Mitch Ives
Forum Replies Created
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[doka15] “Yes you are right. This will be edited in Modesto I think he said it will be edited on an Avid system. The Director / Producer wanted to look at the footage on his Dell this week to get an idea of the shots he will be using for the edit.
The original P2 files don’t exist anymore. My work flow is drop the P2 card in the laptop, import the P2 media via FCP and have workable QT files located in the capture scratch folder.”
Okay, the first thing you’ve learned is that you never get rid of the original P2 files. They have all the metadata that is so helpful. The FCP files are only for editing. You should be archiving the original files, not the FCP files.
Here’s the correct workflow:
1) Copy the files from the P2 card to two (yes two) separate hard drives, through the laptop.
2) Do not even open FCP. There is no reason to ever even open FCP during a shooting session.
[doka15] “It seems like every other company DeckLink, Avid, AJA and so on that have a codec that is not standard in QT supply a free codec for people who need to work in that format that don’t have the hardware. I would asume that Panasonic would also offer this FREE codec to make it simple. Perhaps they do and I can’t find it or they are working on one or just don;t have one which some people in hear have said already.”
You’re finally getting it. “Non-Standard”… that means they didn’t follow the standards, so they HAVE to provide a codec. This isn’t a good thing, so you might want to stop describing it as though it were a better approach. Avid’s codec has always been inferior to FCP’s and still is. Even the Avid Instructor at the college where I teach FCP knows that.
[doka15] ” If I have him download the P2 viewer is that only to view the P2 media from the card or can he view the DVCpro 50 QT clips I gave him in that viewer?”
That’s for the original P2 files with all the metadata… some of which is lost when you convert them to FCP files.
[doka15] ” This is not a rant so please don’t read it like that. I am thankfull for the information all of you P2 brainiacs are providing me to help me get the most out of the equipment I know use.”
I don’t think we’re taking it that way. You made some mistakes and now they’ve caught up to you. It is always advisable to leave the media in the original (un-messed with) format. Take FCP out of the situation. If you had shot it for me, I wouldn’t want it washed through Avid, Canopus or Matrox either. I’d be unhappy if you had. Proprietary codecs are a way of life. If you want to split hairs, the only real one IS Apple’s, since FCP uses QuickTime natively (unaltered). Avid’s (and everyone elses) QuickTime codecs are the non-standard ones. And I think we can skip any discussion of AVI, with it’s file size limits and inability to maintain audio sync without constant behind the scenes toying. In short, you shoudn’t convert, but if you’re going to, FCP was as good a choice as any, since there are three times as many FCP systems in the world, as there are Avid’s.
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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[doka15] “And to answer your question Mitch this happens often with me. A Director comes down from San Fran to Santa Barbara, hires a local videographer and takes the footage back with him. In every other case they have left with a DV or Beta SP tape. This tape then goes back with them to an editing house. In this case the original files went back in a Disc not a tape. The director wants to view the footage and make notes before he enters the studio. that is not such a far fetched idea.”
Perhaps not, but then these “producers” need to spend some time staying current. Given your situation, I’d suggest the following workflow:
1) Give them the files in the native P2 format, not the FCP converted QT files.
2) If they are on a PC, then have them use the P2 Viewer software from Panasonic to view the files. If they are on a Mac, then they need to spend $99 on the new Mac P2 Viewer from Imagine Products. If they are serious, they should invest in HD Log software instead so they can do some more constructive logging.
Alternatively, they do need a place to edit these files… and they will have to be able to work with those files eventually, so shouldn’t they be in a position to help the producer out?
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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I don’t buy into that argument. Microsoft doesn’t provide the necessary access and info to implement many things. Ask Flip4Mac. They’ve been waiting 6 months for MS to give them the info to fix the 2-pass WMV codec. MS is dragging their feet as usual. Remember, Bill’s the one that said “bug fixes are the worst excuse I’ve ever heard for a program update”.
