Trimming 5DMKII project to then convert to ProRes?

[Jeremy Garchow]

Like Shane says. Wont work without reel names. I also think media manager does the worst job of transcoding. Also it’s the slowest.

I really wish you could send an XML to the stand alone compressor app.

[Matt Holmes]

I understand the workflow they were trying to accomplish. We’re looking at something similar here. We do documentary work and come back from overseas trips with 500+ GB of H.264 from a 5D. Transcoding all of that to ProRes results in 1.5 to 2.0 TB of total footage. Not unmanageable for one trip, but when you have to leave several trips online at once things start to fill up quickly. ProRes Proxy is great for cutting, but not for final output to Color, AE, whatever. But to get your final edit back to a decent flavor of ProRes you have to switch back to H.264 first. It’s not Rodrigo’s job to do, but someone has too.

We’re having the same issue with media managing the H.264 files. Going to try manual reel names to see if that changes anything. Thanks for everyone’s input.

Matt

[Shane Ross]

[Matt Holmes] ” ProRes Proxy is great for cutting, but not for final output to Color, AE, whatever.”

Correct…it is an OFFLINE editing codec. When you are done editing, you media manage the cut and reimport the footage as ProRes 422. See my tutorial on the offline/online process.

https://library.creativecow.net/ross_shane/tapeless_online/1

[Matt Holmes] “But to get your final edit back to a decent flavor of ProRes you have to switch back to H.264 first.”

No, you don’t. You need to ACCESS the originals, but you reimport those as ProRes 422. Color will not accept H.264 files.

[Matt Holmes] “We’re having the same issue with media managing the H.264 files. Going to try manual reel names to see if that changes anything”

THis is why you need to give the folder that you offload to a unique name. This is the REEL name when you import into FCP via Log and Transfer. Watch my tapeless workflow tutorial for that:

Tapeless Workflow for FCP 7 Tutorial

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Matt Holmes]

Shane,

Thanks for the tutorial. Haven’t used Log and Transfer much, so that was helpful and is definitely an option for us.

We were trying something similar, just using Media Manager instead of Log and Transfer, but to do that we would have to point our sequence back to the H.264 first so that on the second Manage it could use that to recompress to full ProRes 422. So yes, it would only reference the H.264. Any other finishing would be done in the ProRes 422. More complicated, but does limit the amount of material transcoded to full quality. Hope that makes sense.

Matt

[Shane Ross]

Media manager is what you use on footage you imported or captured to a codec FCP works with. It requires that the footage have reel numbers. If you just point FCP to the h.264 files, they won’t have reel numbers. This is why you must use Log and Transfer. There are certain ways you must do things if you want stuff to be done right.

Or are you saying you already edited the H.264 files and now you need to convert them to ProRes? If so, assign the footage reel numbers, then MM.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Shane Ross]

Media manager is what you use on footage you imported or captured to a codec FCP works with. It requires that the footage have reel numbers. If you just point FCP to the h.264 files, they won’t have reel numbers. This is why you must use Log and Transfer. There are certain ways you must do things if you want stuff to be done right.

Or are you saying you already edited the H.264 files and now you need to convert them to ProRes? If so, assign the footage reel numbers, then MM.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Matt Holmes]

Transcode all original H.264 to Proxy using Compressor. Import the Proxy files into FCP, log, and edit. With picture lock, point final sequence or video bins back to H.264 (will have to add reel names manually). Then Media Manage (trimming the footage), and recompressing as ProRess 422. Now we can add graphics, do color correction, and any finishing work.

Again, I think Log and Transfer is probably simpler, but the above does work. The key was adding the reel names.

Thanks again.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Matt Holmes] “Again, I think Log and Transfer is probably simpler”

No question.