[Ryan Holmes]

[Rafael Amador] “The Canon 300 shots XDCAM-HD/422 so 50Mbps.
“

That’s not technically correct. The Canon C300 shoots uses the Canon XF codec (4:2:2 sampling) in a MXF wrapper. But you are correct that it is at 50Mbps at it’s highest quality. It does have a a few lower bit rate settings.
https://usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/cinema_eos_cameras/eos_c300?selectedName=Features&fileName=0901e024803c9536_feature3.html

Also I would not transcode the MXF files from a C300 to ProRes(LT) unless you are intending those files as an offline edit. I would at least (and commonly do) use ProRes422 and maybe even ProRes(HQ) depending on the scene and the intended workflow (vfx, color grading, graphics, etc.).

A bandwidth calculator will help you figure out overall file sizes beyond what Rafael listed above:
https://web.forret.com/tools/bandwidth.asp?speed=900&unit=Kbps

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

I think you’re confusing frames per second with fields per second. 1080i60 is 60 fields per second, but those 60 fields comprise 30 frames (alternating odd and even).

If by “REAL” you mean progressive, as in 24p, 30p, and 60p. Then you’re discussing progressive vs interlaced. All of which are still based on standards. Remember, 60p is different from 60i. Those little letters at the end are important.

All these frame rates are set standards. 29.97, 59.94 (commonly called 60i), all adhere to the NTSC broadcast standard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_rate

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
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[Ryan Holmes]

DVD’s aren’t terribly high quality to begin with. (5-8Mbps). It can also matter what codec you rip the DVD into when making a mov. If going to FCPX I would use ProRes.

I use MPEG Streamclip for DVD ripping. It’s free. https://www.squared5.com

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

[Shane Ross] “But, that’s my thought. You shot mainly 23.98…and it’s main goal was web, so keep that aim in mind.”

I would just add – pick a frame rate now. So if it’s 23.98 then make everything 23.98. If it’s 25 go with 25. Your original post lists 24 (23.98) and 30 (29.97) as recorded formats, with the majority being 24. So if you do 24 then convert the iPhone to 24, edit, export.

With the finished export you can then convert the 24 to 25 for any distribution needs in Europe.

Or just go with 25 right from the start….

FYI-there is no “right way” or “wrong way.” There are just different ways of doing this. Each has it’s pros and cons.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

[Kate Bones] “why I was advised by SO many people to shoot in 24fps!”

People often equate the “cinematic look” with 24fps. However, if you’re intended audience lives in a broadcast 25fps world then you’ll have to convert as some point. UK, most of Eurpoe, much of Africa, Australia, India, China, etc are all PAL format – https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/PAL-NTSC-SECAM.svg

In the future, just know where you’re going to deliver to and shoot in that frame rate to start with. Or realize that you may still want to shoot at 24fps but you’ll need to convert footage at some point to either 25fps (PAL) or 30fps (NTSC) for broadcast delivery (fwiw~this is a different discussion if you’re intended audience is internet based).

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

[Kate Bones] “Are you advising me to convert all my footage, canon, camcorder and iphone to apple pro res 422 at 25 fps?”

Yes. That’s exactly what he’s advising you to do. And I second his approach. Everything same frame rate (25) and same codec (ProRes) BEFORE you start editing. It will save you from so many headaches.

But if you like pain….

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

You should be able to upload a 10GB file to YouTube (I think the limit is 20GB). Depending on your connection speed, it may take quite awhile, but you can do it.

If you want to compress it to a smaller overall file size but retain much of the detail, then you’re looking at h.264 as your codec of choice. That can be tucked into either a mov or mp4 for YouTube.

Vimeo has a good compression settings guide with tutorials. The settings can be easily used for YouTube as well: https://vimeo.com/help/compression

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

The source of all knowledge has your answers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinterlacing

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

I would transcode everything to ProRes BEFORE you go into FCP. h.264 is a delivery codec. It is a terrible editing codec. It’s slow, processor intensive, and FCP7 does not handle it well. FCPX is better, but it to will transcode it in the background to ProRes. So the FCP7 workflow would look like this:

Get footage from producers (tape, DVD, file based…whatever)
Transcode to 1 common format – Apple ProRes (or ProRes LT)
Edit, title, color correct
Export self-contained mov using sequence settings – ProRes (HD file 1920×1080)
Take file into Compressor for h.264 transcode

OR you could do the down convert here at the FCP level. So it’d look like this:
Get footage from producers
Transcode to 1 common format – Apple ProRes (or ProRes LT)
Edit, title, color correct
Export self-contained mov as widescreen SD using ProRes codec (produces an 854×480 mov)
Take file into Compressor for h.264 transcode

Larry Jordan is a good place to start. His info is solid. I usually refer people to Vimeo’s compression page. It seems to lay things out pretty simply as well: https://vimeo.com/help/compression
Whatever software is used they have a tutorial for it.

Keep in mind that you’re taking a time hit somewhere. Either on the front end to transcode to ProRes or in your current workflow, on the back end when you try to export out of FCP to Compressor. For my $$$ I like ProRes. FCP plays well with it, and it works well on any Mac system.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes

[Ryan Holmes]

How are you even editing a MPEG-2 codec inside of FCP? Or are you exporting your sequence out as MPEG-2, taking that to Compressor and then going to h.264 mp4?

Assuming the latter option, I’m actually amazed it’s only taking 1-2 hours for a video. That i7 chip must really fly! WIth MPEG-2 as your source video you’re in for a long wait. Plus you’re going from HD resolution to SD resolutions. You’re asking Compressor to downrez a lot – not a bad thing, but it’s gonna take time for it to do all the math. And if you’re uploading to YouTube, why not upload a HD file? You can upload a file as big as 20GB. So why would you upload a SD file? FWIW – A different hard drive is not going to save you a drastic amount of time in your case. It’s more of a best practices thing. Your problem is the codec and the down-conversion you’re doing.

Per your codecs though – you may want to do some more reading. MPEG-2 is a horrible codec to edit in. It’s a delivery codec meant for DVD’s (and unfortunately, a format called HDV – yuck). Frankly, I’m amazed that you’re doing it all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-2

Editing codecs for FCP:
ProRes (preferred by FCPers the world over)
DNxHD (must download and install from Avid)
DVCPRO HD
XDCAM (though FCP7 doesn’t always like this format)

Delivery codecs (YouTube, Vimeo, DVD, Blu-ray):
MPEG-2
MPEG-3 (commonly called mp3)
MPEG-4

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
vimeo.com/ryanholmes