[Grant Peacock]

Thanks Michael. In a project like this, I am supplying video for a future edit. I don’t know who will be previewing the clips, or when. As such, I just need to deliver in the most generally acceptable format.

It sounds like this may not even be possible without asking a series of questions of the new client. With your guidance, and assuming that they are in a PC-dominated environment, I can see that it is going to be necessary to do a reformat and 2nd full transfer.

Beyond the PC- compatible formatting issue, one other thing to ask – is there a generalized, natively PC-compatible playback format, as QT is to Mac? Or are PC users all over the place, not having a single built in playback platform?

Thanks again. – Grant.

Grant Peacock
Grant Peacock Images
Washington DC
http://www.gpi.tv

[Grant Peacock]

I’ve run into the ‘upgrade wall’ with this software. Dan Montgomery tells me there’s nothing available for people hanging onto OS 10.7.5 (which I am, along with Final Cut Pro 7).

Back to the software that I have – is it possible to tweak settings to optimize (speed) the export out of Final Cut Pro? Or is it going to be dead slow no matter how you try it? The end goal is just a moderate quality (preview suitable) burn dub of the shoot – I’m not wedded to any particular means of getting there.

One of the things that did look very interesting about Proxymill was the ability to manage multiple streams of processing in batch form – eg : ingest from P2 cards, and then immediately begin MPEG-4 outputs as the files become available. But if it ends up costing me the transition to Final Cut X, the answer is no. I have no energy left for starting the learning curve again. I’m going to ride this horse until it quits.

Grant.

Grant Peacock
Grant Peacock Images
Washington DC
http://www.gpi.tv

[Grant Peacock]

Thanks again Shane for the input.

This sounds extremely efficient – just one thing – a typical client is going to be doing previews via computer, hence will need a time code reference keyed in on image. That would not be possible with the system you are recommending, would it?

Grant.

Grant Peacock
Grant Peacock Images
Washington DC
http://www.gpi.tv

[Grant Peacock]

Thanks Steve. I will try running some tests on this procedure today. If I understand, your recommended workflow would be to :

1. Use Finder to clone each card (‘NO NAME’) to an external drive (LaCie rugged, connected to MacBook Pro, in this case), and then
2. Open FCP7’s Log and Transfer to accomplish conversion to .mov

I notice that most of the recommended (and ideal) workflows described on the forums have to be adapted to the realities of fast package editing in the field. There is no time available, or need, to do backups – the goal here is to quickly turn a package of less than 2 mins final length out of up to 60 mins (say) source material, and then it’s out the door. Speed and simplicity are the keys here. (the P2 cards just sit with camera originals, to be scrubbed on another day – so there’s my fail-safe).

Once the edited package has hit the client’s server, it’s straight onto the next story. Rarely if ever have I been asked for any of the additional footage after the story is done.

On the importing from P2 cards to hard drive – I wonder if a good hybrid strategy here is to do just THIS transfer onto the MB Pro’s internal hard drive – probably the fastest available bus – then during Log and Transfer, move the transcoded (re-wrapped files) out to an external drive, a safe location for the process- intensive editing that takes place.

If any of this has ever been evaluated, I have not seen it. The problem I may run into is that this additional step (initial cloning of the cards) will itself take too much time.

Grant.

Grant Peacock
Grant Peacock Images
Washington DC
http://www.gpi.tv

[Grant Peacock]

Chris, the shoot is taking place on the HPX-500 (P2) and then transferred to a 1TB drive, using Log and Transfer in FCP7. The drive is connected via FW800.

[Grant Peacock]

Ah, thanks Steve. I should have guessed, based on my accumulated P2/Panasonic experience. I started with the 500, added the 2000 a few years later, and yes, ‘different cameras’ is right – You can’t even take the terms used in one menu setting, and reliably match them to the corresponding settings in the other camera.

Multi-cam match up issues for me is usually going to mean interviews. With this in mind, I’m guessing that the best empirical method for arriving at settings is to get a pleasing look (well lit face) on one camera, then bring the other camera to it.

