[Bob Pierce]

As far as I know, you can’t really do this in FCP – not smoothly anyway. It’s pretty easy in After Effects. Simply enable time remapping for the layer, then create some keyframes at several points within the clip. You can then move the keyframes causing the speed to change. As long as there’s a keyframe at the end of the clip that’s not moved, the run time does not change. Also, applying “easy ease” to the keyframes with smooth out the transitions. Hope this makes sense!
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

Thanks, Guys for your help. I thought that this problem had been corrected (haven’t seen it in a while). It’s good to know that the single pass quality is still good.
Take care,
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

I call it dreaded because this used to happen all the time with 2 pass vbr encodes from Compressor. Apple, I thought fixed it. It is a random occuring artifact in the encoded Mpeg (it plays back consistently in the same places). And to be clear, it’s not in the original media – only in the mpeg.

In some shots it appears as a kind of pulsing in and out of blockiness in the more complex areas of the image. Other places is happens in the middle of a dissolve. Some shots just fall apart all together.

I’ve reencoded with compressor “fast 90 minute” and the problem is gone. I’ve always assumed that 2 pass made for better quality encodes, but I’m not sure.

Thank you,
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

I love the EX1. I really believe that it’s a revolutionary camera, kind of what the VX1000 was all those years ago. It is the only camera of its kind that offers full raster 1920×1080, and the lens is simply amazing for what it is. I’ve intercut Ex1 footage with the HDX900 (with a lens costing 3x the EX1) with absolutely no problem. I originally planned for the EX to be my stopgap camera until I could save up for a PDW700. After using this amazing little camera for a few months I’m in no hurry to upgrade. You can get one with 2 16 gig cards, wide angle adapter, extra battery and portabrace for under $10k. You will probably want an SDI HD field monitor as well, but that might put you over your limit.
Good luck!
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

I pretty much have it looking good now. From the factory, the colors just looked washed out, but having a properly calibrated studio monitor to compare it to, I fiddled with the RGB gain and bias and got it pretty much spot on. It’s a sweet little monitor, built like a tank. The waveform and vectorscope is really nice. Very readable. It’s a bit frustrating how much you lose being off-axis. Not sure if the panny is any better in that respect. Overall I’m very happy with it. Good luck…
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

I recently bought a Sonnet from Other World Computing for $100. Drives were spontaneously unmounting, and after much discussion with tech support they admitted that the unit doesn’t get along with the Mac Book Pro. I exchanged it for the $140 EZ Quest, which so far is working great for me.
Good luck,
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

Yes, I did try that – or at least I tried rendering out uncompressed 8 bit, which showed the same messed up gamma. I also tried exporting as uncompressed out of fcp, then rendering uncompressed out of AE for the same effect. So I guess I can remove the codec as the culprit. Others have had this problem and posted about it here, but none have posted their solution.
Thanks,
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

Thanks, Dave
Yep, that’s what they’re set for. The rendered movies play back washed out in Final Cut, whereas the original footage (color bars) that hasn’t passed through AE looks fine. Any other suggestions out there? Am I the only one with this problem?
Thanks you!
Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

Thanks to all for the input. I do always have everyone turn off their cell phones. This problem reappears every time I shoot with external mics (interviews), so I’m pretty sure it’s not some kind of environmental thing. I guess I could exchange the camera, but I’m very hesitant – this in my second EX1, the first one had to be exchanged for a serious focus problem, and I’m starting to think I should stick with the devil I know.

The clicking is only audible wearing headphones. Perhaps it’s a more widespread problem than people realize.

Bob

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[Bob Pierce]

Thanks Guys,
By a card, I assume you mean an express port firewire device?

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory – Mac OS 10.5.2 – Quicktime 7.4.5 –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 (Final Cut 6.0.3) – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS3 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1