Neil Patience
Forum Replies Created
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[Mike Flinn] “Apparently I lied… It is Version 10.6.8 ha”
No worries thought it was a bit odd.
[Mike Flinn] “If I were to need to give this file to another company to add their clips to that is my best move? Sending a 5gb file over?”
Yes certainly if the other company needed to further edit the file or grade or put through After Effects etc etc ProRes is totally the correct file to send.
You are correct there are many different codecs that would create files that were much smaller but they are not necessarily suitable depending on the workflow and process.
Codecs like MP4 and H264 are not frame based, they are highly compressed and as such are not suitable for editing. Fine if for web upload or for viewing though.
[Mike Flinn] ” I just don’t understand how much larger files such as 120 minute movies fit on DVDs “
DVDs are standard definition and use MPEG 2 compression. which is an even more compressed format hence the file size. Again pretty useless for editing but fine for viewing.
What you need to take into account is that different codecs are needed for different circumstances.
[Mike Flinn] “Everyone else I’ve talked to says that these clips should be under 100MB”
There is no 1 size fits all.
As an editor/colourist if I was working further on something you had created and you sent me an HD ProRes file I would be totally happy. Sure its large but its fit for purpose. If a 100mb MPEG2 file arrived I am going to call you up and ask for something better as it would be useless for re-editing/grading.
By the same token if I just want a quick viewing file then the compressed H264 fits the bill, I dont need that huge ProRes file. So its just about using the appropriate codec for whichever part of the process you are at and where you are delivering that file to.
Hope that makes sense.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini -
You don’t say which codec you are working in however for 7 mins of 1920×1080 ProRes 5 GB is about correct in terms of file size. So that in itself is not an issue.
You should easily be able to export an H264 or MP4 file from the “Share” menu which should be considerably smaller that 5GB – or for further compression options use send to Compressor.
You could also just take your 5GB file and use Compressor to make a smaller file or MPEG Streamclip there are quite a few options. Again H264 or MP4 may be appropriate but it depends on what you want to do with the final file.One other thing – you say
[Mike Flinn] “I have an iMac running Leopard do I need to upgrade? Would that even change file sizing?”
As I remember Leopard is OSX 10.5.x and the minimum requirement for FCPX is 10.6.8 which is Snow Leopard so I am kind of surprised it let you install FCPX on that system. So ideally yes you need to upgrade your OS but in terms of file sizing that is not going to make any difference.
You just need to select appropriate compression software and a suitable compressed codec.best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini -
[Billy Moss] “This is my usual process my camera shoots MOV files, then I convert them to Pro Res 422 LT, then I bring those Pro Res clips into FCP. Then I make my edit and export my video as H.264. “
Sorry for any confusion – that is the correct way to go you are quite correct. If my project was for broadcast I would probably use ProRes 422. No need for HQ.
[Billy Moss] “My current drive set up is that I have a Seagate external HD and a Western Digital external HD. All of my project files and media files are on the Seagate. Both are formatted to use Macs and PCs, they’re FAT32”
How are these drives connected ? To which bus ?
Not totally sure that FAT32 is the best solution for MAC as it has a 4 Gig file limit so you are going to be creating spanned files which will almost certainly slow you down on larger files.Edit just read Davids post – seem like this may well be a big part of your issue.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini -
I think I remember that V6.0.6 didnt support LT or Proxy but did both 422 and 422HQ which would explain what you have found.
I had a quick look and here is an old thread about this
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/8/1097996I found this thread on LAFCPUG that suggests a fix but who knows if the links still work
https://www.lafcpug.org/phorum/read.php?1,276107best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini -
Hard to tell the exact effect they used as there are a few that can do this.
The 3 I have that come to mind quickly areGen Arts Sapphire – Film Damage
Stylize effects – Bad Film ( I think this is a standard FCP one)
Nattress Film Effects – Old Projector.They have applied the effect quite subtly but all three of those let you add, weave, hair, scratches, etc etc to get that slightly damaged film look.
There are bound to be a good few more that others have used as its quite a well used technique.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini -
The 13″ models both Retina and non Retina options do indeed only have the HD 4000 integrated GPU rather than the additional NVidia GPU that the 15″ and 17″ models have. There is no doubt the additional GPU is going to make things run much more smoothly.
And although you only use FCP now who knows what you may do in the future as you have to figure that machine is going to last you a while.As soon as I open FCP 7 or FCPX my MacBook Pro immediately switches to the NVidia GPU.
One point however, Avid qualify the HD4000 to run Symphony 6.5 on a MacBook Air, I know thats not quite the same but it does suggest you may have a fighting chance.
