Andrew Rendell
Forum Replies Created
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Funnily enough, I’m just setting up to do the same thing myself (having had the importing done for me at a facility in the past) and I’m hearing that Sony’s SxS cards can go in the Express Card slot in a Macbook Pro if you load Sony’s driver and that their Transfer software can convert the files to Quicktime as it comes in. (I’ll know more next week when I’ve done some tests.)
You can download Sony’s software free at https://support.sonybiz.ca/esupport/eSupportHome.asp
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If you want your DVD to be letterboxed by Compressor, go to the Geometry section and choose a standard 4:3 frame in the Dimensions area and select Preserve source aspect ratio on the Padding section.
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I frequently do a rough assemble of main sequences before deciding how they go together in the film. It helps clarify in my own mind what the point of each sequence is/what function it’s going to play in the narrative structure of the film, as well as becoming completely familiar with the material. Next step is to get it into a form that you could transmit if you really had to, even if it’s a bit rough and the timing isn’t quite right, then go back over it really critically and refine.
When it comes to making up multi camera clips, do it first as it’s a pain to have to go back into a cut to replace things like that.
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I don’t know about Apple’s upgrade options, but going by their usual form I’d expect that you’d probably only get an upgrade for a volume licence in a new volume licence…
Re: “I’ve been trying to think how amateurs/professionals store, edit, and manage their profile using FCP. Do they store all of their raw files (ex. .MOV’s and AVCHD files) onto their RAID or external hard drive, set their capture scratch to their project folder on the external HD, and edit everything from that external HD?”
Yes, usually.
Re: “Is that why a lot of people use G-Tech drives because of their reliability and speed?”
Yes.
Re: “If so, should I be looking forward to investing into one of their RAID’s?”
Perhaps, but my experience is that spending money on something because you think it’s the best thing or you might need it in the future is a bit risky, because things keep changing. I’ll tend to get whatever’s most appropriate for a particular job, so I might be using a networked array of several terabytes, hired from a facility company, on one job and the next one will use a 1Tb Lacie attached to a Macbook Pro. One thing that’s nice about comparatively cheap drives is that when you’re done you can just put them in a cupboard and buy another one for the next job, so no worries about what to back up, but you do need to make sure that they can operate continuously at high speeds, so Firewire or eSata, not USB, and the higher end of read/write speeds and cache memory (I don’t know the specs for your drive, but I’d expect it to be ok for standard def but probably pushing your luck for high def). Also, when I’m using small desktop drives I make a copy of all the media onto another drive and backup the project every day, just in case of a failure (which is rare, but always a nightmare when it does happen).
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I’m not sure what you’re trying to do, but “strobing pattern” does raise certain alarm bells. This may not be a problem at all for what you’re after, but it’s worth being aware of the issues surrounding photo-sensitive epilepsy and making sure your insurance is up to date.
https://www.hardingfpa.com/resources/photosensitive-epilepsy-pse/ -
Basically, PAL video is 720 x 576 and uses non-square pixels. The international standard is called ITU-R Rec.601, but there’s a useful guide here –
https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tvbranding/picturesize.shtml -
It’s worth doing some tests to find the best setting for your particular job, plus you need to watch the result on a proper screen to be able to judge the results, not a computer monitor.
What I’m referring to is this: when you select the settings in Compressor, go to the Frame Controls tab in the Inspector window. When you enable the Frame Controls, you can set the Output Fields to Progressive and below that the Deinterlace options are Fast (line averaging), Better (Motion adaptive) and Best (Motion compensated).
N.B. If you use the deinterlace filter you’re throwing away information and this process will be a waste of time.
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I’ve occasionally offered the advice of don’t go over 5 minutes because no one’s going to watch that long. Admittedly, I’ve only ever made them for other people and never had one myself as I’ve either not had the time or I haven’t kept suitable clips…
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If you have a situation where you have a lot of shots where you want the same grade you can grade one then copy the clip and use copy attributes to put the same grade on the others.
I actually prefer to use Color to grade. Once you get used to it it’s quite quick to save presets, then apply a preset to a clip and make a little tweak if necessary. (Plus it’s got different ways to adjust things, display levels, etc, but it might be a bit daunting to learn if you’re starting from scratch.)
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The buttons to toggle the video tracks on and off are the green ones on the left with the film strip icons in them.