicktime file.
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Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
https://web.mac.com/schazamproductions
schazamproductions@mac.com -
Thanks guys …
So let me sum it up:
Create graphics and Edit natively in FCP/Motion.
Take project (or native final .mov export) in to post house
They can downconvert and CENTER CUT my project (the final is in full-frame/4:3) to …
Deliver on Beta SPYou are right, I was thinking that I needed to compensate for the specs of the end deliverable/media (Beta SP) WITHIN the edit. Obviously I need to be aware of the end frame size (full frame 4:3, not letterboxed) but other than that I create graphics and edit footage natively and transcode the END result. Correct?
Thanks again guys!
– Hans
Hans Damkoehler
VideoBloom, Inc.
Senior Video Editor/Producer -
[Hans Damkoehler] “I create graphics and edit footage natively and transcode the END result. Correct?”
Correct. Stay in HD, let the person with the Kona do the center-punch downconversion. Just be sure to create your graphics with a center punch in mind.
Best,
Joey -
So I am currently working a job where the client wants us to deliver to various affiliates in any possible imaginable format. Most of our sequences are natively HD and progressive, and luckily, many of our deliverables are digital. But some need to go to Betacam SP or digiBeta.
What would be the ideal methodology for outputting our HD timelines to SD tape? Nesting sequences in FCP?
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Che,
I’ve found the absolute best thing is to stay completely native in FCP then send it to Beta via a Kona 3 or the like. The realtime scaling works flawlessly. Mucking about in FCP, nesting HD timelines into SD sequences … ack! … it all just gets messy and can introduce far too many potential problems.
I don’t have that equipment so I media manage the sequence to a portable HD and head down to a local post house. They charge me for 30 minutes and I walk out the door with some betas. Works great!
Good luck!
Hans
Hans Damkoehler
VideoBloom, Inc.
Senior Video Editor/Producer
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