Clint Fleckenstein
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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What I’ll do sometimes if I’m running one mic is to set it to record MIC 1 into both channels, then run one channel’s levels on AUTO and set the other manually. This comes from a long-held distrust of automatic gain control.
Cf
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I use After Effects if the project I’m working on doesn’t downscale very well (some subject matter scales better than others using the Apple tools). AE is excellent for such things. I can also take my final HD movie, which I’m going to archive anyway, and throw it into a variety of AE timelines in the native dimensions I need for DVD, web, or whatever. I can render them out in a batch to whichever format I want and do my final encoding with the individual files in their native dimensions.
Cf
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You could download and use Pacifist to simply grab the codecs from your FCP install package. Of course, if you’re concerned about the integrity of your FCP install now because of the glitch in the upgrade process, you’re probably best off starting from scratch 🙂
Cf
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Thanks a million! I thought as much but wanted to make sure before I arrange the additional camera. 🙂
Cf
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We organize everything primarily by project number, then by shoot date/location.
We change the clip name setup and clip number in each camera at the beginning of each year. The first three characters contain the camera ID and year before the clip number. For instance, all clips shot from camera A get titled “A10_xxxx” for Camera A, 2010. That way if we find an issue in our footage we know which camera shot it.
We track information such as shooter, talent, location, and that sort of thing in CatDV.
Cf
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I haven’t had any jello-cam issues on a variety of footage, although I know they’re possible to come by. As far as skewing, isn’t that mostly noticeable by putting a vertical line in your shot and panning back and forth? Otherwise I doubt it’s a problem for the viewer.
If one’s going to get hyper-critical about movement, you can always get into the idea that MPEG footage may go soft during motion, too. That may not seem like a big deal until you try to stabilize it.
I have the Sony air stunt footage (they sent out demo DVDs to interested customers) and it looks amazing. I looked for those artifacts, albeit not frame-by-frame, and was sold on the EX cameras after viewing. I was already spooked by all the people crying from the mountaintops about long-GOP issues, jello-cam issues, skewing issues, and whatever else you can throw at them. The footage on the DVD and from our initial tests with the camera put my fears to rest. Bottom line is, I’m happy with the footage and the price point.
One other thing I could point out is that these cameras are reasonably forgiving. I’m primarily an editor and resident workflow guy, but when I do get to go out on a second unit shoot or something I’m easily able to get what I want from these cameras even if I’m a bit rusty. I’m no ace cinematographer, but I’m able to get clear, properly exposed footage with great detail and it makes my superiors and clients happy.
Cf
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I have never had to do this, but I believe you can make a new BPAV folder from those MP4 files through the Clip Browser software.
Cf
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Put me in the FSB-6 camp. Best tripod head I’ve found in this price range.
Cf
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I have to agree that the difference in price range (notice I didn’t call these EX cameras “consumer” or even “prosumer) is things like connectors. I remember when I left the broadcast world and started shooting on Canon XL cameras. Those dinky little Firewire connectors and stuff really disturbed me. One reason why I pull an EX3 off the shelf when I head out instead of an EX1 is for the BNC connectors.
I don’t think it’s so much a function of size, since it’s obvious you can have multiple BNC connectors on these cameras, but a matter of price range. Putting those larger, stronger connectors on these cameras is expensive I suppose. It’s money well spent to avoid having to use a dinky little proprietary cable that looks like it fell out of someone’s Handicam case. In no way does that detract from the capabilities of these cameras, but it does provide an example of what you get for in those more expensive units.
Cf
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Check your codec settings on export. Even if your sequence is not interlaced, the ProRes settings may default to Interlaced and you need to check them on export.
Is FCP interpreting your footage correctly? If so, dropping the first clip into a new sequence can be set in your Preferences to prompt whether you want the sequence to conform to the clip. That can be quite handy.
Cf