[Chris Clephane]

To get the desired deinterlaced video….in AE you render your movie WITHOUT fields selected.

RENDER QUEUE : RENDER SETTINGS : FIELD RENDER (OFF)

Render to a CODEC that works without interlacing. (ie..ANIMATION)

Good luck.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

So again, bags are usually the least expensive option. You have chosen a good quality one by the link you sent. REMEMBER ALSO…most bags do not make good allowance for viewfinder/foldout screen use. END RESULT: You are shooting blind most of the time, so put an auxillary WIDE ANGLE Lens on the camera before it goes into the bag and keep close to the action.

OPTION 2: Containers…..Research the EPIC unit on BH if you want a comparison to the BAG you spec’ed. Containers are usually PVC tubes with a port in one end. They provide EXCELLENT protection to your camera once it is inside. (Hard shell outer covering..pretty much indestructable…). The downside is that camera controls are VERY limited–usually just a few mechanical (sometimes just one!) rods to press buttons on the camera. They take some work to set up and adjust…so plan on spending an hour or two with your camera…a few shims, washers and bubblegum getting everything aligned inside so it works once you get out in the field. DOWNSIDE….VERY VERY BULKY. They hold a LOT OF air…they also require a LOT of external weight to get them underwater. These tube units usually allow you to dive to about 50′ or so…so as an inexpensive entry to scuba videography…not a bad option.

These AGAIN…are VERY bulky. If you wreck/crash, etc holding one of these..your camera will probaby be fine…but YOU will most likely suffer some injury. I actually use one of the EPIC tubes to shoot wakeboarders and waterskiiers. On a second (shorter) rope from the pull boat I can sit easily on a wakeboard and “point the tube” with great results. It floats if I get “wrrecked” and I don’t feel the need to tie it to my boay…so there is lesser chance of undesired injurous impact If I do wreck. These are great units topside..but bulky. I most cases you can use the camera’s flip screen if it reverses and folds flat against the camera. It is difficult to shoot looking into the SIDE of the tube though. I ususally use a small (2.5″) external LCD hooked to the composite out of the camera. I can velcro it inside of the tube to the camera…on top…or whatever angle works best…. Adding a sunshade around the screen helps as well..

Due to the lack of mechanical camera controls (other than REC/PAUSE), I usually use the camera’s wireless remote in a waterproof flexible cellphone bag to control the camera in the tube. I keep the remote on a lanyard tied to my lifejacket. I cna change the zoom/manual focus and most other functions of the HVX without having to remove the camera from the tube.

Due to the fact that tubes often have ample ADDITIONAL space…they allow you to consider using options such as a FIRESTORE to extend your recording time. Keep in mind that the additional electronics come at a price…heat generation. I keep a small camping thermometer in the tube when I am topside during the summer. It is easy to forget during a break that you are standing in direct sunlight…and a tube is a tinly little greenhouse absorbing solar energy. Throw a towel over it and turn off gear if you ar etaking a long break. The water temperatures in the PNW keep thing scool when in the water…(60’s and colder usually)…but I have heard stories of gear overheating quickly in the tropics (topside).

THese housings can often be “recycled” as you change camera models. (Tweaked to fit additional units.) You will want to use an auxillary wide angle lens with most tube units.

Moderately priced…good protection….poor camera control.

3) Custom housing. Ususally start at $3 or $4k. FIt only the camera they were designed for…and do pretty much everything with mechanical or electrical controls. I am only commenting on these because….from PAST EXPERIENCE….these generally do not do as well TOPSIDE in certain situations.
The design of these units is generally for SCUBA. They are designed to seal better when pressure compresses them during a dive. We have had leaks with these units TOPSIDE when wrecking on waterskiis/wakeboards…because sideways motion of water at odd vectors was able to work past the seals. (Minimal…but it happened.) Not our preference for TOPSIDE activites. NOTHING BETTER for scuba though.

Good luck.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

Bags…on the downside are also BOUYANT. They have a tendency (due to the trapped air inside the bag…and in the camera unit body) to want to float. No being rigid, it is difficult to affix counterbalancing weights to them to keep them underwater. SO its a constant fight to keep ti UNDER if you do anything other than a “quick dip below the surface…”. And dont forget…while you are struffling to keep it underwater…you are also trying to frame a shot and manipulate the controls through the bag’s exterior vinyl/plastic skin. Its kind of like trying to feel and individual potato chip through the outer layers of the bag in the store…just not a satisfying experience…..

That stated…bags are awesome for “shallows work”, splashy activites (whale watching, kayaking, whitewater rafting) downhill skiing and snowy activities…although they get brittle and less malleable below certain temperatures….

Interrupted again…be back later….

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

I can’t entirely answer your question because I need more info…..however.

In general there are 3 types of products for “underwater” use.

1) Bags.
2) Containers.
3) Housings.

The manufacturers will take offense to me making a distinction between 2 & 3, but end-user reality dictates the distinction.

1) You are asking about a BAG unit. Simply stated these are really best utilized for “splash” scenarios. While many are rated at up to 30′ depth, the reality is that you DON’T want to do this. My quick answer is: They are really great for wet surface activity down to about 5-8 feet at most. On the upside…The bags DO provide water protection and a front glass port in a lightweight package and they are generally LESS expensive. On the downside they provide NO structural rigidity to protect the camera from bumps, accidental button presses and water pressure. Pressure…yeah we forgot about that…..Remember that every 30′ or so as you dive DOUBLES the pressure on your unit.

