[Bob Cole]

[Aanarav Sareen] “the category “ridiculous” or “been there…done that””

Thanks for the very interesting perspective — I’m assuming your friend works on tv projects, not features, right?

It’s surprising that “been there…done that” disqualifies a project. Most of the tv schedule seems to look that way.

— Bob

[Bob Cole]

Thanks again everybody. This is just terrifically helpful. It just struck me again that if this forum were a subscription service, and you had to price it fairly according to how valuable it is… I hope Ron L. isn’t reading this!

— BC

[Bob Cole]

[Bret Williams] “They should be bumped up to 7.5 when output as analog. Your deck or card should be set to do this.”

Wow. Several issues, from input to print-to-tape. I will be outputting through a Kona LHe card to a Beta UVW 1800. How to check for this? — Look at the finished tape in FCP Capture? I will of course use FCP-generated color bars when I print-to-tape.

[Bob Cole]

[Jerry Hofmann] “The bars recorded on camera masters have little to do with the video shot.”

I was feeding the color bars “live” from the camera, too. And there is quite a difference between those levels and the FCP-generated bars. So what good are color bars from the camera at all?

Thanks Jerry for the advice. It was very very timely. (iow, it SAVEDMYA**)

— Bob

[Bob Cole]

[Aanarav Sareen] “only 1 / 200 scripts get picked up. From the scripts that do get picked up, only 10% make it to the screen.”

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance.” (Lloyd, “Dumb and Dumber”)

I’d love to know more about the selection process. What does your friend say about the quality of the 200 scripts? Of those, how many are awful/promising/not quite there….

And of the 1/200 scripts that are picked up, how many are “virgins?” That is, scripts from unknowns, scripts therefore that are chosen based ONLY on their merits, vs. the reputation of the people attached to the project?

It seems to me that choosing a successful film based on the screenplay must be one of the toughest jobs in the world, and I suspect that many screenplays are given a chance only because of extrinsic factors.

— BC

[Bob Cole]

That was a great reply. Thanks so much for explaining that so clearly.

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Bob Zelin] “I am not a fan of Firewire capture – PERIOD”

Thanks so much Bob. Your post really helped me to decide how to go here. I’m glad I have what it takes for a good editing path. My initial interest in the LHe was that I need to handle a number of different analog formats for editing; I’m happy to hear a knowledgeable endorsement of the LHe/DVCPro50 path. I’m still curious as to why you dislike FW capture. It certainly is convenient — are you thinking about the issues of editing DV?

Re: the audio path, I don’t know why I forgot the Mackie; I guess I was focused on the problem of having to input non-balanced audio.

Thanks again.

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

novice question again: I did the same thing — installed BCC4. Based on Walter’s experience, I tried to do the “prudent” thing and removed those filters. As a novice at FCP I don’t need extra challenges (at least not when I’m facing a week of supervised edits).

I am finding the organization of FCP (and Mac files generally) rather difficult to follow, and I’m not sure I uninstalled BCC4 correctly.

I have found a number of video filters in FCP which aren’t in the manual. Where did Light Rays, for example, come from? I don’t recall installing it; is it an extra, or is this evidence that I didn’t uninstall BCC4 correctly?

Thanks.

— Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Funny, and true. Painfully true in some cases.

But your work must have been well-received THEN, or you wouldn’t be on this forum NOW.

I don’t put my name on-screen for anything corporate. I’m just talking about packaging and labeling.

[Bob Cole]

Thanks Bob. My post was unclear, but no, I wasn’t considering FW drives, just the FW cable to export from the Z1.

re: the HDV camera — I am using the HDV camera for SD out. Within FCP, for reasons that I don’t fully understand, the experts on the FCP forum recommend the DVCPro50 format. But in order to digitize to that codec, I have to export from my Z1 camera in component video and unbalanced audio. I now realize that even if I buy the M25 deck, audio is exported as unbalanced. On the Kona LHe, with the breakout box, I’d have to use an XLR adapted for unbalanced audio.

So I’m asking for input as to whether I should use the iLink (Firewire) feature of the Z1 camera and edit in DV, or whether I should export component video/unbalanced audio from the Z1, and edit using DVCPro50. Or… can I import using FW, and still somehow use the DVCPro50 codec. Or is that too much of a hassle?

Obviously I’m new to the FCP world (indeed, to DV in general; I’m a late convert from Betacam). So I think my question was a little more naive than you expected! But I would appreciate your input.

— Bob C