Michael Colin
Forum Replies Created
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My two cents: I have a 2.4gb Intel Core Duo MacBook Pro with 4gb of RAM as my main platform. I use Final Cut Studio, Adobe Production Suite, Shake, Blender, etc., often concurrently. It’s a little slow sometimes, but, man, it’s a pretty amazing tradeoff. I’ll trade some seconds of render time for the portability. I’ve been doing this stuff since a B&W G3 and FCP version 1. Night and day. But don’t settle for the Macbook, go for a max’d out MacBook Pro if you’re serious about what you do.
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So it sounds like if we want a deliverable that can go to 35mm and broadcast/cable, 24P is the better choice over 24PN? (I’m using FC Studio 2, latest FCP version. No need to use 24PA, right?)
Thanks,
Michael Colin
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Andrzej—Just to be clear, because you have been saying “AJA IO” and not “AJA IO HD,” the AJA IO inputs-outputs a signal over Firewire 400 to Apple’s 10-bit uncompressed codec. The AJA IO HD uses FW800 to input-output ProRes.
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Have recently been working on an AVID again after years of FCP-only projects, and have to say that there is something in this area I’ve always appreciated about AVID (at least the version I was working on): whenever you apply a color effect to a clip, it automatically snaps to broadcast legal levels. Would love to see this feature in FCP!
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FYI, I recently bought the top-end MBP with 1920×1200 display and used it on a chroma-key intensive project. Rendered out Shake composites with Animation codec in a pretty snappy fashion, and the FCS2 programs worked great as well. I upped the RAM to 4gb, got a GRAID2 and used a 23″ Cinema display (mirrored the MBP display).
I know speed is relative, so let me put it this way: it worked fast enough for me with what I was doing, and I wouldn’t be afraid to use this setup with a client looking over my shoulder.
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Here is what guru Adam Wilt has to say on the subject:
“Apple in its infinite wisdom applies gamma correction in various codecs (including the DV and uncompressed families) when converting between YUV and RGB domains, to translate between the Mac’s default display gamma of 1.8 and video’s default display gamma of 2.2. Depending on how the chain of causality works, you can get darkened or lightened pix. Try applying a gamma correction of 1.8/2.2, or 0.818, to your timeline, and see if that fixes things.”
So I know what I’m gonna be doing first thing at the office tomorrow….
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David—
That’s what makes the problem so vexing. If I have a 10-bit sequence that looks and scopes correctly, WHY, oh, WHY, would it not compress well for DVD? The problem’s the same whether I export out of FCP directly or use a reference movie and launch Compressor in the BG. I’m wondering if it’s some issue with the weird workflow: 4:1:1 DV to Digibeta to 4:2:2 (AVID 1:1) to 4:2:2 (AJA/Apple). Dunno.
Anyway, thanks for head-scratching with me. I’m going to try some gamma tests on Monday.
Best,
Michael Colin
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Don’t laugh at me, this workflow was NOT my idea:
1) DV project sent as QT file to post house
2) post house pulled QT file into AVID
3) output from AVID to DigiBeta for tape-to-tape color correction
4) color-corrected tape dedig’d to AVID, output as 10-bit QT file using AJA codec
5) corrected file from post house pulled into FCP as 10-bit 4:2:2 uncompressed. Looks great on scopes and broadcast monitor. Looks crappy on DVD.Thanks.
Michael Colin
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The offline DV cut was not color-corrected and looked fine as is. The 10-bit cut was color-corrected by one of the best PBS post houses in the country. Looks perfect on scopes and a set-up broadcast monitor. Things fall apart somewhere between FCP–>Compressor–>DVDSP.
First thought it was a pedestal problem, but most DVD players add setup, right? So now I’m thinking gamma correction in Compressor….
Thanks.
Michael Colin