Michael Gissing
Forum Replies Created
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I have heard horror stories about DVCPro100HD in PAL. The only time I have used it was to capture rushes via SDI and convert to DV for an editor. I never heard if the online conform worked, but it certainly captured the audio slightly but consistently out of sync. I was told not to trust the firewire.
Trying the other deck might be the answer. Avoiding Panasonic in 50i might be the best long term solution. I know some love this codec, but in PAL??
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Yes I have heard the blurb before. However, after mixing over 700 docos I can tell you emphatically that it isn’t mono compatible when used with other sources in a stereo mix. The side signal cancels dropping the relative levels of stereo atmos’s to mono dialog. The degree of drop is proportional to the encode angle. If you crank up to 120% you can have over 6bd drop in the mono version of the atmos.
It certainly isn’t THE standard. I have encouraged ORTF stereo recording for the past 25 years and do not let MS encoded stereo into my mix. It is always decoded back to sep L/R as it also plays havoc with Dolby Pro Logic.
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Did you follow the procedure in the manual? If so please explain what ‘no luck’ means.
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If you do use a third party app or Soundtrack Pro to decode MS, you will lock the sound post into your decode. I personally hate MS encoded material and although I can unencode back to seperate channels, it is a fiddle.
The reason to avoid MS is that making a stereo mix with a combination of MS , mono and other stereo can sound balanced in stereo, but in mono, the levels drop on all the MS content, changing the balance of your mix. Further problem can occur if the stereo mix is played back through Dolby Pro Logic decoders. The MS material can sometimes behave weirdly. A nice L-R stereo car past actually pops in and out of the surround speakers. So please avoid MS.
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Not sure about the normalised clips. I suspect they will be exported via an OMF instead of the original. That may mean you don’t have handles on those clips. It is important to check. Perhaps a small test OMF would be wise.
Also ask the sound post facility if they want levels. I certainly don’t as it would take longer to undo the hokey mixes that I hear in pic edits. Also broadcast mixes have to split mix elements into Music, Dialog and FX stems.
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The problem may be the original capture. If there were code breaks on the tapes and they were captured with FCP set to NOT make new clips, then progressive code errors would have been captured, which then shows up during recapture.
Are you getting any differences when you capture via firewire or SDI? if not, then my guess is the original capture. I usually run a QT file of the offline cut on the top layer and crop to create a split screen. That way you can roll the edits to resync. Boring and manual. Invite the person who captured to come and make tea and watch your pain.
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I am PAL but occassionally capture NTSC from a J3. I also capture 108060i from a JH3. However, I use SDI, not firewire. There is a problem though if I am using PAL reference signals into my machines when running NTSC. Check that you aren’t inputting an NTSC signal into the J3 or DSR reference/input. It slews the machine and FCP can’t get a timecode lock for capture
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You can try the Nattress’s standards convertor plug in. There is a demo download on his site. I have down loaded the demo, but not yet had a chance to try it so I can’t advise on render times etc.
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I still have Shotlister running on PC’s in each studio. Very handy.
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Old fashioned EDL management software like Shotlister would enable you to log the new digi beta tape, creating an EDL of the new tape.