Mark Raudonis
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Jason,
This is a frequently asked question that has a simple answer. Buy the most “screen real estate” that you can afford.
Unless physical space is an issue (mobile truck, on set, etc.) then I think most people would argree that two 20″s are better than one 23/24. The ability to go “full screen” on one monitor and still see bins, timelines and so forth on the other is the main reason to recommend two monitors.
Our rooms all have two Apple 23″ cinema displays. We’re quite happy with them. Most of the rooms have been up and running for almost two years now and we haven’t had a single display konk out yet.
Mark
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We use iTunes to catalog and search our entire sound FX library. (Over 200 CDs). The only catch is… it’s X-SAN and FCP!
Sorry. I couldn’t resist.
Mark
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1 gig of ram is very low. If you’re working with large projects, more RAM will absolutely make your day go smoother.
Go buy yourself some more ram. 2 gigs good. 4 gigs better!!!
Mark
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Welder,
I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. Sorry. Peace.
mark
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Dear “Welder”,
Gimme a break! You’ve never had a similar experience with Avid phone support? Don’t you remember the days when you were lucky if anyone even answered the phone at Avid? I learned most of what I know about fixing Avids from reading the manual while waiting on hold for the tech support I paid for! Talk about unresponsive! Go to the AVID-L (1 or 2) and do a search for complaints about phone support. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of them. In fact, that’s why that user group got started… to support each other in lieu of the inadequate phone support then available.
If you’re so nervous that you can’t handle any downtime, then I suggest you either improve the quality of your “on site” support or contract a local firm for tech support. X-SAN is NOT a simple “plug and play” system. Like a Unity, it requires a significant amount of “IT” knowledge. As you know from operating the Avid side of your building, it’s very hard to diagnose “system” problems on the phone. Why do you expect that FCP with X-san would be any different?
You don’t say what the problem was or how it was resolved. Sure it could be equipment/software related, but it could also be something “user related”. The tone of your post smugly suggests that if Apple wants a piece of the “professional” market they better shape up. I’ve got news for you… Apple’s not “courting” pros, they’re already in bed with plenty of them.
mark
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ED,
that’s a great explanation of the difference. This should be posted as a FAQ.
In my opinion, the engineers should never have used the word “frame” in their description of the two types of timecode. Drop “number” would have been much less confusing. “Frame” implies actual frames are discarded when it’s really only numbers. This is what causes most confusion.
mark
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Aspect ratio translations are very confusing.
Since your Symphony is “Free”, take the time time to do a complete “round trip” test. Take a minute of your project, and test several of the workflow suggestions given above. I can’t stress enough the importance of doing this. There are so many pitfalls along the way in this process that the only way to confirm success is to actually do it. Don’t forget that many professional monitors have 4:3 / 16:9 buttons on them to change the display. Having the “wrong” button pushed will totally “undo” what you’re trying to accomplish.
Mark
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In a word: Yes.
Worth investing? Compared to what? How do you define conform? It means different things to different people. How much of the process to you want to do? Color? Mastering? Audio Layback? FCP is only the tip of the iceberg. Your biggest expense will be the decks, the storage, proper monitoring (Both picure and signal), air conditioning, and of course the experienced talent to run it.
If you’ve got enough projects happening to keep the room busy, I’d say acquiring FCP is a no brainer.
Good luck.
Mark
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Your need to render indicates a mismatch between the media captured and the timeline. There is a HUGE difference between 24fps and DV NTSC. Change the setting of your sequence to match whatever you digitized at.
Be certain that you’re changing the “CURRENT SEQUENCE” not just the settings for future sequences. This usually trips people up. They’ve already created a sequence, then they go to the project settings, change them and can’t figure out why their current, open sequence still hasn’t changed. You have to ACTIVELY change the current sequence settings in order to see the change.
mark
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Bob,
What you’re essentially asking is, “How do I move my discreet project to FCP?”
check out Automatic Duck. (www.automaticduck.com) They have many different conversion programs that may address what you’re trying to do.
mark