Don Greening
Forum Replies Created
-
[Chris Babbitt] “Sorry for the trouble. “
What trouble? Every time I open the user manual I always learn something, so it’s all good.
Chris, I was trying to figure out if one could assign the shot name status to an assignable button and have have it display during record mode but it’s not one of the assignable functions. You can mark clips while in record mode with 2 different markers but that’s not what you want. So far I haven’t found a workaround for you.
– Don
-
[Chris Babbitt] “Is it possible to display the clip number on the status display while shooting? “
More research is required. I’ll get back to you on this.
[Chris Babbitt] “Also, is there a way to send the status info to a field monitor along with the image?”
Yes. To display the menus and status information on a connected monitor go to the Video Set menu and turn on: “YPbPr/SDI Out Display”.
– Don
-
Hi Mark,
The use of the PDW-U1 to transfer EX files requires a firmware update for the device which, as far as I know, hasn’t been released by Sony yet. There’s even a rumor elsewhere on this forum that the update won’t occur until October of this year. Hope that rumor proves to be false.
The PDW-U1 firmware update will allow the user to copy and archive virtually any media or text file, including P2 media, to the device as well, which is a huge plus when you’re trying to archive an entire project.
You can also use the COW’s search function to read all recent posts concerning the PDW-U1.
Stay tuned.
– Don
-
You can stay right here if you want and David will give you a good answer. I think he just went to the bathroom for a few minutes 🙂
He’ll probably tell you how to convert everything to Apple’s Pro Rez codec but I don’t want to put words in his mouth. Oops. Too late.
– Don
-
[Lawrence Robbin] “Is this right…
I need to decide upfront if the final product is SD or HD before I import clips… If SD, use the Clip browser to transcode HD to SD. After transcoding clips, import them into the project and work on it. “Not necessarily. You can always edit in HD and export an SD version once the edit is complete. With FCP there’s always 3 or 4 different ways to accomplish the same task depending on how you like to work. Now for the first time it’s possible to use the Sony Clip Browser software to transcode from HD to SD before you even start FCP. Up until now everyone has been using FCP/Compressor to do these down converts. If you choose to use the Clip Browser for this make sure the quality is on par with FCP’s conversion quality.
[Lawrence Robbin] “Also, it looks like I need to figure out project settings (for the particular kind of HD quality I’ve shot) “
With FCP 6 as long as you have any sort of empty timeline to begin with all you have to do is drag your 1080p 24 clip into it and FCP will ask if you want to change the sequence settings to match the clip settings. Just say yes and FCP will properly format the timeline to match.
[Lawrence Robbin] “When I imported video from EX1 using the XDCAM transfer tool into a test project and placed the shots on a timeline to view the quality of the HD imagery, playback was ‘iffy.’ A bit jerky, jaggy edges. “
It could be that your 24p clip was being displayed in an interlaced timeline. Check this out by going to the Browser and making sure the field order for the actual timeline is set to “none” in the field dominance column. You can right or control-click in the text field to change it if the field order is set to something else.
– Don
-
Sony’s transfer tool is what you use to get the files from the solid state cards and into an editable format within FCP. You can use the Transfer app by itself or it will automatically start within FCP when you go to the file menu and choose: Import XDCAM.
The Clip Browser is basically a copy tool or, with the newest version, a way to transcode from HD to SD before it gets to your NLE. The Clip Browser is also used to split up XDCAM files so you can burn archival media such as dual layer DVDs or Blu-Ray discs. You don’t need the Clip Browser to edit XDCAM files in FCP but you do need the Transfer app.
– Don
-
Hey Raf! Good to see you back. I was beginning the think you’d fallen out of one of those helicopters you’ve been shooting from. I’m pretty sure you’ve been missed in the FCP forum as well. I hope you had a great vacation and are ready to get back to work!
Best,
– Don
-
“however I’m planning on buying a 4K projector and would like my video to play at that quality] “
You actually mean “play at that format” and not “play at that quality”, right?
Welcome to Creative COW, Aliya.
So, you need to up-convert your cell phone and Macbook Pro camera movies to HD. You’re actually doing it right by creating an HD timeline first and then dragging the standard def stuff in afterwards. Once your edit is complete it’s just a simple matter of rendering the timeline and you’ll be ready to export a completed movie of your project. Your SD clips will be converted to HD during the rendering process. Make sure your HD stuff is displaying at the correct field order if it’s interlaced material and that the standard def stuff is also displaying properly at the correct field order. Most of the time FCP recognizes the different formats and displays everything correctly but just check to make sure. You can do this by going to the Browser window and checking the field order for each of your clips in the Field Dominance column. Clips that display the incorrect field order look awful.
“What i want to know is, is there a way that i can actually upgrade the quality of the videos to HD, as in “convert” all my videos to HD quality [or to the highest possible quality like 2K] before even beginning to edit in FCP? “
The short answer is no. It’s generally accepted that you can never improve on the original source material, otherwise video people would all be running around with video cell phones and upconverting with software afterwards. Sure would save on equipment costs, but alas……
Taking a small frame size like standard definition and spreading it out over a much larger frame size only adds to the poor quality issue. But you have to work with what you’ve got, so highlight a piece of your SD footage in the timeline and render it, which will create a new HD file. The rendered file may look a little better.
Sorry for sounding like such a big fat pessimist here but the expression “garbage in garbage out” still applies.
– Don
-
[Chris Holland] “Do you have any idea why the de-interlacer filter worked on the sd material and not the hd?”
Maybe because the field order wasn’t set correctly? DV is lower field first and HDV is upper first. Might be worth checking.
– Don
-
[tony ladesich] “So is it true that if I capture in a different way that I will get better results? “
The test here is to hook your A1 up to a decent TV and compare the quality to what you’ve already captured. If it’s the same, well………
The HDV compression scheme came into existence to allow users to get into HD without much difference in hardware cost compared Mini DV. HDV was also designed right out of the gate to enable easy firewire capture, so if everything is set up correctly you won’t see a quality difference between a firewire capture and any other way. I’m sure you already know from your years in this business that you can never get a better picture than what’s already on the tape.
So, my question to you is what does the source footage look like compared to the captured footage? Once that’s determined perhaps we can move forward with more recommendations.
[tony ladesich] “Now the real question� can I edit the film using the existing captures as an off-line and then Batch Capture only the clips I am using in the film for my final online (including color correction). “
Yes. Once the rough edit is complete you can make the media in the FCP sequence timeline offline and just re-capture what you need. This is a pretty basic answer I’ve given you but, in essence, what you’re asking for can be done.
– Don