[Gary Milligan]

Have you experimented with iPhoto? You can build slide shows there and export as a QuickTime.

HTH

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Darius Cornean] “I try to capture video files in Adobe CS 4.”

Just to be sure, are you using Premiere Pro to capture your files?

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[cynthia madansky] “Right now everything is in 9 separate parts self contained QT
I will bring them into DVD studio pro as one sequence
for compression and output.”

You will getter much better results if you bring your self-contained movies from FCP into Compressor for encoding and use the preset recommended by Shane. Don’t use DVDSP for encoding. Why is the movie in 9 separate parts? As Chris suggests, “If you want all clips to play as one, you’d make it easier outputting one long QT file. Drop it into compressor to create your DVD files.” In Compressor, make sure you encode your audio as well. You’ll end up with two files to bring into DVDSP – one .m2v (video) and one .ac3 (audio).

[cynthia madansky] “How long will it take to compress and output this dvd?
Is the compression and output in real time?
What kind of visual loss will I experience in the output?”

As Shane says, it depends on your machine, etc. – certainly not real time. As for visual loss, if you’re coming from a HD timeline, Compressor will also have to scale the movie (DVDs are SD) so you definitely will see some image loss – and it also adds to the time needed to do the job.

When you do the authoring in DVDSP make sure you don’t make a HD-DVD… that function is there, but it shouldn’t be.

HTH

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Christopher Targia] “So I received some footage from China, shot on XDCAM, 1080HD 30fps, and I’m getting extreme amounts of flickering, is there an easy way to fix this? A good filter or something? Re-shooting is not an option.”

Maybe this Boris FX filter will help.

https://www.borisfx.com/videos/BCCAE/Flicker-Fixer.php

HTH

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Noam Osband] “What is EOL?”

EOL = End Of the Line = no longer produced or supported = FCP 7

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

If you have access to one on a rental basis, I suggest you go that route and put it through your typical workflow. As the saying goes. “The proof of the pudding is in the tasting.” What are you using now?

Just my 2 cents…

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Arielle Tayar] “Please tell me that my purchase was not made in sheer stupidity and that attaining this program (for free) is possible.”

Installing and using Final Cut Pro 7 on your laptop should be no problem, but where did you get the idea that it is free? Final Cut Suite is no longer being made or supported by Apple. AFAIK the only way to get a copy from Apple (until they run out of stock) is though a telephone order… for about $1000.00. You may be able to find it on e-Bay, but it will probably still cost a pretty penny or two. If you do find someone selling a copy for cheap, chances are it’s not legal.

Have a look at Media 100.
https://www.media100.com/
I’ve been using it since 1995 as my main tool for editing. It’s been around for a long time, very easy to learn, stable, and continues to be developed and supported by Boris FX. Download the fully functional 14-day free trial and give it a go… it may just be what you want/need.

HTH

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you’re a happy camper!

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Eric Pensenstadler] “Gary, great idea about the hand warmers on the back of the LCD screen. I will do that.”

It should also help if you can fashion a cover of some kind for the back side of the LCD screen to help hold in the heat from the hand warmer. Tin foil is easily molded but you’ll probably have to use a bit of tape or a couple of elastic bands to hold it in place, and it won’t allow you to fold the screen completely back into its transport position. Don’t forget, it takes a while for the hand warmers to generate their full heat. Also try to avoid exhaling too much directly towards the camera as you breathe

Quite honestly though, if it were me in those conditions, I’d probably not worry about going to all these lengths. Temperature wise, low to mid 30’s Fahrenheit is (to me) not really cold weather shooting… but yes, it’s all relative. 2 x 5 minute shoots with an hour in between – I would just leave the camera powered on, put it back into the camera bag, and leave it in the unheated area in the barn. I’m not suggesting that’s what you SHOULD do… that’s what I would PROBABLY do – but there may be other factors in the equation that I’m not considering. As John suggested, do a trial run beforehand if you can.

Have a good shoot. Let us know how it goes for you.

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw

[Gary Milligan]

[Eric Pensenstadler] “My main question is this: the actual video shoot is only 5 minutes, 2 times during the night, with about 1 hour in between. Would I be better off to leave the cameras outside the entire time, or bring them indoors inbetween shoots?”

The very best way to deal with this is to seal your camera in a plastic garbage bag BEFORE you bring it indoors. That way, any condensation will form on the outside of the bag, not on the camera. Just make sure you don’t even peek just a little to see if there’s any condensation. Seeing that you have only an hour in between shots, if you have more than one battery (and you should), leave the camera powered on while it’s in the bag – any heat generated by the camera will help a bit as well. Once you get back outside you can change the battery. If you really want to take no chances, you can also put the camera (in the bag) in the trunk of a car or some other unheated, secure space.

I live in northern Canada and have been a video professional here for 33 years… so far. Cold weather shooting is a regular part of the game. Last Sunday I was out with my NX5 at -20C (-4F) for about 40 minutes. The biggest problem is the LCD screens – they “slow down” (for lack of a better term) making it difficult to focus. It helps a bit to put one of those chemical, air-activated hand or foot warmers on the back of the screen – held in place with elastic bands unless they’re the self sticking kind.

Good luck with your shoot.

Gary

This is me – this is what I do – https://web.mac.com/garymmw