Jeff Carpenter
1
COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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Well, first, for next time just work in HD no matter what the client wants. When you’re done you can always export an SD or an HD version from that sequence. This way, as you’ve found, you’re stuck with SD.
But that doesn’t help you with this problem. For this, I would usually suggest a cut/paste action, but you’ve already tried that. Explain what “messed up” means when you’re talking about the footage. Maybe we can figure out what’s happening there.
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https://www.roscorrentals.com/equipment_specifications/Sony%20DSR-2000.pdf
Go down to page 5. Your deck doesn’t look like that one? What’s in the upper-right corner of yours? A blank spot?
I’m just curious because I’ve never heard of a DV or DVCAM deck without firewire.
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There are literally dozens of ways to answer this question, but based on those two factors (not HD and low-light) I would suggest the Sony PD-170 as an excellent choice.
I only stopped using my 170 because I DID want to go to HD. There are complications with that and, yes, it’s not in very high demand yet. The 170 should still be useful for weddings for years to come.
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Go up to the Sequence menu, select the “Render Only” section and choose “Mixdown.”
See if that helps. It isn’t always needed, but it should be a step before any printing-to-tape is tried as it can often eliminate problems like this before they appear.
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You have to apply a video compression (which you’ve done) and an audio compression (which is sounds like you haven’t done).
Go into any of the DVD pre-sets in Compressor and use the Dolby compression. It will create an audio file. You then use the MPEG II file and the Dolby Audio file in DVD Studio Pro.
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Right click the sequence itself in the bin and look at its settings.
I’ve found that I often have to set the sequence’s field dominance to “none” AND pick the de-interlace option in the quicktime export.
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Your plan is solid. Rather than a VGA switch, however, I’d suggest a splitter:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/503968-REG/Analog_Way_DVS_DVS_Dual_VGA_Splitter.html
It will always send the VGA signal both places. Just turn on the Dell or the projector. No other switching needed. (I like eliminating steps from processes.)
You WILL, however, have to sometimes switch the iMac’s output. You may sometimes want mirror mode (showing websites to people on your projector while you sit at the computer) but maybe sometimes you’ll want the span mode (playing a DVD on the projector while using the computer at the same time or using a dual-monitor computer setup on the Dell).
I suggest turning on the display preference that puts the display controls in the menu bar. (Up by the clock). That should make that switching a little faster to get to.
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Go into Final Cut’s ‘System Settings’ menu and set the scratch disk to your external drive. Continue to save Final Cut projects to the internal drive. Either in your ‘Documents’ folder or anywhere else you like.
With only 1 external drive, that’s about all there is to it!
When you want to erase projects, go into the external drive and find the ‘Capture Scratch’ and ‘Render Files’ folder. Each will contain a folder with your project’s name. Just throw them away. (Keep the Final Cut projects forever.)
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Why don’t you leave the Dell Monitor next to the iMac? Leave the TV on it full-screen instead of using picture-in-picture. The monitor should work without a computer attached to it, right?
Is there not enough room on the desk?
The problem with your current idea is that any video conversion hardware I know of is designed to capture the video into an editing program rather than to watch it live. The one big exception, of course, are the eyeTV products which are designed to be TV tuners, not component video inputs (as you noticed).
If you have the space I’d say that keeping the old monitor is the best solution.
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Wedding forums like TheKnot.com and WeddingWire.com are super-useful. (Your mileage may vary, different ones are popular in different cities.)
Now, as a vendor you can’t post in these forums, but they can still be helpful. You pay to advertise in their ad sections, which is mildly useful. You’ll get a few calls from that. No big deal…don’t expect too much from it.
But the real fun starts once you delight these customers. Because they’re already into the whole message-board system they’re the types that will share their experiences with hundreds of other people.
The only “selling” you have to do is to simply make them very happy. They’ll write about everything that happened on their wedding day, and good stories from real people are worth more than any ad you can buy anywhere.
I don’t even monitor what they say online. I don’t really care to know. All I know is that many of my clients say they first saw me on sites like this, and they’re usually not talking about my ad.