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STUCK IN BAGHDAD! log and transfer MTS problems!!!! *angry face* Also conversion suggestions? (prores, H.264, HDV, etc)
Hello all. I’m a soldier finishing up my second tour in Iraq. I’m trying to put together deployment videos to give to everyone in the unit before we get back home and everyone starts disappearing. I have a TON of raw footage but need your help!
I have looked at so many different threads both on CC and all over the rest of the i-net. I’ve tried all kinds of crap to get FCP7 to see my MTS files.
I use a Panasonic HDC-TM700 and MBP 2010, 2.66 GHz Intel i7 with 8GB ram
Here’s the strange thing. When I log and transfer, it sees my 720p MTS files just fine, and also my time laps files. But, of course being the over achiever that I am, I record everything in 1080p60p. I mean if I got it b/c it records at 1080p60p then I should use it right? Has anyone been able to conquer log and transfer with 1080p60p MTS files? And in case some of you were wondering, when I pulled the files off of my camera, I kept the entire folder hierarchy intact starting with AVCHD – BDMV – STREAM – Individual MTS files. All the other folders and files are present as well. HEEEELP!!!
Question 2 ———————
I have tried a myriad of software converters… Toast, Miro, WonderShare, Movie converter studio, Aunsoft Final Mate, and more. I have to say out of all of these, Aunsoft has given me the best image results and they have great customer service, despite some things they are working on to make the software better. It’s got a couple hic-ups.
Now for this question, let’s assume that I’ll never get log and transfer to work in FCP. I have several different conversion options. Keep in mind that my original footage is in 1080p60p. What should I convert to for great (not perfect) resolution, and also so my entire hard drive doesn’t fill up within a couple days. I have a 2TB external but with converting I can see the space getting filled quickly.
There are a ton of options on Final Mate: Prores 422, Prores 422(HQ), Prores 422(LT), Prores 422(proxy), Prores 4444, then a whole list of DVPRO’s, then a whole list of HDV’s. I can also do H.264. The lists go on and on.
You can see why this is so overwhelming. What my thoughts are, is to convert all these to 720p60p, that way I can still use them to do slow motion if that’s what I want in 24fps projects. Is this thinking correct? If I bring 1080p60p or 720p60p files into FCP7, does FCP change the files to fit 24fps? I really want the “feature film” look which is why I’m kinda stuck on 24fps. Otherwise it looks like a cheap sitcom. If I slow the 60fps down to 24fps while, while in a 24fps project, will it keep the slow motion extremely fluid and then take frames out of the regular speed footage to make it 24fps in real time? Sorry if this seems like it has nothing to do with the original question, but it makes a difference as to what I transcode all my raw footage to. Make sense?
I know there are a lot of questions here. I really appreciate everyone’s time that wants to jump in and help this newb out 😀
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1 Reply
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Question 1: Use MPEG Streamclip to transcode files to .mov. I would use ProRes422 (LT) or ProRes422 as the codec you are converting to (depending on how much disk space you have – (LT) being the smaller of the 2 options). Apple ProRes plays nicely in FCP7, but it’ll take awhile to transcode the footage depending on how much you have and the speed of your Mac.
Question 2: You should transcode (what you’re calling convert) the footage to a similar spec. 720p60 in = 720p60 out. You can conform it to 24fps using Cinema Tools. That way it’ll play back in slow-motion. Crisp slow-motion will only be created if you’ve shot a higher frame rate than what your final project is demanding. So if you shot 60fps and play it back at 24 then you’ll have a 2x slow motion effect. But if you’ve shot 30fps playing it back at 24fps won’t give you a noticeable difference. Additionally, taking that 30fps and converting it to 60fps so you can “slow it down” to 24fps won’t give you a smooth slow-mo effect. The transcode will be attempting to add frames into your footage to get to 60. So you either shot it at 60fps or you’ll have to rely the speed change effects within FCP7 to create slow-motion, and that can work fine sometimes.
MPEG Streamclip (free software):
https://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.htmlRyan
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