Matt Lyon
Forum Replies Created
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Andrei, I had this problem recently and was able to fix it, but I don’t know if the situation is the same as yours so my solution may not apply.
I had converted some low res quicktimes (23.98 h264) to dv codec for a quick and dirty temp edit. When I dropped the movies into a timeline, the waveforms had the same problem. I realized that QuickTime was not setting the framerate properly when I converted the files and fcp thought they were 24.00 fps. I also noticed the orange “effects” bar on the audio tracks (this is what tipped me off something was wrong). Anyway, I converted the movies again, using compressor this time and the problem went away.
So I don’t know if this helps, but maybe there is an inconsistency in your media’s frame rate and your sequence setting…. A long shot but I hope this helps…Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Ah, sorry Uli, I misunderstood and thought there was no timecode on the audio. In this case, I think making a Cinema Tools database would be overkill, since the audio in your timeline would have the proper timecode already. From FCP, you can already directly export an audio only EDL and/or OMF, rather then relying on Cinema Tools to do it.
But if really wanted to do it, I guess you could export a batch list of your transcoded media from FCP, import it into Cinema Tools, attach the media to each entry in the database then manually enter the corresponding audio timecode for each clip (In the “Sound” field). I haven’t tried working this way myself, but it seems like it would be a cumbersome process. (but maybe there’s a faster way to do this?)
I’d love to switch to HD editing, but as a freelancer, I’m usually editing in a rental suite somewhere and don’t get a say in the system specs! Last time we tried HD editing, we had to switch back to SD because it was too cumbersome. But hopefully next time we’ll have the budget for at least 720p.
Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Hi all, thought I chime in with my two cents:
I agree with everyone who mentioned that your location sound recordist should do a work-mix on set, on ch.1 and 2 (or even just ch. 1). There is no point in editing with 8 channels of audio, I personally wouldn’t even attempt it. Have the location sound person provide DVD-R backups of their files, for the odd case where you need to access the individual tracks for each mic. It is also asking for trouble to not have timecode on the audio files (and that’s probably an understatement).
I should mention that I’m assuming here that once complete, you are sending your locked picture to an online facility and sound studio for conforming, color correct and mixing. If you are doing everything “in house” then that changes the game and my thoughts might not be applicable any more.
It’s hard to say what the “best” workflow is because so much depends on time and money. Cinema Tools works fine in my experience, but it’s primarily designed for scenarios where a lab is synching your rushes and sending you FLX or ALE files along with the synched media. Cinema Tools uses its database to correlate the video timecode to the sound timecode on the source tapes or digital files. As such, it REQUIRES your audio has timecode, or else it’s output will be pretty much useless for the sound editors.
If you are manually synching the location audio in your timeline, then your sound files will maintain proper timecode from the source media (so long as it’s there in the first place). Then you can edit with just the work-mix and output EDLs and/or OMFs for the sound facility that will have proper timecode. (Jussi’s post explains this well)
I know this post is about audio, but I have to say, I’d be extremely weary about editing an entire feature in 2K pro-res. No wonder your system got bogged down. Most folks in my neck of the woods (and maybe Hollywood is different) are still cutting in standard def. Eventually, everything will be HD all the time, but for now, for the sake of speed, I’m happy cutting in SD, then sending the locked picture to an online facility for conforming and packaging. I need my timeline to be as responsive as possible for rapid creative iteration. Not to mention how much longer it can take to make screener DVDs and quicktimes from HD material (of course, this is highly system dependent).
HD or not, my preference is to have a lab sync the rushes and provide dailies tapes with burn in timecode for picture AND sound. At the end of the day, having a visual timecode reference is the best guarantee for getting a smooth, trouble free picture conform and sound mix.
Anyway, I hope this addresses the original question somewhat 🙂 I guess the bottom line is don’t record sound without timecode!
Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Make sure you don’t have any in and out markers in the timeline before exporting. I would also use “export>quicktime conversion” and select “AIFF” as the format. I don’t trust the ‘export>Audio to AIFF(s)’ option after experiencing similar problems as those you describe.
Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Hey Kevin, forgive my obliviousness here 🙂 but is a new column added to the browser in FCP 7? I can’t find it in my v6.0.6 copy.
Thanks,Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Hey Jason, what exactly do you mean by “modify the clip without changing the timecode”? I’m not sure what kind of modification you’re trying to achieve.
If your editor marks an IN and OUT on the timeline before doing a “replace” edit, does the behavior you describe change? FWIW, I find the replace edit function to be somewhat kludgy. You may also want to play with marking just audio or just video edit points and see if that helps as a workaround.
I don’t have any footage with properties like you describe, so I have no way to test it myself, but I’m just tossing some ideas out here 🙂
Hope this helps,Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Hi Carlos, I followed Dave’s tip and got smooth motion after just a bit of tweaking. Are you looking at your output on a broadcast monitor? You can’t necessarily judge motion properly in the FCP viewer. You can also turn on “motion blur” in the “motion” tab and tweak those settings to help take the edge off fast panning and zooming effects.
Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Sorry Jason, I’ve never seen that before so I don’t know if I can help. It works for me on several different systems I’ve tried. Have you done the usual troubleshooting stuff: repair permissions, trashing prefs, running software updater, etc? You might need to re-install the software if all else fails.
Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Hi Daniel, sorry to give you an answer you may not like, but This topic has been covered a lot (and is probably for the basics forum, imho), so you should search the archives, and The Google. But a good place to start in FCP is exporting via compressor, using the H264 web presets.
Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto -
Also, if you’re viewing DV files in quicktime player to “check” your footage, make sure to enable the “use high quality video setting when available” option in the preferences.
Matt Lyon
Editor
Toronto