Much appreciated, Steve – thanks for the good guidance

Grant.

[Grant Peacock]

Thanks Shane,

I’ve learned quite a bit about the AJA Control Panel since I wrote this post. Finding it super convenient to just keep flipping between my now-saved presets.

It’s amusing seeing what I was putting up with in 2009 – in one 60 min burst of network live and as-live interviews, I could be flipping back and forth in my BVW-D600WS between 4:3 and 16:9, over and over again. I’m willing to bet that somewhere along the way, my shot went to air with the wrong aspect ratio. It must have happened once!

(One of my best tips for anyone new to AJA IO HD is that it should be ‘on first – off last’. As soon as I started doing that, everything has behaved well*.) I am getting to used to shutting down the Mac multiple times per day, in order to stay on spec with this operating rule.

On the aspect ratio conversion – there’s a technique that is popular with some – replicating generic portions of the 4:3 background, blurring, then doubling it up into the newly created void when the 4:3 image is introduced without scaling to the 16:9 view. Personally, I find the result weird and distracting. I would not use it. If you’ve seen it, you might also find that the most objectionable part is the hard vertical edge between the 2 zones.

One other method that looked promising – I found a well laid-out tutorial in YouTube – I’m including the link, because I think it is worth consideration if you are a PhotoShop user :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wppFNWvCB24&feature=g-vrec

The core of this method is a controlled set of spherical distortions of portions of the image, oriented vertically and horizontally. Lance Campeau courageously chose ‘worst case’ footage – a freight train tracking through the test shot.

If an equivalent method could be developed for Final Cut, and it may well be possible – this would be a great choice. My prime 4:3 footage that I would wish to ‘modernize’ is interviews – nearly always the same talking head framing. A much less challenging conversion, I think, due to the lack of motion around the edges of the frame, and the relatively static content of the entire image.

(I am finding that b-roll is generally passing right through from 4:3 to 16:9 with an acceptable look, keeping that part of the transfer process simple).

The upconvert opportunity presented by the AJA io HD is amazing. Using component level video, camera original (or 2nd generation), you’ve got something very nice to work with. There must be some ‘heavy math’ at work inside the box, as it constructs a 1080i signal out of SD BetaSP! I’ve passed along my congrats to the team at AJA.

Grant.

* I was getting ‘hardware missing’ errors before adopting this practice. I have not seen one since.

[Grant Peacock]

Steve and Chris,

Thanks both. The primary device here is the HPG-20 (which was also used to record this clip). Later, I simply tried the HPX-500 as an alternative, not really expecting that it could work with AVC Intra (and probably proved that it doesn’t).

I feel that there is something I am missing in regard to the spanned clips issue, but nothing I have found online nor in manuals is helping. P2 is not easy to work with in situations like this (elusive solutions).

Thanks again for your input.

Grant.

[Grant Peacock]

Thanks Chris.

You are right – I AM seeing the spanned clips effect. After repeated efforts at ingesting, I’m now getting file versions with appended file names.

Is it best, in a case like this, to perhaps purge everything off the drive and attempt to ingest again?

Your approach – focusing on the spanned clips issue, would perhaps also explain the ‘?’ status in the thumbnail view in the camera, which I also tried using as a playback/transfer device (but being an HPX-500, I also figured it may be precluded from playing back anything in AVC-Intra).

Grant.

[Grant Peacock]

Thanks Steve. If I were to seek out a camera-attached drive-based solution for ongoing storage and playback, are there any devices out there that will accomplish this?

I’ve seen others using FireStore, but not with P2. I’ve been warned that since FireWire is not a locking connector, there are some inherent risks with this approach. I would most likely aim to shoot onto cards as backup, but have the drive-based device be the hand-off for the client, as they head for their bureau.

They really need something with an HD-SDI output so that they can simply treat this like an in-line VTR – ie : hook up via BNC and begin playback. Is this going to be possible in the world of P2 cameras? It’s important to leave computers out of this and make it a standalone device. I may be seeking something that doesn’t exist.

Grant.