Using FCP as a finishing tool

[Shane Ross]

The way to do this would be the typical offline/online workflow.

Telecine the footage to digibeta…or D5 or HDCAM if you want HD…then capture that footage at a lower resolution, say DV or offline RT. To do this you’ll need a capture card like the Kona series or Decklink series…and it would be wise to have a SATA Raid instead of firewire drives…because you’ll need the space and speed for the online.

Edit until you lock picture.

Use the Media Manager to manage the cut into another project and to break the sequence up into only the footage used in the sequence…with handles so you can make minor adjustments.

Recapture the footage at high resolution and then color correct…using COLOR if you know it.

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Joel Perez irizarry]

Thanks for your advice. But here’s the thing, one of the reasons we do the conforming in another post house using the Smoke is because we don’t have a Digi Beta VTR, and we’re afraid to invest in any non HD technology. We do have a Kona 3 and a SATA RAID, wich I belive it can easily handle uncompressed sd and DVCPRO HD.

I was hoping to transfer to a Hard Drive, so I can conform in SD 10 Bit Uncompressed using our off line FCP system. I won’t need to color correct, since we transfer daylies (wich I use for the off line) and then we do a supervised transfer of the takes we already selected in the off-line. But my main concern is: Can I media manage the cut I did with the dalylies, and then capture the files from the supervised? I guess the answer is yes, that the timecodes will match. But what about video data from a Hard Drive instead of tape, does that data have a timecode? If not do, you know how to media manage that or I have to cut it again?

[Michael Sacci]

Just to throw in a thought – There are several HD decks that can read DigiBeta tapes so you can get a HD record deck that plays the DBeta and they start at about $36K.

[Shane Ross]

[jpirizarry] “we don’t have a Digi Beta VTR, and we’re afraid to invest in any non HD technology.”

Then don’t. RENT. Rental of a digibeta deck for a day is very cheap. Or have them capture it at a post house that has FCP…whichever works for you. I don’t own any deck other than a DV deck…all other decks I rent because they are so expensive…and with the ever changing format war who knows what you need 3 years from now.

[jpirizarry] “I was hoping to transfer to a Hard Drive, so I can conform in SD 10 Bit Uncompressed using our off line FCP system.”

This is fine. If the post facility doing the telecine has FCP and can capture it to a drive, you can do that. Use the drive to transport the cut to your system, copy it to the RAID, and edit at full 10-bit res.

[jpirizarry] “But my main concern is: Can I media manage the cut I did with the dalylies, and then capture the files from the supervised? I guess the answer is yes, that the timecodes will match. But what about video data from a Hard Drive instead of tape, does that data have a timecode?”

Well, hopefully they won’t telecine directly to drive only, but rather telecine to tape, then CAPTURE that tape…thus getting you the TC you need.

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Walter Biscardi]

[jpirizarry] “But here’s the thing, one of the reasons we do the conforming in another post house using the Smoke is because we don’t have a Digi Beta VTR, and we’re afraid to invest in any non HD technology.”

Pick up a Sony J3/902 multiformat Beta Player. This plays all formats of Beta, including Digi, via SDI. I’ve owned one for three or four years now and it has paid for itself many times over.

I would never purchase a DigiBeta recorder, but this thing is well worth the price as we even record all our BetaSP and BetaSX materials with it.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Walter Biscardi]

[walter biscardi] “I would never purchase a DigiBeta recorder, but this thing is well worth the price as we even record all our BetaSP and BetaSX materials with it”

Meant to say “we even CAPTURE all our BetaSP and BetaSX materials with it.’

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Joel Perez irizarry]

Thanks for your response,

“Shane Ross: Then don’t. RENT. Rental of a digibeta deck for a day is very cheap. Or have them capture it at a post house that has FCP…”

Our Buisness is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Here there’s only a three post houses with Digi Beta decks and none of them rent them 🙁

“Shane Ross This is fine. If the post facility doing the telecine has FCP and can capture it to a drive, you can do that. Use the drive to transport the cut to your system, copy it to the RAID, and edit at full 10-bit res.”

I can’t do this since I need to do a unsupervised transfer for the off line, and I can do a supervised transfer for only a few selected takes. This is due to our budget limitations. We do the transfer in The Mill NY. They charge 1500 an hour for the transfer. So I need a workflow where I can edit with an usupervised transfer and then conform the supervised transfer.

“Shane Ross: This is fine. If the post facility doing the telecine has FCP and can capture it to a drive, you can do that. Use the drive to transport the cut to your system, copy it to the RAID, and edit at full 10-bit res.”

Most of the post facilities we work with don’t have a FCP system. They mostly use Avid DV or Discreet Smoke. I was still hoping that they’ll be able to give me a hard drive with an 10 bit uncompressed Quicktime, which I think most of them will be able to do.

My question is more related to the off-lien/on-line workflow. How do I media manage data instead of tape? Can I use the EDL I generated with the off-line, to conform the supervised transfer?

[Shane Ross]

[jpirizarry] “How do I media manage data instead of tape? Can I use the EDL I generated with the off-line, to conform the supervised transfer?”

FCP isn’t very good with media management. Unless the file names and durations are EXACTLY the same, FCP cannot see it. So if you offline with files of a certain size and name, and then import new files that are the final transfers…even though the TC might be the same, if the duration differs than FCP will not link properly….even with an EDL. You’d have to basically redo the edit…looking at the EDL and loading the clips into the viewer and then dropping them into the cut.

FCP will not “auto conform” to the new footage. This is a chink in FCPs armor.

Shane

Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net

[Joel Perez irizarry]

That clarifies everything. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. The Cow is the Best! 🙂 I will go ahead with the FCP conforming anyway, even if it’s not as easy as in the Avid DS. We can save 6 of 7 grand per project doing it in our FCP system.