[Adam White]

Hi Rafael. Thanks for your input.

This compression is not for a clip to go online. I’m compressing a H.264 file for HD DVD. I can’t seem to adjust any of the Dimensions settings in the Geometry tab because they are all locked, so I can’t change the aspect ratio to “Square pixels”.

[Adam White]

Hi David, thanks for your response.

The dimensions (encoded pixels) section of the geometry tab is grayed out and locked to “Automatic” and cannot be altered, which is another oddity! If I change the output image inset (padding) to “16:9 1.78:1” then the resulting video has the correct ratio, but is pillar-boxed on either side of the image.

[Adam White]

Hi Neil, thanks for your reply.

I’ll ask the post-production house about this, but if they can’t linearize the uncompressed QT for me, can I do this myself? I’m assuming this is an essential step, and am I correcting in thinking that if this isn’t done then I won’t be able to convert the QT into a functioning ProRes file?

I have Final Cut Studio 3, and I know Shake is included though I’ve never used it before. We shot on HDV1080i60. What settings do I need to apply to the file in Shake, and are there any tutorials online? I’ve run a search but couldn’t find anything though this is all new to me so in reality I’m not really sure what I’m looking for.

I would guess that we’ll probably have to linearize the file ourselves, so would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks,
Adam

[Adam White]

I had the same issue with some Z1 footage recently.

Like you, the camera had been recently sent in for repair. It turned out the camera was recording as HDV1080i/60 (Z1s can shoot in both) even though it had been set to 1080i/50. It was an error with the camera.

So when FCP was set to capture as HDV1080i/60 the footage was fine. This also explained why the footage played back fine on the camera itself (same scenario as you). We even shot on Sony premium tapes too (never again!).

I hope this proves to be a solution for you – I know what a nightmare it was for me when I thought we’d lost all the precious footage!

Best,
Adam

[Adam White]

GREAT link! I’m working on a snowboarding clip right now and these will be perfect for the retro look I want to achieve.

I love Creative Cow! 🙂

Thanks again!

[Adam White]

To be sure, before we start trying to get under the hood of FCP, was the camera set to record audio from both XLR inputs during shooting? I know the Z1 won’t always do this by default, and I’m assuming the V1U is similar in this regard.

On the Z1, you need to go into the Audio menu, then go to “XLR Set” and ensure the XLR CH Sel is set to CH1, CH2. It will likely be almost identical on the V1U.

The levels your seeing for both channels inside the capture window could be from just 1 XLR input (you can set the camera to mix 1 XLR input to both channels so you don’t have to “double up” the audio in editing).

[Adam White]

I’d use motion keyframe for this.

Select the image you want to animate, and then click the “Motion” tab. Underneath the scale slider, you’ll see the rotation wheel. Set a keyframe at the start of the clip by clicking the diamond shape button to the right of the wheel. Move along to the end of the clip, set another keyframe and type in 360 into the number box next to the wheel.

This will give you (a very crude) 360 degree rotation. Probably OK for your requirements right now, but quite a crude movement with very simple tools inside FCP.

[Adam White]

To check in FCP, ctrl+click on the sequence you need to check, and then select “Settings”. The Sequence Settings will appear – check that Field Dominance is set to Upper (Odd).

In Compressor, when you have your project in a batch, drag in the PAL DVD codec and then select “Frame Controls” in the Inspector window. Turn the controls on by clicking the gear button and ensure that the output fields are set to “Top First”.

[Adam White]

Great.

Just a couple last questions about specific settings;

– Enable chroma filtering for 4:4:4 sources?
– Output Color Space: Default for Encoder or Preserve Source?

And lastly, I assume all three variables in resizing and retiming controls need to be set to “Best”?

Adam

[Adam White]

If you’re footage was shot on HDV another thing you might want to look out for is that you’re field dominance is set to Upper in both your Final Cut Pro sequence and in your Compressor settings when you come to output. If it’s changed to Lower (as has inadvertently happened to me a few times) that will give you hideously jerky video for sure.