Now to the real issue at hand…
He never should have provided those files to that client in the first place. You have a professional working in a professional environment providing working files to a non-professional (less technical) person. Why would anyone ever want to do that? Does a surgeon send a patient home with scalpels to play with?
As someone who goes down this road daily, I’ve been trying out all the alternatives… QT files, DVD’s, etc. You know what we’ve finally settled on. The Russian approach… low tech. We’ve gone back to window dub VHS and it’s working better than everything else we tried. It’s quicker and it costs less. Of course, the fact that there are NO incompatibility issues is handy as well. Haven’t had a single “your tape won’t play in our player” call.
The Kona we use down converts in realtime to SD for our dub rack. Basically, it’s just a realtime playback of the clips on the timeline. We’re saving a lot of time and money with this approach. We’re using it for “in-between” approval copies as well. The added benefit? Clients prefer to come by and look at the HD version, which is as it should have been all along. In short, we’re providing the necessary dis-incentive to invent several unneeded layers of review materials that seem to be getting out of control.
In conclusion:
1) sometimes a hammer is faster and more efficient than a pnuematic nailer
2) we’ve regained control of the production processBoth of which are the real issues here.
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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[Fine Productions] “I used the
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[david Saraceno] “A low price, especially markedly below $5400.00 is either grey market or a scam.”
FWIW, Sammy’s Camera was selling them on the floor at NAB for $5,100, so this isn’t always the case…
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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[Jeff Carson] “Wow. Just got our Panasonic BT-LH1700W monitor (had an older 8″ Std Def Sony 8044Q before). Hooked up the component cable and were really stunned by the picture. We’ve used Varicam with this monitor, but were not sure what to expect from the HVX-200. VERY nice picture, right out of the box.”
Yes, we love ours. if you think it looks good connected to the HVX-200 through component, you should see what it looks like connected to the editing system through SDI… even better.
We use it for SD work as well. We replaced our Sony 20″ with the 1700 and have no misgivings. I concur with your thoughts… we’re shooting almost everything in HD, unless someone specifically requests SD…
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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[Craig Seeman] “Flip4Mac Universal is in beta. Encoding times for version 2.1 should be many times faster than 2.0.2. I’ll probably be doing speed tests on the next build or so as I’m a beta tester.”
Craig,
See if you can get them to fix the terminal bug in 2.0.2 that makes multi-pass generate green video. We have to use single pass as the official workaround. It’s been 3 months and still no fix nor any commitment to have it in the next release. This is NOT a small thing… makes version 2 pretty much useless…
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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Yes be aware that there is a major problem in version two that makes multiple pass VBR unusable. It makes the video all green. It’s been reported and has been this way for months. If you aren’t willing to be stuck with 1 pass, then install the old 1.x version instead.
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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[Barry Green] “That’s the way I’m leaning, towards an MBP and the P2 Store, because not only does the P2 Store do what it does, but it also solves the no-slot-on-MBP problem.
But, to more directly address the question, there’s also an ExpressCard->PCMCIA adapter being developed which should hit the market in the next couple of months, and has been specifically designed to work with P2 cards.”
Ouch! A P2 store is a pretty expensive solution to solving the MBP problem. We’ve settled on keeping the 17″ PB for P2 offloading and for programs that are UB like our accounting software.
Let’s hope the adapter does appear in the next few months. I’ve tried contacting that company but never get any response from them. By the time it’s out, the CinePorter may be here…
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5
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[hector66] “It would be a shame to see Shake go by the wayside. If the rumour is true, I can only hope that the capabilities are roled into further updates of Motion.”
Like many, we figured it would be rolled into the “FCP Extreme” product. At $10K, it’s got to have some serious additional capability. If true, it’s another brillant marketing move by Apple… sell Shake cheap and get us all hooked and trained, so we end up justifying the FCP Extreme purchase…
Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.
mitch@insightproductions.comApple Certified Trainer: Final Cut Pro 5