Alex Elkins
Forum Replies Created
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Go to the View menu and turn on Audio Scrubbing.
All the best,
Alex Elkins -
[Jakob Mortensen] “Should I not change the format to prores422 before I start to edit to have the advantage of the format ?”
It’s only an advantage if you have captured as ProRes. Otherwise you’re just wasting time converting things which you’re going to render again anyway.
The exception to that is if you were going to be doing lots of effects to the clips – adding filters, movement, keying etc. Working from ProRes files is quicker in that case. In most cases, people are just cutting the pictures, perhaps with some dissolves etc. If that is the case, it’s not really advantageous to spend time converting until right at the end.[Jakob Mortensen] “One thing I think about is whether or not to capture in prores from the beginning on.”
This is what I would do.
[Jakob Mortensen] “The filesize difference of HDV and prores422 seems to be very big, for that reason I am thinking about capturing in HDV1080i and keeping the captures whole tape as a backup/storage raw file.”
Correct, the difference in file size is huge. If you have the space, and your harddrives run fast enough, then the file size isn’t an issue. If it is an issue, capture as HDV and just render out as ProRes to finish. The quality will be the same either way. It can just be slower working with HDV when, for example, you render an effect to see how it looks, tweak, re-render, check, repeat etc.
[Jakob Mortensen] “I might have gotten it all wrong but the quality of the capture isnt greater in prores422 compared to HDV right ??”
Correct. Your source is HDV, so you can’t add quality that was never there.
[Jakob Mortensen] “In your words whats the really big advantage/gain by using prores and in what stages of the project ?”
It takes me just as long to capture in ProRes as it does HDV, so I begin in the format I intend to finish in.
There are formats that I can’t capture as ProRes, such as XDCAM EX, which I work with a lot. It is very similar to HDV, in that it is quite inefficient as an editing format. However, most of my editing doesn’t include many effects so I don’t convert it before editing. Instead I just use the XDCAM EX material in a ProRes timeline. I still get realtime playback, even with some effects added when necessary.I hope some of this is helpful. All the best,
Alex Elkins -
Jakob,
The correct aspect ratio would be 1440×1080, with FCP doing the stretch to 1920.
However, it’s not necessary to export/import/replace everything to finish up with a ProRes version – in FCP under Sequence Settings, change your compressor to Apple ProRes 422. Then in the video processing tab, select the option ‘Render all material in high precision YUV”
These actions are only necessary when you come to do your final render – you can change the settings now if you wish, but it won’t affect the final quality of your edit.
Note that rendering as ProRes is not good if you intend to go back to HDV tape. For everything else, it is the best way to work by far.
All the best,
Alex Elkins -
Hi Jason,
Using Compressor to do the conversions will ensure that they all come out looking the same.
Apply the following setting to the HDV files to convert to SD DV:
-Open the Apple drop down in the Settings window
-Other Workflows
-Advanced Format Conversions
-Standard Definition
-DV NTSC AnamorphicIf you want everything as ProRes then you’ll have to create a custom setting, as there isn’t one pre-programmed from Apple, surprisingly.
I believe settings for NTSC would be 720×480, aspect NTSC CCIR 601/DV 16:9
Field dominance should be Upper.
Apply these settings to both the DV and HDV clips and they should all come out the same shape.I’d do a test on a ten second portion of the clip to be sure though.
All the best,
Alex Elkins -
[Jason Scherer] “My thoughts on workflow – get all the clips in the same codec, edit as multiclip, then transform used clips to ProRes for sending to Color.”
You need everything in the same codec, but it isn’t necessary to then transcode AGAIN to ProRes to send to Color. Simply render FROM Color as ProRes for best quality compression.
DV upscaled looks fairly horrible however you do it, so I’d be tempted to downscale the HDV stuff to DV.
Or, if you want to keep maximum quality from the HDV stuff, downscale it to ProRes (SD) and convert the DV files to the same. It’s quickest to simply convert the HDV down to DV.All the best,
Alex Elkins -
Hi Anthony,
I work with XDCAM EX material every day and would chose Option 1 for sure. Converting everything to ProRes will take so long that I’d be surprised if it saved you any time at all.
[Anthony Koelker] “When I’m done, I’d export a 720p version for broadcast.”
Do broadcasters in the US accept 720p deliveries? I’m in the UK and all HD programmes I’ve edited are delivered 1080i, even when shot 720p – your Kona card will handle this conversion excellently.
All the best,
Alex Elkins -
[Chelsea Womack] “Basically where the 2 edges of the layers meet there’s a gray shadow.”
It sounds like one of your layers may have some of the subject keyed out, so you’re seeing FCPs black backround showing through slightly. Have you feathered the edge of one of the mattes? Try un-feathering a little and see if the problem is reduced.
All the best,
Alex Elkins -
Never mind, you solved it before I finished posting my response. Nice one.
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Hi Chelsea,
The first thing to do is shout at the camera operator who didn’t see this coming…
Do you have After Effects at all? You’ll find the keying tools there much more effective. My advice for either application though, would be to use a number of duplicated layers, each masked/cropped so that you’re only targeting a specific portion of the image.
For example, Layer 1 would be the interviewer, so crop the image so you just see them, and Layer 2 would be the subject, so just crop around the subject. Then you can control the keying a bit more effectively. This is MUCH easier to do in After Effects, and you get better results.
Someone may be able to advise on a method with Motion, but I’m not familiar with it myself.All the best,
Alex -
[Adam Grossman] “Final output will be compressed for web and DVD. Am I on the right track here?”
Yes. Continue as you are and you’ll see the best quality for your particular delivery format.
The points above are relevant if you’re finishing onto HDV tape or XDCAM disc.
Best,
Alex Elkins