Nicole Haddock
Forum Replies Created
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It could also be bad timecode, you might have a batch of wonky tapes (are they the same brand as the rest of the tapes?), or the camcorder could’ve been going.
The easy way to test this out is in your Capture Settings tab in your Log and Capture window, where it probably says Firewire, flip that to Non-Controllable Device. See if you can capture the tape. If you can, great, kind of. You get your footage but no timecode, which could be a problem later down the line.
The other option I’ve had to do (only once I might add) was to dub the tape to another tape over s-video/rca cables. This is a total pain and a weapon of last resort, but it could save your sanity 🙂
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The other posters are right, you captured your footage at the right frame rate (unless it’s 24pA and read that link). However, I have seen significant drift on tapes like this.
What version of Quicktime are you on, what version OS and what version FCP?
I’ve seen WEIRD stuff with FCP 5.1 and later versions of QT, also when digitizing on an FCP 5.1, QT7 or so machine, and moving it to an FCP 6.x and QT7.5x machine, stuff is wildly out of sync.
I think that’s more your issue than any frame rate concerns.
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Also, have you trashed your preferences? Multicam/clip does get wonky from time to time and tossing the preferences usually solves the issue.
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It’s your money (or your parents, or the loan company’s…), when it comes down to it, so how do you want to spend it. I’m sure the school Grinner worked with is great, so why the need for the Liberal Arts aspect? You or your parents who want that? Just food for thought.
That being said, here are some liberal arts schools that fit what you’re looking for. As with all schools, you get what you put into the program. The hours you spend on the programs, the craft, the extracurricular activities you get involved in, the internships you go after, THAT’S what’s going to make your money worth it.
Anyway, here are some schools I know of-
MASSACHUSETTS
Emerson College in Boston (I did my undergrad there 10 years ago, but it’s a bit of a different school now…)
MassArt in Boston, more art oriented but great for developing solid design skills if you want to go more motion graphics.
I would honestly skip Northeastern and Boston University.
Fitchburg State in… Fitchburg 🙂NEW YORK
NYU
University of Buffalo
Ithaca College in Ithaca
RPI in Troy. I always spell this wrong… but Renssalaer Polytech Institute. They have a fantastic MFA program so I’m assuming their undergrad is good.
Syracuse University, Newhouse is more TRF (television, radio & film) but might have something else cookin’.PENNSYLVANIA
Temple University in Philly, although their program is more abstract and structured in TRFMARYLAND
Townson University in Townson (half hour outside of Baltimore) has had some interesting development in their Communications department in the past few years.Basically, if you start looking and keywording New Media, Electronic Media, Television, Video, or Film, you should be able to make a good start at a list of schools to look at. There are no standard names for the type of program you’re looking for, in my experience. You can try looking for Animation, but the schools that have a specific major for that are few and far between.
I know a bunch of people who majored in Film or New Media at Emerson who work in the VFX industry out in LA now, which is where most of the action is. My personal opinion is to start out pretty broad in a film program, then narrow it down once you’ve got a feeling for the craft. Choose a school that lets freshmen get their hands on film or HD video cameras their first year (alot don’t and have highly regimented programs to follow) and do as much extracurricular stuff as you can.
Ok, I’m off my soapbox 😀 Good luck finding a program up your alley.
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Hi Nate,
No, I’m not still in Maine. I’m originally from Massachusetts, but now I’m living in Virignia (which, amusingly enough, you seem to be down here as well). I work in a boutique post-house up in Falls Church called RHED Pixel.
Ah, if only the Workshops paid an actual living wage, I would return in a heartbeat 🙂Nicole
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I had to try this (for one dumb reason or another) when I was on 5.0.4 and my assistant was on 4.5. The video files had been ingested on a 5.0.4 machine and then media managed over to a second drive for certain scenes. Final Cut Pro, in it’s infinite wisdom, would only take in 2 of the audio tracks on the files. If I remember correctly, it was the on-deck audio (channels 3 and 4) which was boggling in and of itself, but then of course meant we could really do limited cutting on the 4.5 machine. It was a 48 Hour Film Project shoot, so my memories are a bit hazy, but, yes, upgrade and save yourself a headache 🙂
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Hi Kendra,
I was a staff editor over in Post 2 summers ago, and so while I didn’t take any of the classes, I certainly saw what was going on and heard what students thought.
