Jonathan Ziegler
Forum Replies Created
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Huh, I’ve seen this problem with the H4, but not the H4n. I guess the problem is that the H4/H4n don’t time/date stamp or clock correctly – I’ve heard the fostex works better, but I have no experience. If you can’t get it to work in Pluraleyes which is supposed to work, you’ll have to stretch and/or clip your audio to make it work. Is your 30 min going to be continuous or will you be cutting it up? If you’re cutting it up, you can hide the sync issues with your cuts. If the sound is drifting ahead, try stretching 99.9% or 100.1% if it’s behind.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
I’ve heard that about Neoscene from my PC friends, but I’ve not tried it – I always wondered if Vegas would ever come out for Mac – my (PC) friends swear by it! I always forget QT pro – yes there are lots of things you can do in QT pro as well.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
1) Depends on what you’re shooting. If you don’t know, stick with 30P or 60i. If you’re doing an indie film or want a “film” look, go with 24P or 30P. 60i can be used for slo-mo and it works just like 30P only you record your odd and even frames separately. If it’s just for family home movies, shoot any frame rate you want. Experiment.
3) The files from the Canon DSLRs are not very good for editing due to compression (I think). Use MPEG streamclip for converting footage in a big batch from h.264 to prores or intermediate. MPS is freeware so you get what you pay for and you can’t change frame rates like you can in Compressor. The Canon FCP Log and Transfer plugin that just came out only works in Final Cut Pro (won’t work in Express AFAIK).
I bought FCE 2 yrs ago for editing a short film. I like FCE, but I realized, after taking a FCP class at the local access tv station, what I was missing. I can’t live without it now. Consider returning FCE and put the rest towards FCS (it costs $1000 and it’s worth $5000). You get Garageband for audio in iLife, but FCP and Soundtrack Pro are far more robust (it’s like Photoshop Elements versus Photoshop Extended).
Now, for workflow, since you have FCE: copy your video files from your camera to hard drive, use MPEG Streamclip to convert the footage to the intermediate codec (I think there’s a plugin for FCE4 to run ProRes), then load your folder or files into FCE. Edit. Export. Rinse. Repeat.
Caveats: you need the MPEG plugin for Quicktime Pro for MPEG Streamclip to use MPEGs or DVD files; you need to upgrade to QT Pro; if you use Garageband for sound editing, it doesn’t support 48kHz so you will have to convert the audio output from GB in QT Pro to 48kHz; FCE doesn’t support a broad range of HD formats, just the mostly consumer ones like AVCHD; you may need iLife if you don’t already have it; after working with FCE and iLife, you will want to upgrade to FCStudio – I think that’s Apple’s maniacal plan.
FCE/FCP differences (its notably skewed towards FCP): https://michaelmistretta.com/2008/final-cut-express-vs-final-cut-pro/ and another here: https://camcorders.about.com/od/videoediting/a/FinalCutCompare.htm
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
I shot some footage last weekend with the default lens with the T2i. I was doing some handheld experimental stuff to get the feel of the camera and the footage with the IS on is nicer, but there’s no need for it with anything involving a moving or mounted camera IMO. Also, the camera is so light, it’s not a strain to keep it steady.
So if you need to use handheld and have a fairly stable camera like with med/cu shots, use IS, but if the camera is mounted to something, don’t use IS. I kept my right hand on the camera and my left very lightly on the focus ring and my right elbow against my chest with auto-focus off and IS on. When I sat down to shoot handheld, I shut off the IS. Oh and the auto-focus sucks ass doing video, that’s the first thing to go – learn to judge the distance with your eyes from you to the subject (not the viewfinder) and adjust focus accordingly. Also, don’t zoom in/out with the lens – you will see the iris clamp down mid zoom which looks terrible.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
24p 2:3 pulldown will skew the fields – 24pa with the 2:3:3:2 pulldown will give you whole frames to convert to a true 24fps versus 24p at 23.976 fps. Perfect for making a print to film if you plan to go that route. If you never plan a film print, 24p is fine (and I honestly don’t see film lasting for widespread use longer than 15 more years), but I don’t like the way 2:3 pulldown works versus 2:3:3:2. Also, I know this is pushing it a bit, 2:3:3:2 is way better if you plan to do special effects – easier to put the fx on a whole frame than 1 frame split into separate fields on 2 frames – use 24pa instead, reverse pull to 24fps, then edit. It could just as easily shoot true 24fps and then I’ll convert to 24P in the edit for video.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
Awesome! Can’t wait for Canon RAW footage! 😉
LOL! Nice April Fools!
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
I would add a Zoom H4n to the mix – you will need to slate or clap your shots, but you can capture pro audio where you can’t with the T2i. It runs about $300.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
Well, I saw these guys at last year’s NAB and I really liked the rig – really light, easy to assemble, and relatively cheap:
This one is on my list of things to get when the money is there – might be our next production we’re shooting this May! Their Universal Dolly runs $1200 – has a seat and pushbar and it’s designed for a sturdy tripod with a good head. Dunno if that includes track, but they tell you how to make track with pvc, too. For a cheap, fairly decent tripod, check out E-Image (saw them at NAB): https://www.eimagevideo.com – nice, light, solid, fluid heads, run less than $200 – not for long-term pro use, but good for indie film work. I find great deals on these on ebay (do a category search and find complete tripods, new, from top-rated sellers and you’ll find some great deals on these).
Steadicam, glidecam, and varizoom -type products are worth it. You’ll spend a lot of time building something on it won’t work as well as one you bought. Look for a used one to get a good deal on it and make sure you’re getting something rated for your camera (you don’t need one made for a 50# camera when you are using a DSLR).
If you are into DIY, check out https://www.dvcamerarigs.com/ – good rigs, not much money. I’ve build a couple rigs in there and the jeans sandbags. Good stuff.
Also check out: https://homebuiltstabilizers.com/. I’ve used the $14 steadicam and it’s just too cumbersome to make it work for long term – my arms were tired after an hour and I couldn’t hold the thing up anymore. It all depends on your ability to build stuff and your ability to follow often incomplete instructions.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
I trust the light meter because I’m used to using them. There’s a whole generation of video and photo pros who don’t use them because digital is fast and has instant feedback (unlike film). How’s this: don’t trust the LCD implicitly. After a few shoots, you’ll want to draw on your experiences in various situations to know how to get a particular shot.
Pick up an inexpensive light meter (any will do at around $50 – you can spend a whole lot more so don’t spend a lot until you know it will work for you) and see if it helps. They take some getting used to so don’t immediately drop it into your workflow and expect it to be the magic bullet, but learn to rely on them when you use them correctly. Set up some practice situations, low light, extreme sun, indoor, outdoor, etc. JUST use the light meter and set the camera accordingly and see how the footage comes out. Rinse. Repeat.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293 -
Yep. Sad but true. Example – we shot a zombie short a month ago. It looked GREAT through the LCD. Nice contrast, nice exposure. We checked the settings – ISO 3200, f4, shutter 1/50, 24p – it was dark. We shoot. Looks great even on playback through the camera. Take it to FCP and wah, wah, wah, no dice. After much processing and hair-pulling, got the second take to work, but lost nearly all detail in the shadows and the point was the shadow detail so pretty much lost a shot and we can’t get the actors (in makeup!) back again. 🙁
Oddly, we had metered every shot prior to that, but this one we didn’t. Naughty us. I thought my DP had done it and he thought the other assistant did it. Should have said something. Chalk it up to experience. By the way, the metered shots came out within +/-5% of what we expected.
Jonathan Ziegler
https://www.electrictiger.com/
520-360-8293