Phil Balsdon
Forum Replies Created
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You’ll find it under “Canon XF MPEG2” in the “Sequence Presets” menu.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
In FCP 7 using the plug in the import through Log and Transfer to ProRes is very quick, especially when compared to the same process with H264 footage from HDSLRs.
In Premier CS6 they import natively. (If you already have an Adobe suite there’s a good deal running on your first year using Creative Cloud and signing up before end of August).
Is Wondershare going to convert to ProRes .mov or does it only go to H264 or mp4 because if that’s the case you’ll have to do a second conversion to edit it successfully in FCP.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
FCP 6 doesn’t do ProRes HQ, only SQ (which is just plain ProRes) and LT.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
Use as much light as you need to get a smaller f stop, at least f5.6 / f8 and a low ISO.
You need a really clean (low noise) image and sharp edges around your subject with the codec
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
A variable ND will make it possible to do a smooth exposure adjustment similar to a video iris pull during a take (as opposed to the 1/3 stop increments in Canon EOS lenses). The variable ND will normally give you from 2 up to 8 stops of adjustment.
Choose a good brand though, cheaper versions do tend to affect resolution. Buy one to fit your largest lens front diameter and buy step up rings for your smaller lenses, then you will only need the one variable ND filter.
Regular ND filters are normally in .3 increments (1 stop) so should be available as .3, .6, .9, 1.2 etc. As well as Tiffen Schnieder also make good quality NDs.
If you have a matte box you can slide them in and stack for more ND cut rather than screw each filter on, but this is not as convenient as being able to rotate a variable ND for perfect exposure. You’ll have to change the variable ND (normally a screw on filter) every time you change the lens though.Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
This sounds just like an issue I had with mpeg2 HDV files recorded on a Firestore DR-100.
You might like to check this https://www.focusinfo.com/dynassets/documents/downloads/HDFileConverterPro_Updater_FAQ_3.16.12.pdf
It solved the problem for me, but you have to drop each individual file separately onto the app icon. The fix is pretty much instant and permanent.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
The cameraman should have given you a complete copy of the entire CF card from the camera, which also has a lot of important data as well as the mxf video file.
This probably what all those other files you are seeing are. You do not need to sort through all these files selecting only the mxf video files.If you download the Canon XF Utility and use Log and Transfer in FCP it will only show you the video files and you can select which shots or portions of shots you require and the type of ProRes you want to convert the mxf versions to.
You should always keep a full copy of the original CF card (preferably 2). If your ProRes versions are lost or damaged you will be able to re-capture ProRes from these CF card copies directly into your project.
Canon XF Utility will backup CF cards correctly and very quickly.
Do not use the camera as a capture device.
Shane’s tapeless workflow tutorial covers the complete process.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
If it’s for home use the audio quality of an HDSLR should be fine. You are not going to have much control of acoustics at the shooting location anyway, so not to worry about the cameras slightly noisy pre-amps.
Just buy a reasonable camera mountable mic, the Rode Video Mic Pro or the Sennheiser MKE400 (very compact) are pretty good.
This is a doco I shot with a Canon 7D recording sound single system directly into the camera (it’s the only time I’ve ever done this but it was a necessary decision).
Camera mic is a Rode Video Mic Pro, interview mic a Rode NTG-2 into a Sennheiser G2 Wireless system with plug on transmitter. Camera was fitted with a Beachtek DXA-SLR to over ride the AGC, (the 7D is the only Canon camera you need this for, but new firmware is on the way to give manual control in the camera). A little bit of work was done in Soundtrack Pro to reduce background noise.https://www.engineeringaid.org/
The Canon 5D Mk111 is capable of shooting a continuous 29.59 take. (It’ll break into a number of files that can be edited together without losing a frame).
HDSLRs are normally much better in low light than an equivalent priced video camera due to the larger CMOS sensor.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
If you decide to use tape use “Camera Tape” rather than Gaffer tape or electrical tape, it doesn’t leave sticky residue all over your cables and equipment.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
Once you’ve installed the plugin you need to use Log and Transfer to see the MXF files in FCP and then bring them in as ProRes files. Be sure to copy the whole card from the camera. If you’ve installed the Canon XF Utility (which will also install the Log and Transfer plugin) you will be able to use this to view files on your desktop and Back Up the CF card correctly.
The XF Utility comes as part of the camera package or you can download it free here; https://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/blogs/2012/20120223_xf_utilities_and_plugin_updates.shtml
This works for the XF300, XF100 series as well as the C300, it’s the same codec. It’s extremely fast at backing up and transferring, especially when compared to the H264 codecs on Canon HDSLRs.
Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://philming.com.au
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/