Slow Motion Problems.

[Jerry Hofmann]

Instead of using FCP for slow motion, all of the latest code changes in Studio in this regard have been done in Motion. Use it instead and select the option to make the speed changes using “optical flow”. Then export this file back to FCP. It’s amazingly wonderful slo mo…

Jerry

Apple Certified Trainer

Author: “Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro 4” Click here

8-Core 3.0 Intel Mac Pro, Dual 2 gig G5, AJA Kona SD, AJA Kona 2, Huge Systems Array UL3D, AJA Io HD, 17″ MBP, Matrox MXO, CD’s

[Steve Price]

Thanks for the advice. However, there are a couple of things not quite right about this…

I have a 10 second clip of DV I’d like to use at 50% speed.

I’ve made the clip into a self contained movie in FCP. I’ve sent it to a Motion project. I’ve selected Timing and set the Frame Blending drop down box to Optical Flow.

Then I get this warning – “There is not enough available disk space to set the object ‘clip 2’ to optical flow retiming”.

What does this mean? I have 650Gb of space on the external hard drive and 175Gb on the internal drive, and I have 8Gb of RAM.

Thanks,

Steve.

[David Bogie]

q[Steve Price] “I know slo-mo is a controversial issue with FCP, but I am still no nearer to understanding why. “

Not really, it’s almost always unrealistic expectations or failure to comprehend how these tools work in Apple’s software.

Why you’re receiving the warning that there isn’t enough room on your drive is curious but you must understand that Optical Flow analyzes the entire clip’s source media unless you tell otherwise. if your clip is part of a 30 minute master clip, the whole thing has to be analyzed.

DV is not a particularly good candidate for Apple’s optical flow technology but we usually get surprisingly beautiful results if we shoot with post-processing in mind. Our favorite technique is to shoot with at faster shutter speeds to make the fields crisper. This makes it much easier for optical flow’s algorithms to process the pixel vectors.

bogiesan

[Steve Price]

I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t really think I have “unrealistic expectations” by demanding smooth looking video at 50% speed or credits that run smoothly.

Other cheaper edit packages can deliver this quickly and simply without any hassle, so naturally I expect FCP to do the same.

I admit I may suffer from “a failure to comprehend how these tools work in Apple’s software”, but in this case I exported my clip first as a self contained movie lasting about 10 seconds.

It’s true you need quite an in depth level of technical knowledge to use FCP, and for creatives like myself it’s not really the most user-friendly package. The requirement to make a self contained clip, export it to another programme, work on it, render it and send it back again seems time consuming and is inconvenient to the creative workflow, especially for something as simple as setting a clip to 50% speed.

On the other hand, to do something that was once incredibly time consuming and complicated – like editing a 9 camera concert for TV – has become an absolute dream, I can do it in half the time with results twice as good.

I offer these comments in good faith – I trust there are folk present here who share my frustration and don’t take offence at the slightest constructive criticism of Apple.

[Arnie Schlissel]

I have gotten some fairly good results by slowing DV down to 50% in FCP. And I have extremely tough standards for “acceptable”- most of the artificially slowed down footage that I see on network TV does not live up to my standards.

If this is typical 25i PAL, then 50% should be a “sweet” spot for slo-mo, since each field becomes a new frame. If this is 25P, then you’re in for trouble, because FCP will still see each field separately, and may simply wind up doubling the frames. If this is the case, then use Motion, AE, or a plugin like Twixtor.

What you don’t say is whether you’re viewing the results on an external video monitor. If you’re not, then you’re not seeing the real picture, and you will never know how your video really looks.

Get yourself some sort of PAL TV or video monitor & hook it up. Your FCP manual has a series of diagrams that explain how to hook up a video monitor with various FCP configurations.

Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/

[David Bogie]

[Steve Price] “I offer these comments in good faith – I trust there are folk present here who share my frustration and don’t take offence at the slightest constructive criticism of Apple.
“

I’m not an apologist for Apple. You can search here and on other tutorial sources for help in using optical flow but I gotta say it’s more or less fabulous.

bogiesan

[Alexander Kallas]

Hi Steve,
are you using the software correctly? It’s not that big a deal if you want really beautiful slo-mo, and
all the tools are already in FCP Studio.

Cheers
Alexander

[Steve Price]

You might be right Alexander – My creative flow is a few steps in front of my technical know-how and it’s holding me up, and my frustration is compounded by the fact I would know exactly what to do on other sytems.

Time for a cup of tea I think.

[Arnie Schlissel]

[Steve Price] “my frustration is compounded by the fact I would know exactly what to do on other sytems. “

I like the way you put that! Perhaps the trick is to forget how you would do it on other systems?

Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/

[Alexander Kallas]

Hi Steve,
Study this and learn.
https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/speed_changes_motion.html

Cheers
Alexander