[Neil Sadwelkar]

Looking at it another way, Thunderbolt will eventually allow you to connect very fast storage devices to a single system – MBP, iMac (now) and MacPro in the future (hopefully).

I think for facilities with multiple systems, a combined approach (some shared, somemlocal) is more productive rather than placing everything In one large shared box.

One of the reasons for sharing storage amongst multiple users is that fast storage is expensive so you share it to share costs. TBolt makes fast storage which will eventually be economical enough for you to get many of them, even one per system. And then use a simpler GigE or 10GigE network to share only the stuff that needs to be shared.

At a TV facility with 25 FCPs I recently did an analysis of what is needed by everyone and what is needed only by some. So all thr systems were provided with internal storage as well. This made the network and the shared drive faster than with everything in one place.

The editors even intelligently managed to switch the render files between local and shared storage from project to project and the main shared storage is all the happier for it.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

There are two CInevators in Mumbai, India. They churn out hundreds if not thousands of film prints every year. And the films there are really long – even three hours sometimes.

They can give you a film print out from DPX exports out of your Resolve. You need to send them a sample of your DPX, preferably with a frame or two of Marcie and some wedges included. They can make a test output to match your DPX files.

What’s important for them or whoever is printing your output to film, is what LUTs if any used whilst grading. It’s important that they see the picture exactly as it appears on your monitor. If that tallies, you can be assured that the print will match correctly.

If you need a 35mm negative on intermediate stock (which is seriously expensive) then there are numerous, maybe two dozen or so Arrilaser recorders in various parts of India.

If you’re interested, I can pass on their contact details to you and you can take it from there.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

Bouke,

Looks like we both replied at the exact same time.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

If your original PAL tape was a 4% fast transfer from a 24fps original, then you can conform all your 25fps captures to 24fps with Cinema Tools. This is near instantaneous and changes the playback speed by 4%. Duration is affected, of course, but the number of frames remains the same.

This method of 25 conformed to 24 fps forms the basis of all film editing in PAL countries.
23.976 fps is a valid 24 fps for NTSC workflows. If you need ‘true 24fps’ then conform in Cinema Tools is the only method.

About the 24@25 setting, that has been provided to enable FCP to track the original 25fps time code in clips conformed to 24fps. So that you can have originals at 25fps (like from a telecine), edit at 24 fps, and then make a correct EDL at the source 25fps.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

Gary,

The offer, on Avid’s web site is good only for those in the US. Or those who have US credit cards, at least. International customers have to get it from their local resellers only. Like I did, mine.

Is the Videoguys offer good for those outside the US? Will you ship anywhere? Alternately, will you offer the downloadable version, so shipping is avoided altogether.

Maybe this needs to be in the FAQ clearly. Tens of thousands of readers of these forums are outside the US.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

If working with USB3 is crucial to your situation, then you’re probably working under Windows. I guess that rules out the Kona for you.

Regarding which is better for up conversion SD to HD, BM ultra studio Pro, or Kona, I guess that can be truthfully answered only by someone who has both, has actually done a play out of SD as upconverted HD out of both into another system that captures uncompressed HD, and then done a side by side wipe comparison between the two.

I’ve not come across any such test between exactly these two devices.

But I happen to have access to both BM as well as Kona cards. And I’ve run a test of the same picture from both into a Smoke, and then done a wipe test between the two watching the image on a Sony BVM monitor.
Honestly, not one of the assembled collection of finishing artists could tell them apart.

Sure, this is an empirical test, and maybe with some measuring instruments someone could find differences and even defects present in one and absent in the other. But to the discerning naked eye, none.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

I guess a lot of questions on the HDS will be answered when it ships, but I have three…

1. Is the uncompressed flavor that HDS records to, the same as the Uncompressed that QuickTime, FCP, and maybe Color also export to? I ask because I’ve had great success using Uncompressed QT from FCP to Smoke, it goes with timecode too so conform works fine.
2. Is there planned support for 4:4:4 recording via HD-SDI 3G?
3. Will BMD be selling the SSDs as well, or are there a list of qualified SSDs for use in the HDS?
4. Will the HDS also support compressed recording, like ProRes4444, HQ etc?

I can easily see this as a companion to the Alexa, F3, AF101, and many other cameras with HD-SDI Out.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

I filled out my FCS 3 serial and got the upgrade code as an email.
When I went to the Avid store and filled in the upgrade code, I got no discount.

When I went to the US store, I manage to get the discount only on a shippable box. But I could not checkout as the shipping address needed to be in the US and my card and address are in India.

I managed to get a reseller in India to take my FCS number and give me a discounted copy of Avid…
For the equivalent of US$ 1501. Blame it on local duties and taxes I guess.

However, according to him, the terms are

“with the order we require your  Final Cut Pro proof of ownership – install guide including serial number which is mandatory to send it to AVID with the order”

Nowhere in the FAQ do they say we need to send the FCP serial physically to Avid.
But the FAQ does say that it’s OK to have Avid MC and FCP run in the same system.

I don’t believe that Avid wants you to buy a Media Composer and simultaneously stop using FCP. So I’ve refused to hand over my licences physically to Avid. I’ve submitted photographs of the box and serial number and a screenshot of the splash screen. And the reseller visited my facility and saw the system.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

For a RAID0, if all the drives are identical – brand, model, age – it’s best. Their spin up/down and latencies match and the RAID actually works faster.

Depending on the resolution and compression you’re working on, you may not even need a RAID0 in the first place. Today’s SATA 7200 rpm drives are plenty fast for HD up to Apple ProResHQ. It’s only when you need many streams of Apple ProResHQ simultaneously, that you actually see some benefit of a multiple-drive RAID.

If your original media is AVCHD, or Canon video, then those are pretty small files. You can back them up to many Blu-ray disks. Each Blu-ray disk costing a few dollars, can hold about an hour worth of Canon files, and many hours of AVCHD. If you transcode with Compressor and save the batch along with the original compressed camera originals, you can get back identical ProRes files in a hurry.

And you can backup the the ProRes transcodes to bare SATA drives which you load with a dock. Should the backup drive fail, you still have the Blu-ray which only needs transcoding, the parameters for which are saved along with the target folder as well.

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Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India

[Neil Sadwelkar]

If you’re shooting 25 fps then there’s no problem in FCP. if it’s 24 fps, it’s often not really 24fps but 23.976 fps. Depending onnwhat your final output is going to be, and for maintaining sync with double system sound, you may need to conform the 23.976 clips to 24 fps.

If you’re shooting tape, then capture from tape is straightforward. But if it’s to any of the newer card formats, then maybe FCP 4.5HD may not support importing from these formats.

If I remember right FCP 4.5 HD goes back to 2003-04, and a lot has moved on since, as far as shooting formats go. A short test with the selected camera would be a good idea.

I’ve edited many films in the PAL 24@25 method with film telecined to tape, edited on FCP 4.5HD. It works just fine and I have good memories of correct cut lists etc. In those days we even edited TV shows shot on DigiBeta and captured with the Cinewave and Aurora on FCP systems. It all worked fine.

———————————–
Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India