[Melinda Hess]

Thanks Michael,

I tried DVCPRO50 NTSC but it squeezed the image and doesn’t look good. I tried the ProRes which looks better, so am headed in this direction. I assume I should use Apple ProRes 422 for Interlaced- should I change the field dominance or just use the Compressor setting as is?

Also, regarding converting the SD to Pro Res- I’ve never done that. What are the advantages of doing it this way vs:

1) Converting HD files to ProRes- bringing them into a 720×480 TL and scaling them to fit via Motion tab-100%? Seems this way I’d end up with a TL that I can easily export to QT & then encode to DVD.

The Other option I’ve considered is:
Since the other sequences in the 7 min. compilation movie are derived from moves on stills, and the stills were scanned fairly large, perhaps I should redo these motion still sequences– so that they are also 1280 × 720, and bring them into a TL that is 1280 × 720, 29.97 fps. Then I could add the NY D7000 sequences (after ProRes) into this timeline and make the entire 7 min movie. Does this workflow make sense?
What I’m looking for is the simplest workflow- I’m just trying to put together a sample of work- and I realize the huge range of issues to consider before shooting the real documentary.

Thanks so much for your feedback.

Convivial Design Studio
Abiquiu, NM 87510

[Melinda Hess]

Michael,
Thanks so much for your response. I will try the ProRes conversion. Compressor is not my favorite app, but I’ll give it a try. I’ve read thru a number of posts on CC today, trying to get more info about converting. Will try Compressor, though I see that Mpg Streamclip is also an option.

One other question- I might have to insert this D7000 sequence into a longer piece which is SD. I usually set the TL to DV NTSC. This D7000 sequence is contained within itself but will probably be added to a 7 min. sample work I’m putting together, and the other assets are SD.

So in this case, do you have any recommendations for the workflow- should I convert the H264 files into ProRes, then downscale in FC, or should I convert them with a different codec into DV so I can edit the sequence with the other SD footage?

Based on reading some other posts, I tried converting in Compressor using the DV NTSC preset, and it looks horrible- squeezed it of course, and just looks bad. So what I’m looking for is best way to preserve quality of the HD, while making the editing not a nightmare. I understand there might also be issues of upper vs lower field dominance, and I’m not sure how to address this.

End product is this goes on a DVD for a grant request!
thanks very much for your help, and Happy Holiday!

Convivial Design Studio
Abiquiu, NM 87510

[Melinda Hess]

Hi,
Well 3 years later I think I have a similar problem to what you described in 2005. Yesterday I posted my problems with Compressor. Which today, I think I’ve narrowed down to having a bad audio file for at least one video I’m trying to encode.
To make a long story short,last night I did the whole de-install, & re-install, but only from the original FCP2 discs- so I’m now back to running 3.0. I submitted the same file that had stopped compressing the night before. It did the same thing again- successfully encoded the video stream, but NOT the audio. Compressor stopped working in exactly in the same place as it did the night before.

So a few questions- How does an audio file get corrupted? How did you figure out the bad file and how did you fix it?

Thanks very much
Melinda

Convivial Design Studio
Abiquiu, NM 87510