[Enzo Tedeschi]

Paolo,

A lot of Avid editors feel the way you do when first making the switch. Don’t stress, it’s just a matter of learning to think a little differently. 🙂

Unlike the Avid, FCP will let you have multiple sequences in various different formats within the one project. That includes anamorphic settings.

When you start a new project use the easy setup to get started. If you have a 4×3 setup in your preferences, each new sequence you create will be 4×3. If you change that sequence — AFTER you’ve created it – to anamorphic, then it will be 16×9, but any new sequence will still default to 4×3. Make sense?

This may or may not be what has happened – but it may help.

Check this by looking at the sequence’s “Anamorphic” tick box in your browser. Ticked will display as 16×9, unticked is 4×3. You can change that right in the browser.

Be aware that if you drop, say anamorphic clips into a 4×3 sequence, FCP will automatically arc it and add the letterboxing. If you change the clip’s anamorphic flag AFTER you’ve dropped it into a sequence, it will not change the clip as it appears in the sequence, and you will need to fiddle with the actual cut to get it right…

Hope this has been helpful – and keep up the books. Believe it or not it’ll help!

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost PPS Video Podcast launching in October

[Enzo Tedeschi]

Make sure you’re using a blacked tape, and try Edit to Tape. Do you get an external video signal through firewire any other time?

But if my JVC deck is anything to go by, you’re going to have problems:

https://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_page_wrapper.cgi?forumid=1&page=https://www.creativecow.net/articles/harvey_jim/jvc_3000_rev/index.html

I have had no end of problems with every JVC product I have bought in the last 2 years. I don’t wanna be negative, but I gave up on trying to get my deck to talk tc via firewire with FCP a while ago.

On a good day I am happy if I manually press record and play on FCP and it works.

I hope that someone else here at the COW can shed some light on the subject, as it will spare you a helluva lot of headache (might even make me feel better about JVC!)

Good Luck!

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost PPS Video Podcast launching in October

[Enzo Tedeschi]

Not specifically a Soundtrack thing, but I know when our audio post guys do multiple segments, they like to have them on the same timeline for convenience.

If they are mixing and sweetening, say, a cooking show, it’s easier for them to jump back and forth across segments on the same timeline if they need to steal some atmos sound to fill a gap somewhere else, rather than having to have multiple projects open (if your software lets you do that), or have to jump between projects all the time.

In terms of Soundtrack, I doubt you’ll have problems doing it either way.

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost PPS Video Podcast launching in October

[Enzo Tedeschi]

I think you’ll find that any version after 4.5 gets called “FCP HD”. Check the version numbers for a clearer indication. Having said that, the differences are usually workable – I know someone who learnt FCP 4.5 from a book on version 3!

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost PPS Video Podcast launching in October

[Enzo Tedeschi]

As a tip, this will also work for anything else that you can do in the timeline – transitions, titles, filters etc. If you drag them from the timeilne (or the viewer) into the Browser, FCP saves a copy with all the tweaks you added for re-use.

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost Video Podcast coming soon

[Enzo Tedeschi]

If you do happpen to capture “untitled” clips, you can go into your capture scratch and rename them at a file level. This will mean having to re-import or reconnect your clips once your back in FCP.

This ain’t a great idea though – Tom’s advice is sound: Name it before you capture it.

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost Video Podcast coming soon

[Enzo Tedeschi]

Kubelik, it’s a tricky call to make without seeing the frame, but you might be able to get away with a soft-edge matte at a very low-transparency over the hot-spot? It’ll be easier to sell if the hot-spt is over a darkish area, rather than, say a white-wall…

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost Video Podcast coming soon

[Enzo Tedeschi]

Thanks, Kathlyn. Been a pleasure – catch you on the FCP forum ;o)

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost Video Podcast coming soon

[Enzo Tedeschi]

What Matte says is very very true. DVD Studio Pro I have found to be a fairly reliable method, but even so, I have had discs go out to clients after having been tested on 4 different machines in the office – and they still can’t get them to play.

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost Video Podcast coming soon

[Enzo Tedeschi]

It depends on what it is you are trying to achieve – please be clearer in your question.

Is it easier to use a DVD recorder than to encode a DVD with your Mac? Certainly quicker, but you won’t have as much flexibility in the authoring (menus, etc).

Enzo Tedeschi
____________________________
Editor
http://www.outpostpps.com
Sydney, Australia

Check out our latest music video – http://www.outpostpps.com/thebleed/

Look out for the Outpost Video Podcast coming soon