I have to run…I will finish this posting later….

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

For laptop and/or imac use try a Canopus ADVC-110 works just fine.

Bidirectional Firewire to Analog conversion. Decent picture quality.
Works just fine with all major apps (AE/Premiere/FCP). We use it with G4 laptop-based Producer as well for confidence monitoring on a real tube.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

We just got this here as well.

For us “Switching to Chinese Language” did nothing.

——
We had just re-loaded our system with all the current installers/plugs, etc. and a project that worked LAST WEEK…now won’t open.

—–
I was able to figure out that the original file for the project in question had been started in AE 6.5.
All subsequent upgrades of AE had happened on that same machine.

this last install was a complete wipe/reload of the system with reloading from current installers.

I suspect VERY STRONGLY that the BIB errors are caused by Cocoa/Carbon/legacy code references.
The latest installers of our plugs/etc. would have NOT installed legacy code due to the current OS version and plug installer versions.

——

I tested this by installing a backup drive of our system OS as it was 1.5 years ago (running 10.4.11) I had madde this to revert back to if we had too many issues transitioning to 10.5.

Upon booting from this drive…the project opened without BIB errors. (AE CS3 under 10.4.11 worked fine installed 1.5 years ago…..10.5.5 installed last week with AE CS3 has BIB errors.)

Just a thought.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

Well…after getting all the discs out…I realized that this particular system has a second startup drive. It was configured FCP (dual-boot)….and THAT drive was created as an exact clone of the primary drive….several months ago.

MILDLY EMBARRASSING SIDEBAR: I had not used the secondary boot on this machine in so long…that WELL…I had forgotten it was there. (Yes..mounted on the desktop every day…I had simply begun to “not see” it there anymore.)
I believe the phrase “hidden in plain sight” comes to mind.

SO….I booted from my seldom used FCP drive…..Since this system is AJA-based I updated the AJA driver to the current recommended one (5.1NDD) DONT DOWNLOAD VERSION 6. Apparently it has not been approved yet.
Reloaded the Media100 application…and I was good to go. (Currently rolled back to 10.5.2 and QT 7.4.5…which is annoying because I can no longer charge my iPhone on this machine while I work. QT/iTunes screams at me for being “out of date” because I have a 3G iPhone v2.1SW )
Blah..blah..blah..

If your machine was configured DUAL BOOT…I suggest you start there.

NOTE: This may NOT work for you if you had partitioned for FCP…again, for clarity …I had a second physical drive in the machine as a FCP boot.

Why I mention this boot drive thingy: I do very distinctly remember an “updating boot caches” message at the end of the QT rollback (using Pacifist)…right before the machine rebooted. (Crapped out and wouldn’t reboot.)

I am guessing the boot caches are now corrupted in some form.

—–

If you are unable to boot from CD I suggest the following standard procedures:

1. Try booting with the “C” key depressed…this used to “suggest” to the machine to try the CD drive first. Insert CD…power machine down. Power up holding the C key. Hopefully this works.

2. Ok…that usually only works on older machines…SO…Insert the cd…..power down….then boot up with the OPTION key depressed. After a minute or 6 (depending on how many drives you have attached to the machine…RAID and Non-raid…it examines EVERY physical volume through this process….CD’s also slow this process GREATLY….)
WHEW…ok….after a short interval….a grey screen should appear and you should be presented with a list of volumes attached to the machine that you should (theroretically) be able to boot from. If the CD appears in this list…highlight it using either the arrow keys or a mouse click…..you should be fine from that point forward.

If not….attach an external firewire drive (with or without bootable partition) and re-perform procedure #2 above. If the boot caches are REALLY boogered up…sometimes adding a drive to the examination process will confuse the machine enough to work. Yeah…great technical explanation….I know.

If that still does not allow you to boot from CD….format the firewire drive with a working MAC os…repeat #2 above and attempt to boot from the firewire drive. If that does not work..post again….

Good luck.

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

Just a quick note to everyone….

DISCLAIMER: I am not necessarily implying that WE made (or did not make) this particular mistake…because making the following mistake would be mildly embarrassing…even with the extreme sleep deprivation I was (or was not) allegedly suffering….
(Mmmm…deadlines…)

That stated:

MAKE SURE YOU DOWNLOAD THE CORRECT QUICKTIME INSTALLER.

For instance….If you are in Leopard…and download the Panther QT installer by mistake…and perform the aforementioned ROLLBACK procedure…it makes your machine unbootable. (And UNFIXABLE.)

Just FYI.

(….now back to reloading one of our machines….from scratch….)

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

When we import directly from the EX-1…no issues.

But when someone drags footage to an external hard drive and brings that to us…we are having occasional issues ion import. (file structures aside) Hard to explain…It seems to be more “quirky” when we are importing from 1394/USB2 drives rather than directly from the camera.

-C

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.

[Chris Clephane]

FIRST QUESTION:

(Regardless of what you have told us the setting on the camera is…..)

Are you using an external zoom/focus controller?

I edit video. I post sometimes.
I fix things. I eat marshmallows.
I play drums. I drink scotch.
I like TV.

Done typing now.