[Michael Gissing]

I suspect it will take more time and effort to do it your way Paul compared to finding someone with ProTools to do the import. Also the job will be in the form that is required with separate clips with hidden handles. Anything less is a hopeless way to work as David has said.

[Michael Gissing]

Export an OMF and then find a ProTools system that takes OMFs. Import and save media and project file on an external drive. Take the drive & ProTools session to your sound designer and start work.

Your sound designer is clearly not well equipped or experienced as no-one working professionally in audio can’t import OMFs. It is a shitty standard but it is universal and an absolute basic requirement.

You can’t supply as clips with handles properly by exporting wav files from FCP so don’t waste your time chasing that phantom.

[Michael Gissing]

Thanks Matt, handy tip. I mostly grade and online so I need to render mostly credits and supers which I prefer to wait and completely render so I can watch the whole roll with client so I only have a rare occasion to partial render but that is a good way to fiddle with out transitions.

[Michael Gissing]

I use Thecus NAS units for audio post across two Fairlight systems and they work a charm as they have dual gigbit ethernet connectors plus I am running 10,000 rpm drives for ultra fast seek times. However, I would not consider that approach for networked video and audio demands.

I know Bob Zelin has done networked setups for multiple FCP suites so search for some of his posts on the matter.

[Michael Gissing]

[Andy Mees] “LOL. Am looking forward to Scarlet too, but thats just nonsense.”

Yes I know I am guilty of wishful thinking so I am not being my normal logical self but I do believe that Sony will take a hammering when the Scarlet arrives.

The XDCam market is well established so it isn’t going to fade away, but the point of the original post was that companies like Sony that constantly play politics with different editing systems and saturate the market with so many models and support so many formats are not going to appeal to many in my area which is doco/ short film.

I know some desperate folk who have even started talking about a Canon 7D to tide them over so I am taking serious note of attitudes from film makers. For them Sony and Panasonic are on the nose.

[Michael Gissing]

[Mark Raudonis] “but the notion that RED is going to drive it to an early grave is crazy.”

Half the price, 1-150 fps, 3k+ resolution etc.. How many film makers do you think are just waiting to move on from HDV & XDCam to something that can cover web to digital cinema properly? Plus the fact that RED seems to be very active in keeping up with Final Cut and Mac OS developments.

Most of the doco people that I work with are not investing in cameras at the moment, just getting a bit more mileage out of their HDV & EX setups and waiting for the Scarlet. Sure the wait has been long and frustrating but I doubt that RED are going to do what Sony and others are always doing, which is releasing a camera and then within a year releasing either a new format or a new model. Just count how many pro and prosumer cameras and formats that Sony currently supports. It’s a mess.

Just the sheer number of people who are playing with the Canon cameras should have Sony worried but the Scarlet will be a game changer.

[Michael Gissing]

[Steve Crow] “didn’t realize that flash frames and speed ramping had become crass or cliche”

For me they always have been cliche and when I see them, first reaction what are they trying to hide? Lack of content is the usual answer. But they really don’t work as well as just good editing. Also it must be said that good camerawork is also critical. I hope they had a good tripod and long lens.

[Michael Gissing]

Once the RED scarlet hits the streets, XDCam is going to fade anyway so I wonder if Sony are just saving some money knowing the format is soon to die. Like HDV it will hang on for sure but it’s days are numbered.

But is the problem entirely Sony or is Apple also at fault?

[Michael Gissing]

Music & a good busy atmos. The rest is editing. Try and avoid fancy transitions, and crass video effects like speed ramping and flash frames. It can be done with editing alone as the sound track is actually doing the hard yards for you.

[Michael Gissing]

You don’t have to render a whole slab if you are just checking the transition in. Hit render and when it gets to about 10% hit ESC and stop the render. It will then play the transition until it gets to where you stopped rendering.

You can keep doing that until you are happy with the fade up and then render the whole lot once. Unfortunately that trick doesn’t work with outgoing transitions.