[Richard Keating]

Final Cut tends to handle speed changes poorly. If it wasn’t shot with this in mind (ie. with proper frame rates), it can be tough to get good results. There are some plugins out there you may want to look at:

https://www.geniusdv.com/news_and_tutorials/2010/07/twixtor_fxplug_for_speed_changes_in_final_cut_pro.php

Good luck,

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

If you have issues with your FLV encodes, they will most likely not be caused with pro-res. I find that most quality issues with FLV files are the result of improper frame sizes. Of course you can use any width and height in your Adobe Encoder settings, non-optimal dimensions can result in poor image quality (particularly with text). For the best image quality, the powers that be recommend you always use width and height dimensions that are multiples of 4 (good), 8 (better), or 16 (best).

This link has a table of optimal frame sizes:

https://labs.influxis.com/?p=6

Also: Why FLV? Does your client specifically require it? H264.mp4 gives you much better quality with small file size and is the current standard for web video.

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

Jennifer,

You didn’t mention if your main footage is 4×3 or 16:9. Either way, there are presets ready-made in Compressor.

Select:
Other Workflows > Standard Definition > DV NTSC
(or DV NTSC Anamorophic if that’s what the rest of your clips are).

If you have 4×3 footage, then you need to set up the proper cropping settings in the inspector:

Source Inset (Cropping) > Crop to: 4×3 1.33:1 (drop down to preset).

Good luck,

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

Mellisa

Connection speed is important, of course (eSata, FW800), but so is the drive speed. Most data storage drives are 5400rpm, but for editing make sure you get 7200rpm drives. As for brands, I think G-Tech gives you the best bang for your buck.

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

David,

This is a fairly common issue. It’s actually not really problem, just an annoyance – the files are really online and available, it’s just that Final Cut is being tricked by the Thumbnail Cache. The fastest way to fix this is to force Final Cut Pro to rebuild the thumbnails. Search for a folder named “Thumbnail Cache Files” with your spotlight and move it to the Trash. When you next open the project, Final Cut Pro will rebuild the thumbnails.

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

What kind of footage are you trying to transcode?

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

Paul,

Take a look at ScreenLight:

https://www.screenlight.tv

Cheers,

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

Ian,

If you want Quicktime files that will play on any computer, then you can’t use a pro codec. That means an uncompressed file is out of the running. Your best bet is an H264 in a Quicktime container. I have a tutorial posted on my blog on how to do just that. The tutorial is specifically for web video, but all you need to do is up the data rates for better quality. Check it out here: https://blog.screenlight.tv/2010/11/25/encoding-h-264-quicktime-for-the-web-with-compressor/

Alternatively, you can make an H264 in an mp4 container, but you would need to use a compression software other than Compressor.

Good Luck.

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

Martin,

You don’t have to move the folder to another disk, you just need to set the path to the new files. Here’s how: Highlight the clips in the Browser, then right-click and select “Make offline…”. You will be given three choices, but make sure you select “Leave Them on the Disk”. This will take the clips offline, but not delete them. Now all your clips in the browser will have a red line through them to indicate they are off-line. Highlight them all and right-click, this time selecting “Reconnect media…”. Navigate to your folder with the low-rez clips and reconnect. This will create a new path to the files which Final Cut will remember until you set the path back to the hi-rez files, which you do using the same process.

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv

[Richard Keating]

Hi Tom

H264 in a QuickTime or MP4 wrapper, played on a flash player is what I would recommend. That’s what we used when we developed our video review and approval application called ScreenLight. In fact, sounds like ScreenLight is something that may be ideal for your work-flow. Unlike YouTube, its brand-able (you can style screening rooms with your company logo and colors) and it’s dead simple to accommodate end clients who don’t want to spend time on anything with a steep learning curve. Like you said, they just want to click a button and watch. Anyway, it’s free to try, and completely web based – so nothing to download. Check it out at https://www.screenlight.tv

Richard Keating
Editor, Co-Creator of ScreenLight
“Centralized Video Project Collaboration”
http://www.screenlight.tv
Blog: blog.screenlight.tv