[Bob Cole]

Plot thickens, or I’m feeling even denser.

1. 720×540 .psd, imported straight into FCP. No pixel shift. But FCP automatically repositioned (centered?) the graphic for me. In the all-important y-axis the repositioning (revealed in the Motion tab) was in full pixels. Result: the graphic stays put during the dissolve.

2. I resized the same graphic above to 720×486. On the dissolve out from the graphic, there is tearing — repeated pixels at the bottom of the fonts. FCP had again automatically centered the positioning, but this time 14.5 pixels vertically. When I changed this to 14 pixels even, the tearing disappeared but there is still a little jump on the dissolve from graphic to live action.

I must be missing something here. Version 2 should’ve been better than 1. Why is FCP recentering the graphic? Why the inconsistent results with that persistent jump?

[Bob Cole]

Thanks for the tip.

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

very interesting. I wondered whether Frontline had a basic formula, because their look seems quite consistent.

What I like so much about it is that it reinforces the show’s credibility. It’s sort of “unlighting.” It doesn’t draw attention to itself, doesn’t look “lit,” and seems very straightforward. Of course it is anything BUT “unlit.”

A Chimera plus a 1/2 grid! That would be super-soft.

[Bob Cole]

Thanks — looking forward to hearing more about this. I am guessing that West Wing also involves camera lens filters.

[Bob Cole]

wow — so much good advice. Thanks a lot. I’m really glad I asked here — you all are making me rethink my assumptions, and that is a much better thing to do in advance than after the shoot.

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[John Pale] “There are lots of ways to sync up tennis (e.g. the sound of a serve), and you can just make your multiclips based on inpoint instead of timecode.”

True. Problem with rolling anew for each game is I will have lots of multiclips to sync up — there are probably going to be about 150 separate games (at an average of 15 games/match), and editing time will be really tight. I’d like to minimize the editing grunt work so I have more time for actual editing. (And operator inexperience is a factor: I’ve only edited multi-camera once, several editing platforms ago.)

Thanks for the ideas.

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[JeremyG] “Are they controlling their own rolling or do you have a centralized tape op?”

The former.

[Bob Cole]

[Nigel Cooper] “lso, be careful not to get dust on the disc surface whilst the doors are open, same for fingerprints and even condensation off your breath.”

(not an XDCAM user, but an interested lurker here.)

Have you had footage ruined by a relatively small amount of dust? What happens when you’re in an environment that is not pristine and you have to reload?

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Danrnw] “you need to give people a taste of
what to expect from the product. You should consider giving away some tips.”

Maybe because of the Bessie graphics, an old metaphor comes to mind — something about not buying a cow when the milk is free?

Actually, I think Shane has been giving us a taste of his knowledge for some time on this forum. And I trust that will continue. More Free Milk! And I look forward to getting the DVD.

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Shane Ross] “What will you be mastering to?”

SD. If I can edit in HD, I’ll make a HD QT file for future-proofing. The release for this year at least is SD on a DVD.