[Graeme Duane]

I’ve been tearing my hair out with a single HDV shot that I export to any “Quicktime conversion” format in FCP that becomes very out of sync in the compressed file.

I’ve trashed prefs, reshot,recaptured, tried numerous different export codecs (h264, Streambox, even back to HDV) and it still happens.

Camera is a V1 (PAL), FCP versions 5 and 6, two different machines, and the weirdest thing is that if I use Quicktime itself to export, the sound & video is in sync.

Infuriating.

f900/HVX

[Graeme Duane]

I compress and ftp either H264 or Streambox HD clips every day, we use Final Cut, export through Quicktime and it works well. We’ve pretty much fixed on a 6mbs compression, but you need to take a nice detailed section of a clip, set in and out points and export this using different bitrates.

When you’re happy, do the whole lot. H264 compression takes a long time…

[Graeme Duane]

I guess you’re shooting 30p? So what ever your interval is, multiply thatr by 30 to get the shooting time for 1 second of playout.

Last time I did this I had the following settings for a Canon 10D (ballpark):
Crank the ASA right up to 1600
Open the iris
Set the exposure time on the computer/remote to about 1 min.
Set the interval time on the computer/remote to as short as you can get it, maybe 5 to 10 secs.

You’ll have to play with this, and it depends on how much ambient light there is and how bright the actual sky is. I got pretty cool results with no moon in a dark sky with stars vortexing over a bank of pitch black pine trees.

I’ve also had insane results doing city lapses at night.

The surprising thing is that the resolution fits nicely!

[Graeme Duane]

Sounds like you need to do a time exposure time lapse with a stills camera at full res, and render this out at the whatever post format you’re using. I use an old Canon 10D and have pretty good results with star lapses.

[Graeme Duane]

Hi Jan
Thanks for the reply, you’re right about the missing codecs, Apples fault, sorry.

What I have done is set the camera to 25pn, and adjust the framerates as and when I need to. As you say, this then goes into FCP at the adjusted speed. I hope I’m not compromising quality here as I don’t have a full understanding of the new Native thing. As far as I can see it works. Maybe you could put my fears at rest?

Other than these hesitations the camera and my system is working well after a mornings fiddling, so I don’t think thats half bad.

[Graeme Duane]

Just upgraded to 5.1.4, can’t see an easy setup for 720/25p.

I can go and customise settings so the FCP works, there is a sequence preset for 720/25P, but no easy one from the word go. The frame rate converter that Panasonic has for download doesn’t work for PAL speeds either, so I’m starting to think that this is whole thing is a load of crud. Come on Panasonic, it isn’t as if this camera was released yesterday…

[Graeme Duane]

HMMM, am I to understand that I cannot utilize the high speed function of the HVX200e if I shoot 50p and want to playout at 25? Maybe someone can tell me why the E model is the same price as the U, if there is no support to do this?

If I’d known I would have ordered a U model from the states.

[Graeme Duane]

OK, thanks, that’ll be the easiest.

I hope the Frame rate converter that Panasonic has for download will work with 50p..? Thats the next challenge.

[Graeme Duane]

Yes, in the past the American crews I’ve worked with have had more hassles getting back into the States with gear than countries in Africa (with the exception of Kenya). I did a shoot in Uganda last year and there was no problem for 13 flight cases including 2 high end HD cameras. We did have to get permits to shoot in National Parks, but that was it. I think you need to check on media permits for the country you’re going to. We got screwed in Egypt, and as I said above the Kenyans at Kenyatta will work you over brutally in a really polite way.

Most of the time in East Africa, if your gear is below a certain value, they let you go, on one occasion we payed $6000.00 temporary import permit in Nairobi, they tell you its not refundable though, but it is.

If I have a smaller camera I take everything to pieces and pack them apart.

[Graeme Duane]

Hey Alan
I have an old EOS 10D, and I shoot good timelapse with this unit. The trick is an add on that Canon sells for most of the EOS’s, tho not the cheaper plastic ones like the Rebel.

The accessory is the “Timer remote controller”, part no: TC-80N3. With this you can do all sorts of things, and in a nutshell for your purposes, you could set it to take a frame every 5 seconds over a specified length of time or frames. It can do a frame a second if required. I also use it for time exposure lapses like stars and such.

The only disadvantage is that you have to lock the iris, it doesn’t look good with auto, as the stops are incremental, not sliding as on a Varicam for example.

If you want more info, drop me a mail, graeme@digistream.co.za.