Chris Bové
Forum Replies Created
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Hi Allyson,
Try posting this in the Avid Editing forum as well, and hope Michael P. responds. His experience in 24p is staggering. In the meantime, here’s my “sort-of” experienced two cents: (note I’m an Avid guy and this may not apply to FCP, etc)
If you play a 29.97 timeline onto a 24p tape right now, you’ll see some skippage. Now that the sequence is 29.97, I’m pretty sure it’s stuck there. Only way out of it is to create a new sequence in an HD project and batch digitize the media in HD. 30fps and 24fps both factor themselves mathmatically into an HD project because the frame rate is 60fps. Once it’s recreated, you can lay it to tape, transcode it or export it however you wish.
I think I’m 75% right on this, but it’s all booksmarts – I haven’t done it in over 8 months, so good luck.
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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Avoid Frontniche and Vutrix at ALL COSTS!
Also, make sure if you go the Plasma or LCD route that it de-embeds the audio through the HDSDI. We didn’t check that, and all our audio is 2-frames off unless we feed it through the monitor separately via analog RCA cables! (?>!!@>$#@$@!)
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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[Mark Raudonis] “There are MANY kinds of editors.”
Totally.
I never use AE. For the PBS and indie film stuff I do, 100% of it can be done in the Avid with plug-ins (Boris, Sapphire, 55mm, Stage Tools). It’s all story-based editing, so there’s no call for any MSNBC-looking CG or bouncing digital bunnies. Most producers are now growing beyond that need to muck-up the screen with Digital Juice. (Thank friggin’ hell!)
But that’s just me. Another editor could use 40% AE because her/his client base is all ad agencies who like bouncing digital bunnies.
Honestly if you’re no expert, hire someone to do the AE work. If someone is passionate about that software enough to become a pro in it, they’ll do 1000X better than an editor who resents having to learn it just to keep up. (It’s the same reason I hire-out my color correction whenever I can.)
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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I think “invisible editing” is a technique, not a law to live by on every edit. Get your airplane on the runway however you want to. It’s not a dramatic sequence, so who will really care? Just try to keep it consistent with the cutting style of the rest of the film.
Invisible editing seems to be used most with personal interactions – to make you feel you are partaking in the scene, while forgetting there are multiple camera setups. It sounds like you’re intending your airplane sequence to be a bit more like a CSI: Miami action sequence, which is completely the opposite of invisibility.
My 2
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Let’s say you’re cutting 2-camera dialog.
Go to a dinner party and watch other people having conversations. You know that moment when someone (Charlie) is having a conversation with someone else (Lucy) at a dinner party, and Charlie is explaining something that’s rather complex, and mid-way through one of their sentences Lucy understands what Charlie is talking about? Lucy displays a visual reaction when this happens – and it is usually slightly exaggerated to show Charlie that the idea has been conveyed.
A few frames before this moment is the perfect time to cut to a reaction shot. It’s when the audience gets the idea that’s been conveyed and (I guarantee you) mimics the reaction Lucy makes.
This is one of 10,000 examples of invisible editing. It’s the inexact science of cutting on the emotion, and is one of the few instincts a great editor can claim – similar to perfect pitch for musicians.
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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[mr_gfx] “Final Cut Pro imports all images at their normal size and you can scale down from there to fit into the preview monitor.”
If you’re going through all this manual resizing labor in FCP for each photo, why not use Photoshop instead? Create a new PSD file 720×486 as your template and drag each photo to it, resize to fit in the template (same process in FCP) and save. This way you’ll have the correct size photo and be able to use it in any future application you desire – without ever needing to render the resizing effect. You’ll also be able to utilize Photoshop’s color and level adjustments – yet another render avoided.
If using Avid, import each photo at the time length (2 seconds, 5 seconds,…) you want them to be seen on-screen. Select the frames bin view, organize them to your liking in the bin, select all, overlay edit directly from the bin and whammo! You’ve got a spicy Avid slideshow in less than 5 minutes.
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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[person] “mac feels like a modern swiss watch. pc feels like a 1980’s era timex”
Heh – a 1980’s era Timex – I had a few of those. Had a few Casio potatoes on my wrist too. Never owned a swiss watch though. Never needed to. At any given minute, there’s about a dozen clocks/watches/desktops/laptops/cells/Palms/Pocket PCs/Blackberries/PSPs/pens with LCD clocks/and microwave ovens in my field of view.
I really do think Avid & FCP; Windows & Mac all work equally great. Never watched a movie and said “That was obviously done on a G4”.
Guess I’m just an edit-slut with no loyalties. I’ll go to bed with any system that fills my immediate needs. Actually, I use many edit systems as a means of supplying my clients. Does that make me an edit-pimp?
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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It’s a never-ending argument in every trade – not just media. I’m sure that professional electricians have the same things to say about do-it-yourselfers equipped with Home Depot “Easy as 1-2-3” books. I think it’s excellent that a demographic exists for guys recording themselves flatulating. It doesn’t bother me because it’s not a replacent, merely an addition. Sure it lowers the artistic gene pool. The good thing is the number of artists now able to contribute has grown as well. The demographics for great indie films, major motion pictures and arthouse work will never see a decline.
I’ve gone a bit hippy with my editing in the last few years – nearly stark of all effects. It started in 2001 when a tour filled with teens came through the editing rooms. There was a kid – brilliant with computers I might add – who said he wanted to be an editor when he grew up. His questions though were all about effects, effects and more effects. In the months following, I was more alert to the times producers asked for effect-driven material. Fed up, I began a campaign to swap effects for content, and have been 80% successful. The other 20% have been projects that really do beg for effects – but as an enhancement of the message, not a replacement.
Here’s the analogy I used on the producers: consider effects to be like accessories to your wardrobe. Nobody would notice you had a Rolex on if you walked out of your house without pants. You need a base from which to start accessorizing.
Everything is a response to something else. If this truely gets under your skin, fight it by creating the best-possible opposite. And most importantly, turn off the damn video games and read a book!
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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[Arson XL] “Become a director and use the arm to drink coffee while YOU get a chance to sit on the comfy couch looking at the back of an editor’s head.”
Hee hee, this is the BEST answer! Excellent idea.
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\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.
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Haven’t tried it, but DigitalFilmTools 55mm effects has a “Halo” effect that would work perfectly.
Look here:
https://www.digitalfilmtools.com/55mm/Halo.htm______
/-o-o-\
\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)A picture says 1000 words. Editors give them meaning.