[David Johnson]

It sounds like you haven’t reinstalled the codecs the AVIs were made with (either at all or properly). It’s important to note that AVI is only a format wrapper (like MOV) so AVI files can contain video in any one of very many codecs … if AVIs were made with a codec that isn’t installed on the machine, the machine won’t be able to play those AVIs.

[David Johnson]

You’re on the right track … what you need to do is called rotoscoping. It means masking frame by frame so be warned that it’s always a very tedious and time-consuming process and is even more so with complex images. Rotobrush is a cool new tool to make the process easier, but it’s still not a one-click and you’re done magic button. Searching COW and the web will return many tutorials on rotoscoping.

[David Johnson]

Different people contend that one program is “better” than the other for a variety of reasons, but my opinion is that color grading can be done equally well in any program with the right tools in the hands of the right user.

Color is made specifically for grading and is integrated well with FCP. However, if grading isn’t all that’s needed, AE can eliminate the need for an extra round-trip. AE has good built-in tools (Color Finesse) and you can add more if you do a lot of grading or prefer specific tools. Personally, I only do quick & dirty grading in FCP.

There are pros and cons to each approach so it’s really a matter of your particular workflow, tool set, preferences and needs.

[David Johnson]

It is not necessary to have a capture card or color card to edit and color grade in After Effects or Premiere Pro with professional plugins like Red Giant. You obviously need a way to get video footage into a computer to work with it in After Effects or Premiere Pro, which is the only time a capture card is needed … you can capture on another computer that does have a capture card and copy the footage to any other computer with After Effects or Premiere Pro to edit or grade.

[David Johnson]

I’m glad you got it worked out.

I didn’t mean to suggest randomly installing all codecs to find a 10-bit one … installing more codecs than needed unnecessarily introduces conflict risks. I don’t recall off-hand which Avid codecs are 10-bit … DV isn’t and DNxHD might be. However, there’s really no reason to use Avid codecs unless working on an Avid system or passing an edit to someone who is (the latter is the only reason I have Avid codecs). The same applies to AJA and BlackMagic codecs so it depends on your system and that of others you share media with. As Dave said, render in the codec that’ll be used next.

I’m certain I’ve downloaded free codecs from each of those companies, but it has been quite I while since I needed additional codecs so perhaps they’ve made them even harder to find than I recall, which is unfortunately very common. I render 10-bit MOVs from AE on any of my Windows machines using either AJA or BM codecs … just a matter of finding and installing them.

[David Johnson]

You should see them as options in the codec list so it’s probably just that there aren’t 10-bit codecs installed on that machine. I work on both platforms regularly so I’ve downloaded free 10-bit uncompressed codecs from BlackMagic, AJA, Avid and others I don’t recall at the moment … just search their websites. Of course you’ll have to close and reopen Ae for them to show up once you’ve installed them.

[David Johnson]

Could you share where you found it?

[David Johnson]

Thanks Craig. I use XDCAM Transfer every day, but I’m not sure I even know what ClipBrowser is … I browse and ingest my clips with XD-Cam Transfer so perhaps it’s a similar tool for EX cards.

I was referring specifically to Calibrated Software’s “XD Decode Windows” to access XD-CamHD footage on Windows machines”, which seems the one that does half of what it seems to me a third-party plugin shouldn’t be necessary for … read and write MOV wrapped XD-CamHD files on a Windows machine.

I’m simply looking for a way to work with my native XD-CamHD footage in a cross-platform environment without the extra time, expense, data loss and general hassle of transcoding.

[David Johnson]

[Zane Barker] Sure better integration of compressor into the apps is needed but there still needs to be a stand alone compressor.

I see that my “having to go to a separate app to output your work is silly” is easily interpreted as an argument against stand-alone compression tools, but as part of a case against combining all the pro apps, what I was getting at is that advanced exporting/compression is the only of the pro app functions that seems to make sense to integrate into FCP. I see no reason why the functions of Compressor available as part of FCP would necessarily have to mean those functions are not accessible without running FCP. Then again, I’m not a software coder.

[Zane Barker] “Should one have to go back to FCP every time he is asked to deliver in a different format. NO. I make it a practice to archive to hard drive the things I edit in the original codec they were edited.”

So do I and most editors, but it sure would be nice to finish an edit and have the option to directly export files for full-rez master, DVD, web, iPad, iPhone, etc., etc. all at once from inside FCP … with the control over each that Compressor allows, yet with the close integration of a batch export. Perhaps what I’m really saying is do away with batch export and replace it with Compressor-like functionality … sure, I’d like to the option to compress without opening FCP, but in today’s world, having to use a separate app to generate common deliverables seems like having to use a separate app to master to tape.

[David Johnson]

Just select all the sequences, go to Batch Export, click the Settings button in the Batch Export window and uncheck the box that says “Self Contained”.