That being said, in general, I think the Workshops are great for learning specific skills. I have never been a huge fan of 4-week film bootcamps, but the students who go through their 4 and 7 week camps seem to like them (I’m a big proponent of undergraduate degrees unlike most on the board :P)
On the other hand, alot of classes that are on the schedule don’t “run” if not enough people sign up for them, and I know the Master Editing class 2 years back didn’t run for that reason. I have no idea if last year’s class ran or not.
The atmosphere up there is great, the setting is beautiful and despite being in class all day, it is pretty relaxing. If the Master Class runs, I think it would be worth your while. Personally, I intend on attending the Master Class maybe next summer.
For what it’s worth, a great place to network with editors from all over is the Editor’s Retreat (FMC puts it on). Pricey, but you do get editors from all walks of post and classes on a great variety of topics.
just my .02,
nicole -
“This is what I always struggle with when creating a reel. As someone hiring an editor what does seeing that they can take a bunch of disparate clips and cut them on the beat to some high energy music show you; unless that is what you are looking for? I always thought that would be good for an actors, DP, graphics, etc. reel. But not an editor.”
FYI- My response is in regards to editor’s reels, not assistant editor’s.
I’m not advocating that the montage needs to be cut to the beat, or that the music needs to be high energy, etc. My reel is cut to a low key piece of music, albeit one that does have a good percussion track. What I look for in the music montage is 1- can they cut on the beat if they want to (you’d be surprised the amount of people cannot) and when do they choose to not cut on the beat, 2- the pacing, and 3- are they doing anything interesting with the montage (is there visual progression or patterns, some sort of color cohesion, etc). If there are effects in there, how well are they being used, are they cheesetastic, etc etc. I think the good reels I’ve seen sew together a few sequences, keep the flow, and make it work. I’ve also seen great reels where it is just disparate clips, it all depends on the person behind the keyboard.
“To cut it into little chunks and put it to music would, in my opinion, be horrible editing.”
I work mostly in short form doc and comedy. And I cut big pieces into little chunks and put it to music all the time- for trailers, promos and sizzle reels. I also use montage in just about every project I work on, no matter what the content. Being able to cut a story is king of course, but montage is right up there. It’s a valuable skill to have, it isn’t easy as it looks, and you can easily spot when it’s done wrong. -
“It also doesn’t seem particularly hard to do that, just a simple “thank you for applying, your one piece reel bored us after 20 seconds …
For the same reasons Mark outlined, I can’t really do the same thing. Aside from the time constraints, the idea of giving everyone critical feedback in a small video community doesn’t exactly sound like something I would want to get involved in, professionally speaking. That being said, I started this topic with the idea in mind that I might write up a summary of all the things I personally want to tell prospective AEs, as well as what the rest of y’all think, post it to the web and then the next time I put a shout out for AEs, include the link for “application guidelines”.
FWIW, in past postings for editors and assistants, I’ve been very specific about what the work they’ll be doing is and what I’m looking for in their e-mailed “application” of sorts, and I still get the same type of responses. More often than not, when I’m in a crunch, I go with the people who have worked with people I know, or whom I know personally. When I’ve got the time to do interviews, I’ll cull down the resumes that don’t match what we’re looking for, which most of the time is Producers looking to make extra money doing some editing, or Camera Operators/PAs/Grips/Fill in the Blank looking for the same thing. The interview process is always interesting and obviously the best way to guess if they’ll fit in with the team.
I’ve strayed a little off topic, but while I would love to do as you say, and give that feedback, it’s generally not possible on a 1-on-1 basis. It’s the sort of thing that works well as a seminar/workshop with a local ITVA/Final Cut User Group type meeting, which my city has had in the past, but who’s listening is the question 😉
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“I’m here to tell you that you have about 10 seconds and that begins with the labeling of your reel and it’s menu”
Truer words were never spoken. It’s these seemingly little details that make people really stand out.
And I’ve done my fair share of interviewing in jeans and t-shirts. Always amusing and interesting to see their reactions, hah!
Thanks for your .02 grinner. Exactly the fodder I’m looking for!