[Mark Raudonis]

[Steven Quinn] “I realize that transcoding the media first would be ideal, but the time to do so would hurt the workflow.”

Ok. Then how about using the right tool for the job? If you’re whining about rendering time, then
perhaps you would want to acquire in a codec that works natively with FCP.

If a “Fast Turnaround” is critical to this project, then you’re handcuffing yourself by starting with h.264 files. Choose something else. It’s simple.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

I’m with Shane on this, but we take it even further.

Because we’re dealing with multiple projects, many editors and shared storage, we use “capture projects”, but then move the media BEFORE anyone starts editing to a logical folder structure. We capture local on many different systems, then move global (SAN) into a pre determined folder structure.

Letting FCP do media management will work up to a certain point, but then things just get too complicated to keep everything straight. There’s no “magic” to the capture scratch folder. It’s just FCP’s attempt to help you keep things organized. At a certain point, you’re better off creating your own project organization… especially in a shared storage environment.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Oh, forgot to add “Oracle Post” to the “Wonderful to work with” list. (Excellent in house chef too!).

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Sounds like you have some engineers predisposed to find a problem with FCP.

I can’t stand A holes like that. I usually make a point of naming names to the facility owner
when we take our business elsewhere. “We really would have liked to stay here, but your “engineer”
{A hole engineeer name goes here} just couldn’t seem to handle our technical requirements. Funny, but
XYZ facility was able to handle the same media with NO issues. See ya!”

In this type of economy, I guarantee that you will get much better service at the “other” facility. Especially if you make it a point of letting the new facility know why you’re there.

I really don’t know the cause of your problem, but it sounds like they are being less than helpful trying to
trouble shoot. Good luck.

By the way, I’ve had wonderful experiences at “Juniper Post”, “Matchframe Video”, and “Modern Videofilm”, all with OMF’s generated from FCP. Keep them in mind next time you’re shopping for a stage. And of course, in house we’ve been doing this for years.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Which networks are we talking about here?

Names please!

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

Five years, hundreds of hours of television productions… never seen what you’re describing.

Have you done tests to try to isolate where this is occurring?

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

I would add to Nick’s steps:

Test. Test. Test.

Be sure you’re comfortable with this process before committing to processing all of the media.

Good luck.

mark

[Mark Raudonis]

[daniel De Avila] “shooting at 50fps or 60fps as supposed to 25fps or 30fps?
“
Dan,

I think you’re confusing “fields” and frames. 60FPS is SLO MO. 60fields is normal speed. I’d suggest that you do some googling to understand the underlying concepts in play here.

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

[Bob Zelin] “ps – drive arrays don’t cost $10,000.”

You’re right. They cost more. They cost $21,000 (AVID 16tb VideoRaid SR)

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/568958-REG/Avid_7010_20444_01_16TB_VideoRAID_SR_Hard.html

Mark

[Mark Raudonis]

It is the networks or studios who dictate a delivery format, not the post houses. So all of this debate is MOOT! Pro Res may be a fine format for internal workflow, but if it has to go out the door as a deliverable, the studios are going to demand a tape (for archival reasons). Last time I checked, no tape format I know saves to Prores (except LTO as data).

So, don’t throw away your HDCAMsr decks yet. You’re still going to need them for a good long time.

mark