[Matt Lyon]

Also, if you’re not squeamish about using the terminal, then the command line version of FFMPEG will encode to 8-bit and 10-bit uncompressed quicktimes.

But aren’t there some plug-ins that will let Quicktime Player read these AVI files? Maybe I’m mis-remembering…

Hope this helps,

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

I was reading this thread and I thought the issue might be similar to another thread I responded to:

https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1134885

Ben, maybe it all goes back to how the FIRST import was done? As I mention in my other post … FCP has a loooooong memory for imported media attributes.

And I have to agree with Jeremy, leave Journaling on! That being said, were you able to perform a test that specifically proved that journaling caused your issues? Then I think we’d all be interested to hear about that.

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

I think it happens because FCP treats every re-link operation like a fresh import (where it uses the default sequence setting to derive its timebase). This /might/ not happen if you had a mirrored folder structure on each system, so no re-linking would happen upon opening your project.

I think this behavior goes back to early versions of FCP, when film workflows were more common. It is trying to automagically compensate for telecine pullup/pulldown (back in the days when nothing shot natively at 23.976). IIRC, there is mention of this “feature” in old versions of the manual.

Sadly, it is clearly causing more harm then good these days. This behavior should have been yanked from the code eons ago, imho. And I agree with you that there should at least be some kind of warning during import, or some kind of user-selectable option in the preferences to disable.

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

Tom,

You might want to give my tutorial a read, it might shed some more light on your issue.

https://library.creativecow.net/lyon_matt/fixing-fcp-assets/1

FCP has a LOOOONNGGGG memory for badly imported audio, so you need to follow a very precise set of steps (which I discuss in my article), in order to get the files imported correctly.

Hope this helps,

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

Do you have a nested sequence in the timeline?

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

Hey Julie, it might help if you post more about the exact problems you encountered during the online re-connect.

I’ve only tested this workflow a little bit, but I recall following the the RED whitepapers and things went /mostly/ smooth. I recall having to manually recapture one clip, out of a five minute timeline (composed all with merged clips). You might want to try duplicating your sequence and deleting all the audio tracks, then doing the reconnect workflow, then marrying picture back with audio. I’ve found that the less you give FCP to think about, the smoother things generally go.

Hope this helps,

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

Hey Don,

In my case, I used Cinema Tools. It requires (last I checked), that every clip in the batch start at the same frame of the pulldown cadence order. It sounds like Cinema Tools isn’t appropriate for your situation, but I don’t want to speak beyond my direct experience.

Any reason you can’t use the DVCPRO HD frame rate converter on the media managed clips? You say you’ll lose the timecode, but does that matter any more? (Since you are basically finishing the show).

The other option might be Compressor (again, I’m not sure how it meshes w/ your DVCProHD footage). In any case, I’d do a test with a small batch of clips.

Hope this helps,

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

Thanks for the tip Walter, I will make sure to do that next time I ingest or recapture!

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

If audio could be causing an issue, you could try duplicating your timeline, then deleting all the audio tracks. After you re-capture your video, you can marry picture back to audio. At this stage, breaking the A/V link isn’t really an issue, since you’ve locked picture.

Is your show organized in reels? It might be helpful to work on smaller chunks at a time. It’s possible your issue relates to a couple clips only. I’ve had problems where FCP erroneously thinks a clip needs to be recaptured from tape, when it actually came from a memory card.

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto

[Matt Lyon]

Keith, it sounds like you must be missing a step or two because I’ve done this exact workflow, with footage from the same camera, a couple times in the past few weeks and it has worked fine.

For starters, make sure you have the newest version of the Canon DSLR plug-in installed.

Did you load all the folders into the “log and transfer” window before try to re-capture? You can drag and drop the folders into the window or use the “add custom path” option in the drop down gear menu in the middle of the L&T window.

Once all the cards successfully appear in the L&T window, you need to open up your offline timeline, select all clips, then right click on any clip and select “capture.”

If this doesn’t work, there may be a problem with your reel names (which seems unlikely if you used the “log and transfer” option correctly when you first imported everything).

As for the other issues you mention, all those problems can be avoided if you maintain the right work habits. It sounds like you are letting your FCP project files get too big. You should make it a habit to prune old sequences and version your projects regularly. They shouldn’t get much bigger then 100 megs or so, imho.

If simply moving files around creates the need to re-render, then you may not have set up your timeline settings properly. Search the board and you’ll probably find answers to your problems.

There are plenty of people working on feature films in FCP, myself included, without the issues you describe. You may find you just need to take a more active role in project maintenance and setup.

Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto