[John Pale]

Guys…

I know he’s trying to work with a file that will be problematic….but normally FCP will happily import an H.264 video (only to give you problems editing it later…).

The error message (access denied) he’s getting seems to indicate he has a permissions issue.

Benjamin, you should definitely convert this using Compressor to a more edit friendly codec (the ones they others suggested should be fine). You will find the presets self explanatory within Compressor.

Did I read correctly that you cannot import ANY file? Where do the files you are trying to import reside?

[John Pale]

Okay….it does sound like your editors are being lazy, if you have explained to them that the need for the audio mix to be decent so that people can review the cuts without distraction…. but let me take the other side of this, just in case… ’cause I have been there….

Are you sure you are giving your editors adequate time to actually get this done? Depending on the complexity of the timeline and the quality of the sources, even getting a decent rough mix can take a bit of time to do. I have worked with enough producers who want to go to tape/dvd 2 seconds after the last edit was made, and looked at me like I was nuts when I suggested that I do a pass for audio. Though I try to mix a bit as I go, I prefer to run through the piece concentrating only on audio after the cut is more or less visually locked. If you don’t get that opportunity, some stuff might get missed, levels might be inconsistent, especially if lots of changes are getting made in a non-linear fashion.

That being said…it does sound like your editors are not doing their job…and if they need more time to make the audio right, its their responsibility to point that out.

[John Pale]

[Samah Bennett] “I don’t think there’s any way one can open a pro tools file in Final Cut Pro- am I correct?

Also can one open Pro Tools files in Soundtrack Pro?
“

No. and No.

Soundtrack Pro can open OMF an AAF exports from ProTools, which may be what they are referring to.
You would then be able to get back to FCP from there. Note that they likely have used EQ’s, filters and other functions which are unique to ProTools and their ProTools system, and won’t appear in Soundtrack.

Why can’t they bounce to AIFF from PT? Its pretty simple.

[John Pale]

I would recommend exporting a self contained Quicktime, after you re-render it. Hopefully, FCP 7 fixes these oddities.

[John Pale]

Smooth Cam analysis, at least in FCP 6.x, works on the entire piece of media…so if you use another part of the same media file elsewhere, it messes up your Smoothcam analysis. Best way around that is to export a self contained Quicktime of just the part you are using, and let Smoothcam work its magic on that…and also , for safety, you might want to make a self contained Quicktime of the finished product too.

I think I remember reading this, and much of render management, has been improved in FCP 7, but I have not upgraded yet.

[John Pale]

[Steve Eisen] “ProRes 4444, Prores Proxy and ProRes LT, no. “

I can read the new ProRes4444 on my G5 with FCS2 no problem. I downloaded the Alpha Transitions, which are in this codec and they play fine. I am wondering if the Pro Kit update, which happened around the same time as the release of FCS 3, allowed for this.

Have not tried ProRes Proxy or ProRes LT yet. If anyone wants to post test files, I would be happy to check.

Though I can play ProRes 4444, I cannot encode to it.

[John Pale]

I don’t have FCP 7, but I’d bet you need to use the auto-select buttons to make this work right.

[John Pale]

You watch movies, shot and edited @ 24fps on TV all the time. Does the pulldown change the look? (I guess it does…but it\’s a change everyone is accustom to)

Anyhoo… Why not set the HDCAM deck to add pulldown, take a look and decide for yourself. It doesn\’t seem like you have much choice. If the want 60i, then it needs to be done someplace. The deck\’s probably the easiest place in the workflow to do it.

[John Pale]

No. Its not normal. Sounds like there may be something unusual about your source material.

Is it a mix of file types, sample rates and bit depth? Is it some newfangled 21st centruy format? Remember OMF is an OLD format (has not been updated for many years) and does not deal with that well. Everything gets converted to one type during the embedding process, and that may be tripping things up with you for some reason.

You might want to try sending your timeline (not OMF) to Soundtrack Pro and then exporting an AAF from there. AAF has basically replaced OMF as the standard on modern ProTools systems. Avid actually created OMF in the 90’s and has now moved away from it. AAF is the default for audio export on Avid systems now (though you can still do OMF on SD shows)

[John Pale]

Turn off real time scopes, if you have them turned on.