Alan Okey
5
COW Coins
2
DaVinci Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Export a self-contained Quicktime movie from a ProRes 422 or Uncompressed 8-bit or 10-bit sequence and use the self-contained movie file as a master source for your DVD compression. Use Compressor or another high-quality MPEG-2 encoder (BitVice, CinemaCraft MP) to create your MPEG-2 assets and import them into DVD Studio Pro. Use Compressor to create .ac3 audio assets and import them into DVDSP.
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[walter biscardi] “And believe me, my sarcasm is rather tame compared to what could be said in this thread”
WWZS?
(what would Zelin say?)
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[Michael Sacci] “Why not search H264 in this forum, it is all over the place.
Short answer, you cannot edit H264 clips on use that as a sequence setting.
“Don’t waste your breath, it’s a losing battle. This comes up almost every day on the Cow and it’s not going to go away. It’s like trying to stop a tsunami with an eyedropper.
Despite all of the technical reasons why trying to edit h.264 is a spectacularly bad idea, I fear that the vast wave of consumer gear that uses this as its default recording format is going to force the issue and make FCP support it as an editing codec in some form. I don’t agree with it, but the sheer number of posts regarding this indicates that most people A) don’t understand, B) don’t care to understand, and C) don’t want to hear why it can’t be done. In their view, FCP is old and inflexible because it can’t work with the footage they shoot.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few years.
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[Timothy Gaer] “I have been told there are ways to go from an SDI out on a Tricaster into a PRO RES box? Not sure what that is. “
Install a video I/O card like an AJA Kona or Blackmagic Decklink. You can then capture a live SDI stream to ProRes in realtime.
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[Lisa Olshanski] ” If I choose a sequence setting at 29.97 and bring my 24p footage in, I will have to render everything. “
This is the worst thing you could do. Final Cut Pro isn’t smart enough to add a proper 3:2 pulldown to 24p material to make it play back properly in a 29.97 interlaced sequence. If you’re not familiar with 3:2 pulldown, check out this article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine#3:2_pulldown
FCP can’t add 3:2 pulldown – what it does instead is add a duplicate of every 4th frame, resulting in a pattern of three unique whole frames followed by two identical whole frames. This is referred to as 2:2:2:4 pulldown, and it looks atrocious. It looks as if your video is stopping and restarting every 4th frame, which essentially, it is.
If you absolutely have to deliver a 29.97 timeline, then you’ll first have to transcode all of your 24p footage to 29.97 with 3:2 pulldown added using Compressor. This involves a significant amount of time as well as knowledge of what specific settings to use in Compressor. That’s a subject worthy of its own thread.
If this workflow is going to be repeated in the future, make the producers aware of the issue so that they can plan accordingly and either shoot 24p over 29.97 or plan on the extra time it will take to transcode native 24p footage prior to editing in a 29.97 sequence. Better still, convince them to work in a native 24p environment and let the video output hardware add 3:2 pulldown on output to tape.
If a 24p look is desired for material that is ultimately headed for broadcast, the easiest workflow by far is to shoot and edit footage in a native 24p (23.98) environment, then allow video output hardware (AJA Kona card, etc.) to insert 3:2 pulldown upon layoff to tape. If the final output is to be file-based instead of tape-based, then Compressor can be used at the end of the process to add 3:2 pulldown to the completed output using the same technique as described above.
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[Shane Ross] “But if you know you will be delivering 29.97 digital master, why not make your life easier and shoot 29.97, but 24p? “
The EX-3 can only shoot 24p over 29.97 using the lowest quality recording setting, which is 1440×1080 29.97i @ 25Mpbs (essentially HDV). The high quality XDCAM EX recording mode is full-raster 24pN @ 35Mbps. It seems a shame to not shoot at the highest quality setting simply for the sake of timeline compatibility.
In this case, if the highest quality is desired, a software transcode from 24p to 29.97 with 3:2 pulldown added (using Compressor) will be a necessary step.
Alternately, an outboard recorder (i.e. nanoflash or Ki-PRO) could be connected to the HD-SDI output of the camera, bypassing the SxS cards entirely. The outboard recorder can then record 24p over 29.97, as the EX-3 can pass a 24psf signal over SDI.
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[Scott Sheriff] “For some reason there is a huge demographic ‘subgroup’ in the ‘new’ editors that thinks editing is about the best plugin, the most FX, etc.”
And it’s not just editors who are guilty of this. There are plenty of clients who assume that they don’t need to coordinate color palettes, light properly or do any kind of preproduction work because they can do it all with a plugin in post.
Client: “Just use the ‘make it look cool’ filter. I know it’s just a plugin.”
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Wait, haven’t you heard? Anyone with a laptop and Final Cut Pro is an editor. It’s just pushing buttons, after all. There’s no real skill involved.
/sarcasm
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Right-click (or control-click) on an offline clip either in the timeline or the browser and choose “reconnect media.” When the reconnect dialog box pops up, click “search” and FCP should find the missing files.
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OK, I’ll bite…
1. Read the manual
No, really. Read it. RTFM. Read it or be prepared to be mocked and ridiculed and ignored and teased because you were too freaking lazy to start with the basics and now expect forum users to solve your problems for you.
2. Learn how to use Compressor
So many people never bother to use it because they’re scared of it. Don’t be. It’s there for a reason. You bought it, now use it.
3. Use a proper video monitor
For accurate monitoring, always use a proper video I/O device connected to a proper video production monitor. It is impossible to properly judge video by looking at the FCP canvas or Digital Cinema Desktop.
4. Educate yourself about proper workflow for various types of cameras and footage before you start a project in FCP
Don’t shoot something on a DSLR or a RED or anything else and be surprised when it comes time to edit that it’s not as easy as you thought it would be. It’s far easier to take the time to learn the proper workflow before you begin a project than to try to backtrack to fix something afterwards.
5. Educate yourself about various codecs and their appropriate uses
For example, h.264 is not a suitable codec for editing. Find out why, and how to transcode it to something that can be edited easily. See #2.
6. Never mix footage of different frame rates in the same FCP sequence
Always conform footage to one unified frame rate before editing either by using Cinema Tools or Compressor.
7. Never drop 24p footage or sequences into 29.97 interlaced sequences
FCP cannot add proper 3:2 pulldown, only 2:2:2:4 pulldown (which looks atrocious). If you don’t understand what pulldown is, find out.
8. Resize footage using Compressor
When mixing footage of different resolutions in FCP, consider first resizing footage to match the sequence settings using Compressor, with frame controls turned on and best quality selected for the resizing filter. Resize high resolution still images to the smallest needed size before importing them into a project.
Here’s two more tips that aren’t FCP-specific, but just as valuable for using these forums:
9. Search
Learn how to use the search feature on forums, then use it – before posting.
10. Provide details
When posting on forums, provide as much detail as possible about your editing system, software versions, project/sequence settings, etc. Forum users are not psychic.