[Jeff Meyer]

I’ve got a client that sends .mts files regularly without the entire card structure so it won’t Log & Transfer. They’re shooting some sort of AVCHD, not sure what brand of camera even. I tried going the Toast route, but it resulted in sound sync issues (7 frames if you already have that footage Toast converted) which became annoying rather quickly. I tried dropping the .mts files into Premiere CS5.5 and it didn’t even think twice, it just worked. I’m on a 12 core box pulling from a RAID-5 array, your mileage may vary. If you use After Effects you might already have Premiere on hand – if you do give it a try.

[Jeff Meyer]

In your sequence settings select a square pixel aspect ratio and make sure the Anamorphic 16×9 box is not checked.

In addition Final Cut doesn’t happily accept .AVI files. If you’re going to be doing a lot with this footage consider using Compressor to transcode your video to Apple ProRes422 in a Quicktime container before editing. ProRes accepts all frame sizes, frame rates, and pixel aspect ratios, so this nonstandard frame size won’t be a problem. Just drop on the preset in the Settings box under Apple -> Formats -> Quicktime -> ProRes422, pick a destination from the Destinations tab and submit your job.

[Jeff Meyer]

It’s more typical to do audio at the end, but if you need to apply the same NR to one clip then doing that up front works fine.

So noise reduction, then cuts, then take one clip and make your keying, cropping, and scaling effects. Copy that clip like you typically would. Select all of your other clips, hold Option and press V to paste attributes. Check the boxes you want to paste – probably Basic Motion and Filters. Now drop your bottom layer underneath the keyed video. If you have a few different scaling effects you want using different layers could be helpful. Ex.
Layer 6 – close up
Layer 5 – close up bg
Layer 4 – medium close up
Layer 3 – medium close up bg
Layer 2 – medium shot
Layer 1 – medium shot bg
Then you can use the tool on shortcut key “T” to select everything to the right for that particular layer and paste attributes to those clips.

I tend to avoid nesting sequences where possible.

Hope this is helpful.

[Jeff Meyer]

Best advice I’ve got for is avoid XDCAM HD422. It isn’t that it’s a bad codec – it’s just not the most FCP friendly option you’ve got. I’ve got cameras that shoot native XDCAM HD422 and deliver to the network in HDCAM HD422, but I still transcode to ProRes for editing. You pay a bit more in disc space, but the smoother workflow makes it very worthwhile.

Since you’ve started editing I think the best thing to do is transcode everything to ProRes422 (not LT or HQ) then reconnect to the transcoded media and change your sequence compressor to ProRes422. You can set your Compressor preferences to default to ProRes422 (Formats -> Quicktime -> ProRes422 based on source frame size and rate) and a default destination. Drop your entire media folder into Compressor and have it kick out a ProRes version of everything, then move all of your source media to another folder so you have to reconnect in FCP. Reconnect to the transcoded media and change your sequence compressor.

In the future consider using Canon’s Log and Transfer utility for bringing in DSLR footage.

[Jeff Meyer]

Was in a similar position not too long ago. Opted for Canon XF series for a few reasons:

1) 50mbps 4:2:2 recording. The EX stops at 35mbps 4:2:0 unless you buy an external recorder.
2) CF cards are more affordable and accessible than SxS cards. If you need five cards you’re looking at a $4,500 savings for similar capacity, and a bonus is if you’re shooting stills CF cards work in those cameras too. Don’t try having a single card do double-duty.
3) It makes the BBC’s list of “Cameras Approved for HD Programmes” which isn’t exactly a long list. The EX cameras make that list, but you need to add an external recorder which boosts your total cost of ownership.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/production/delivery/hd-production-delivery.shtml
4) It’s Canon. We’re familiar with Canon video cameras.
5) The LCD opens on both sides. If you’re doing interviews this means you can finally be on the right side of the camera and see the shot.

Downside:
1) XF cameras are fairly new. This is good as it’s new tech, but bad as compatibility and build quality are a bit unknown. They seem well built for the record.
2) I can confirm they work with CS5.5 and FCP7, but I’m not sure how universal they are. They shoot in XDCAM HD422, so they should be widely accepted, but being new it’s hard to say.
3) The XF30x don’t really seem to be able to snap-zoom. There’s a ring/rocker switch to toggle between them, but it seems the motor is still driving the zoom mechanism. There are hard stops on the zoom ring and it’s responsive, but there isn’t a clutch giving you a direct linkage. There is a clutch to give you a direct linkage to the focus mechanism on the XF30x.
4) I found the EX1R to feel like a bit more serious camera to use than the XF300 and 305.

Personally I’d say it’s a tossup between them. If you need snap-zooms the Canon isn’t the way to go. If you need a lot of media cards the Sony’s cost of ownership jumps pretty quickly. If you aren’t going to get an external recorder the XF300 gets more detail. If you’re going to be shooting in the dark the EX1R or EX3’s larger sensor and 4:2:0 color space will produce less visible noise.

If you’re able to get your hands on either camera (rental, loaner, etc) and play around with it the solution could become more apparent.

[Jeff Meyer]

You can edit in FCP7, then export as XML version 4, which can go back into FCP6.

XML files won’t handle your media, but you can move your project using them.

[Jeff Meyer]

Try hitting butterfly-5 to call up the Effects tab, then navigate to the 3-way corrector. Physically drag it to your clip on the timeline, then double-click on the clip. Go to the filters tab. Click on the Visual button. Scrub to the clip you applied the filter to on the timeline. Try adjusting. Any luck?

[Jeff Meyer]

Only advice I’ve got is to export the video with fewer pixels out of Final Cut. Perhaps at a non-standard frame size that’s taller than it is wide to better accommodate your deliverable.

[Jeff Meyer]

I can’t give you a clear answer – you’ll need someone with a more extensive web development experience than I can offer. That said I may be able to clear you up on a few questions you have.

First, you’ll need to make an alpha channel. The alpha channel is just like the red, green, and blue channels on images/videos, but instead of carrying colour information it carries transparency information. A chroma keyer will make an alpha channel.

Second, you’ll need to open the Sequence Settings and select a codec that accepts an alpha channel. Your options are Animation or ProRes4444. Both will need to be set to “Millions of colors+” where the + signifies the presence of an alpha channel. If you’re leaving Final Cut Studio I would say Animation, or if you’re staying inside FCS go for ProRes as Final Cut can play it back in real time. In this case you’ll have to go to an Adobe app, so go for Animation. Export your video at Current Settings.

As for rendering before exporting here’s the skinny. When you render the timeline FCP creates a file in the Render Files folder. When Final Cut is playing something with a blue render bar it plays the render file. When you export by default it simply pulls info from the render file and writes it to the movie you’re exporting so it doesn’t have to recalculate the filters applied. If there isn’t a render file FCP will have to calculate the effects. Long story short, if you are going to be exporting more than one time you can save a lot of time by rendering your timeline.

Third, this video will need to be transcoded to some sort of web format that has alpha. Your options will be Adobe Flash or Adobe Flash. If you’re feeling adventurous you might try Adobe’s Flash.

HTML5 video isn’t anywhere near primetime, and this is a perfect example. Even if you didn’t want alpha channel there are two camps, the H.264 camp (IE, Safari, iOS) and the WebM camp (Chrome, Firefox, Android). Pick H.264 or WebM H.264 video and you alienate 3 major browser groups. Pick Adobe Flash and you alienate 1 major browser group. There’s been some speculation about the possibility of adding alpha to WebM, but no results, and the workarounds to make it happen don’t sound promising. H.264 simply can not support alpha. HTML5 video – more bag of hurt than HD-DVD.

[Jeff Meyer]

Were the cameras shooting on the same frame rate?