I was just trying to see if there is a preference to switch off the NVidia so I could see how it ran on just the HD4000 but sadly not an option so can’t give you a definitive answer FCP-wise.If there is anyone here running FCP on an Air or 13″ MBP maybe they can chime in and let you know ?
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv -
Hi Sam
This kind of freaky behaviour is often fixed by a preference trash – have you tried that ?
If not, easiest way is to use Digital Rebellions Pref Manager. https://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/Its a free download and may restore normality to your system. If it doesn’t then I have to be honest it is not something that I have personally encountered so perhaps someone else has come across this and can explain your issue but pref trash would be my first port of call.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv -
Just to add to Rafael’s points I don’t think the length of the timeline matters much in terms of playback capability.
You could capture a 1 min clip and repeat it in a sequence for an hour. Thats not going to be more tricky for the system in terms of playback than if you made it 4 mins long or 30 mins long. I have created a 2 hour 30 sequence without problem. There used to be a 4 hour limit in earlier FCP versions but no idea if that stands.Its much more likely your problems are drive speed related, and as Rafael says the 5Gigs of Ram has been known to throw up oddities, not just FCP related.
[Billy Moss] “My employer for this video specified that I had to choose either Apple Pro Res 422 LT or HQ. I tried both and both videos resulted in the screen flickering to black every few seconds. We came to an agreement to simply use H.264. “
This is a mistake, you were totally correct to use ProRes LT or you could go for 422, (you don’t really need HQ for 550D footage) Using the H264 directly is likely to cause you loads of issues. You will find thread after thread here of people doing that and having problems with drop frames. flash frames, odd colour flashes, audio sync – pretty much you name it. Its not at all consistent though, sometimes it works and other times it goes very wrong. ProRes is the answer.
Again as Rafael asks, what is your current drive set-up ? Thats the first place to look for your type of problem.
[Billy Moss] “I export using the current frame rate (usually 24p) “
One other point, not related to your issue. (I hope I am not teaching grandmother to suck eggs here) I am guessing you are in the UK, if you do get any UK TV broadcast work don’t shoot 24P make sure you shoot 25P or that will come back to bite you when it comes to delivery.best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv -
[Jeff Meyer] “Belkin is releasing a Thunderbolt dock with firewire very soon, and the thunderbolt cinema display has firewire. I can only assume Final Cut Pro will see these ports”
The snag with that, as I understand it, is that despite the firewire connection the rMBP still needs an available thunderbolt driver for the camera.
As Walter noted in the older post on this[Walter Soyka] “The device presents to the system as Thunderbolt, not Firewire, so the device must have a Thunderbolt driver to work.”
Since Jim’s DV camera is originally from around 2002 there are no Thunderbolt drivers available and you have to figure Panasonic are not going to bother writing one.
I had a quick look at the manual for the Panasonic and the best option other than firewire is that it has an SVideo output. So a possible solution is to use a Blackmagic Intensity Shuttle which has an SVideo input https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/intensity/
The USB3 version is $199 and the Thunderbolt version is $239
Its a pretty basic analogue I/O so ideal for the DV camera but not too great for anything else, but at $199 perhaps justified for a single job.
That would probably work as long as the camera outputs SVideo “live” rather than only during playback.I don’t think AJA have an I/O with SVideo except the IO HD but that connects to the computer via Firewire. So could easily have same issues.
The Matrox MX02 Mini Thunderbolt version has SVideo and supports streaming (Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder, Microsoft Expression, QuickTime Broadcaster, Telestream Wirecast) but its more expensive at around $500Anyway just a few thoughts and options.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv -
As the other thread suggests perhaps a video I/O might be the answer, although I am not familiar with the output options on that camera. Certainly a lot less than a new camera or computer.
It can shoot to SD card though ? Is there a quality limitation there ? That might be an option. Just convert whatever it produces to ProRes and FCP will be happy.I recently bought a new MBP but decided to go for the non retina model partly because of the limited connections and need for adapters.
I got a 2.7 Gig i7 antiglare screen hi res model. Spec wise same CPU same GPU as the retina, same performance but it retains the optical dive
which you can use or replace with a 2nd HD or SSD, has firewire 800 as well as thunderbolt, ethernet, 2 x USB3 ports. You can update Ram and HD as required.
Its slightly thicker and a shade heavier than the retina and of course the display is not as hi-res but overall I felt sacrificing the display was worth the adaptability without compromise on performance. I have replaced the HD with a 512 Gig Sandisk Extreme SSD and increased the Ram to 16 gigs and it totally flies.Hope you find a solution.
best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv