[Hector Berrebi]

hi Avi

let me see if i got you right,

you imported a tga (sequence?) with alpha.. which came in already as a matte key in the bin?

or, you imported a tga, then applied matte key on it on timeline?

when you say manipulate… how do you mean? by adding a color effect on a higher track? or by nesting it to the clip on V2?

when i do these sort of thing…

1. i import my TGA with alpha, so its a matte key in the bin
2. on the timeline, double click the TGA clip to pop up the nesting layer… if you imported with alpha, you should get two of these, a “graphic fill” and an “alpha matte” place the color effect on the graphic fill,
3. now when manipulating, you will only affect the TGA on V2

hope this helps.

hector

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

[Andrew Wilson] ”
It’s not transcoding the clips so it’s essentially the same file as rewrapping with XDCAM Transfer… so what’s wrong with L&T?”

i like it…
i use and teach both Avid and FCP, and when in avid, i really miss L&T

its well organized, supports most tapeless formats (including avchd and even mpeg2 consumer cameras), open to plugins written to it by camera companies, and allows recapturing of sequences, either to save a project, or to reconform it to a higher res.

and its a background process, so you can work while it works

check out the naming preset option… its wonderful.

also, L&T (along some other tools) is written in a different code than the rest of the system – cocoa, which is believed to be the future of FCS, the much expected re-write. so when i use it, its like a sneak peak 🙂 and a reminder, that a better newer version of final cut is on its way

on the bad side

i don’t trust L&T 100%. in a large DSLR project i’m editing (a feature) i’ve noticed very fast, that L&T can arbitrarily decide to take just a part of some clips. it happened more when i used it while editing. and forced me to compare the duration columns after every card transferred.

on large P2 projects it skipped files arbitrarily (although less than with the DSLR)

don’t remember having problems with XDCAM or RED, i still always check after it…

hector

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

no mater how i spin it… this seems messy

its one thing to edit on one system and finish on a different one, or even take over from a certain point and continue on a different system

but back and forth? sharing projects with autoduck? sharing MXF media? from different locations? why all the hassel?
did you guys loose a bet :)?

for one, note that in Avid MC5’s and DSLR’s case media must be AMA ingested, than transcoded. and a slightly different process for P2.

and that although solutions like MXF4MAC or autoduck work well, they are rather expensive, and as they change the way FCP reads files, media management can behave unexpectedly when working with this sort of plugins…

they also slow down workflows, and add crisis factors

the other way around, having FCP ingest and Avid use the files via AMA might get even more complex.

my best advice, if you really have to do this… test it for long enough, not 3 cuts, 3 days…
and have enough time to find an alternative… there’s always one

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

[Avi Maximoose] “If I understand you right I should set the Color Space on YRbCr709 in case I’m editing HDV 1080i material”

yes

you should almost always set it that way.

the only times you might need to set to RGB is when finishing material that was recorded that way (and kept that way) on your system. RED files for example. to be done properly, this will be hardware demanding.

and even then, in most cases, it would be an overkill

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

i believe this can’t be done in media composer

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

as long as (at worst case scenario) you can always re-ingest your cards, then reconnect, even manually, then this isn’t really a problem of FCP but rather a curiosity…

i mean, as strange as it might seem, it does makes some sense that using the software’s own protocol for ingesting and logging your files would work slightly better than an external tool…

i’m a fan of L&T… wish FCP would be more L&T and less fcp 🙂

even if it slows down my workflows sometimes.

its an important part of my toolbox… feels right to prefer in over other tools.

archiving and storing camera file folders for as long as you would with tapes… that’s a problem

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

Hi Marianne

what settings did you use on mpeg streamclip?
and to what did you transcode?

was the DVD encoded straight from the original materials? or were there more encodings along the way?

what was the original material shot on?

most likely you will not be able to recover the original quality or even get close (depending on how demanding you’ll be) DVD’s are very compressed

you could try capturing from a DVD deck with component out to a FCP system with proper capture card, and set the capture to prores SD

some cards (AjA) are famous for decent looking uprezing from SD to HD, probably better than you could get by software

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

gluetools is only tool for this
even if you had it, these files are very demanding, and need a fast and strong raid to play correctly.

sometimes camera houses who rent Phantom can convert the files for you

you can ask for proress 422 HQ or 4X4, depending on your client’s needs and where it is going.

i have done it before and was pleased with the results

if you need to work with the cine raw file – you’ll have to go gluetools

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

hi

are you sure you shot 1080p?

did you try working with easy setup for HDV?

you can try setting capture to prores (there should be a capture preset)
hdv – prores 422

also, is the camera that shot the tape being used for capture?
hdv is notorious for mismatches between manufacturers that lead to many different complications…

as a last resort you could have it captured via SDI and capture card to a compatible system, then edit the files on any station

on a side note, if possible, i think hdv should be avoided… its a terrible format…

hope this helps

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting

[Hector Berrebi]

to add to that

putting aside the excessive overuse of cheap looking effects.
if you look into it, you will notice most shots with effects are static, or have limited, timed, camera movements, this allows for much easier work in post and much less camera tracking is required, also reduces amount of rotoscoping, and overall compositing work. this came from some practice in shooting for effects, which is a major part in pulling them out properly.

there was some 3D involved, maybe Maya, also definitely Andrew Kramer’s Action Essential pack.

this could be done on Motion, though will require quite some skill, and a 3D software. AE is probably more commonly used for these type of things

and it did not cost 300$… unless countless hours of post work are not worth anything… as well as crew and talents (even questionable ones)

i guess the hardest skill to master would be good taste, and good writing and directing skills.

though the idea in its core isn’t that bad…

Hector Berrebi
Schibber Group
prePost Consulting