Mike Johnson
Forum Replies Created
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Just be sure not to shoot in 30F or 24F mode. Only shoot 60i. Canon’s 30F and 24F modes do not conform to 60i like other manufacturer’s 30p and 24p do. One of our guys made that mistake a while back and we had to use the camera to capture the footage.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
Free Run means the TC will continue to count whether or not you are recording. You can use it to set the time, or you can set it to some arbitrary number as well. It appears that the FX1 does not have a Free Run TC setting.
I pulled up the manual for the FX1, and it doesn’t look like you’re going to be able to do much of anything to sync your cameras. The only control option you have is through the LANC. The LANC allows you to control the camera using another device. It can control REC/STOP, zoom, focus, and sometimes iris. Some cameras will output SMPTE TC through the LANC, but I’m pretty sure you cannot use the LANC to bring in TC.
With that said, it looks like your only option with the FX1 would be to try and find 2 wireless LANC controllers that will run from the same remote and use that to start recording at the same time. Or, if the FX1 comes with a wireless remote control, then you don’t even have to worry about the LANC controller. If this doesn’t fit your production flow, then your other option is to buy different cameras.
The large antenna and box you see on the back of pro ENG cameras could be a number of different things from audio to various remote controls. The different between these cameras and the FX1 is that the FX1 does not accept any of the controls the ENG cameras do.
The most common ways that multiple cameras are synced together is through Genlock or Timecode Sync. These are both features typically only found on ENG style cameras. The only prosumer camera I have seen with Genlock and/or Timecode Sync is the Canon XL H1s – which has both.
The other common way to sync cameras is by using Free Run TC.
To be honest with you, I seriously doubt there is a reality TV show editor out there who spends hours syncing their footage. Depending on the production, some will have synced TC to work with, but I imagine a lot don’t. There is so much that gets cut out that there are only a few cuts that need to be synced – and that is usually as simple as lining up your edit then trimming a few frames to make it work.
The material I edit falls somewhere between reality TV and a documentary. When I have multi-camera shoots to edit the only thing I have to help “sync” up my footage is the data code. At this point FCP will not read the data code, so I have the interns add the date and time to the clip description. I then at least know that all my footage is in chronological order when I’m looking in my bin. When there are shots I need to be in sync whether for an edit or for a picture-in-picture type effect, I either use the waveforms to sync it up, or if its an edit I just find a matching frame to cut at. Takes a matter of seconds, not hours. For the amount of material that doesn’t even make the final cut, it would be a waste for me to worry about syncing up all of my footage before editing. I just do it when necessary.
I hope this helps you out!
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
I’m not too familiar with the FX1, but if it has an option to set the TC to Free Run that could be an option. Sync the TC on both cameras when you start. The TC will run regardless of whether you are recording or not. When you edit, match up the TC from both cameras. Turning on the TC overlay in you NLE will help. Might end up a few frames off, but that’s easy enough to fix with one edit.
There are other ways you can sync your cameras, but none that I know of that are wireless.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
Project files and media are suppose to be kept on separate drives for better performance. My system is setup like this: project files on internal HD1; auto save vault set to internal HD2; capture scratch set to external G-RAID; every so often I backup my project files from HD1 to both HD2 and G-RAID. As far as project files go, this gives me quadruple redundancy. If any one hard drive fails, I have 2-3 other locations to recover my project files from.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
If your using FCP6, when you drop your first clip into a sequence it will ask if you want to match the sequence settings to the clip settings.
If your not using FCP6, you will need to figure out what the settings are for your clips and create a sequence to match. If you right click on the clip in your browser and select Item Properties > Format you find the info you need.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
The M10U won’t play back video shot at 24fps.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
You can also create a sequence with the same settings as the QuickTimes you are using.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
If you have Flip4Mac Studio Pro, then I’m not sure what to suggest. I still have the free version. 🙂
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
Still running the basic iTunes engine.
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com -
You likely have the basic version of Flip4Mac. It will only allow you to export a max of 30 seconds, depending on your project length. You will have to purchase Flip4Mac Studio, Studio Pro, or Studio Pro HD – depending on your export requirements.
You can go here to find out what will fit your requirements: https://www.flip4mac.com/store_wmv.htm
Mike Johnson
Final Cut Pro Editor
Drury Outdoors
http://www.druryoutdoors.com