[Kell Smith]

Thanks Vincent,
I’m not finding the pathfinder command you suggested. Is there something equivalent in cs3?
I’ve tried commands that sound similar (add, merge), tried the join command, and also tried to make a compound shape, but they either do strange things to the picture (make some unintended lines show up) or produce an error message.
ALso, I’m trying to produce an open path, lines – although maybe a closed path might work – not sure yet, haven’t tried it in After Effects.
There’s got to be a simple way to do this… when you see all those animated commercials, for instance, it’s hard to believe that everything was traced manually with the pen tool- although maybe they were.

[Kell Smith]

Hmmm… anyone?

[Kell Smith]

This thread has been very helpful to me, thank you. I’m looking to purchase a MB Pro and to switch to Avid – but have been trying to figure out what the specs need to be for it to run smoothly. Some people have said that only a desktop system will provide the needed power, but I really need the portability of a laptop. At the same time, I don’t want a system that is slow. Welcome any further suggestions. Thank you.

[Kell Smith]

Sure.
https://vimeo.com/4085676
Oops – looks like I can’t post the link here.
I”ll try to find another example and post it.

[Kell Smith]

The whole thing is so strange.
Here’s the newest update:
Trashed prefs, removed FCP user data file.
Played the VHS footage clip dumped to DV. The level difference is apparent.
When I play the footage on the rest of the DV tape, shot in DV, I do not see the level shift.
Weird.
The camera won’t let you change setup levels in VTR mode. I did try both in camera mode, with no changes.
If you dub from the VHS recorder to the camera, you do it in VTR mode.
But the footage does appear to get into the camcorder properly, as proper levels are recording onto the DV tape. It views properly in the preview window on computer 2, but not the computer 1.

The obvious answer would be to dub it to computer 2, where it’s working, but I want to know why it’s not working on my main computer. And dubbing this stuff to computer 2 would involve at least a half-day clean-off.

[Kell Smith]

update
(not sure why my earlier reply hasn’t registered yet but it should eventually)
Swapped out the video cord, it’s working.
It appears to be registering proper levels on my other computer (2), which has a barely-used copy of FCP on it. Same FW cord.
I dumped it to dv, then tested it in computer 1, and am still showing the level issues. So left to do:
-reset FCP, trash prefs, and see if that helps,
-reinstall FCP and see if that clears it up
-prob no difference, but test another DV tape that was DV to begin with to see if it’s happening there

I’ll post back when finished.

[Kell Smith]

Yes, and yes.
It also shows dark in QT player, which tells me that it has been captured dark.

[Kell Smith]

I’ve got the AV coming out from the VCR, then firewire out from the camera to the G5.
I’ve also tried it on two different VCRs with the same result.
It’s not so much that I expect it to match the PD170 monitor exactly. It’s more that in that LCD, it’s plain to see that there are way more details in the video. Once it’s brought into the computer, it’s crushed beyond usability. That’s telling me that there’s more to the footage than I am getting once it’s captured in. Raising the levels on the captured clip does not help.

[Kell Smith]

I wish I had a scope, but unfortunately other than the ones in FCP, I don’t. It’s pretty crushed on that one.

It is, however, noticeably different between the LCD monitor on my camera and the computer monitor. I could see there being a little bit of difference, but it’s major. I use this monitor all the time for my editing, and while it’s not perfect and could use some fine-tuning, I can’t imagine anything that would account for this other than a mismatch of the black levels.

Hmmm. Interesting question though. I do have a DVI to video adapter. It would be a hassle to pull it out and hook it up, partly because it could mess with the monitor setup, partly because it involves crawling around on the floor and dragging the computer out of the armiore to get to the back of it. But it would be interesting to see if the scope levels are the same.

I guess I’ll have to run the audio in separately if I go that route.

But shouldn’t the pass-through work? I don’ t understand why no one else seems to be having this problem. I must be doing something wrong.