[Sally Lundburg]

Thanks you very much for responding!
You said: [If you are cuts-only for the assembly it won’t hurt you to work in straight HDV, but if you’ll be doing anything else you may want to capture this material as ProRes – it will make your life easier down the line, even for things like simple dissolve]

I am using FCP 5, OSX 4.11, I do not have a capture card.hard drives for storage. I’m using a Powerbook G4, 2 GB DDR SD RAM, 1.67 GHz with external hard drives.

I’m working on what will be a 1/2 hour doc that was shot all in HDV on a Canon HV20 at 1980i60 and am using a HVR-M15U deck to capture and (export later). I will need to color correct this footage and use some effects in transitions and speed. I have only worked in SD before.
I have not captured any footage yet, except for text clips using the HDV preset. After some help from this forum (THANKS EVERYONE!) I am able to capture, hear my footage via external non-hd monitor, and my footage comes into the timeline just fine, fully rendered. But I’m nervous to capture all my footage before I’m absolutely sure that I’m using the right settings, as I can see that many folks have lots of headaches later when it’s not imported correctly for what they need.

SO…with all this above info (sorry)-MY QUESTIONS ARE:

* SHOULD I, CAN I- import and export using the HDV preset (I see not option for PRORES in the FCP 5 capture settings)

*can I do this without a capture card (I don’t have much money..not your problem, but I don’t)

*Am I going to run into problems with conforming at the end? (I’m still reseaching exactly what this is, and what it entails, but haven’t found a thread that applies to my situation and footage yet to explain it.

[Sally Lundburg]

Ok, got the audio, thanks…but I understand why it’s better to not preview it now.

question: “Also, When the clip pops up and i put it in the timeline, it needs to be rendered”
Answer:”Then your sequence settings don’t match the properties of your clips.”
Ok, I’ve contacted my partner to find the exact properties…meaning was it shot in HDV 1080i50, 60, p24 or 720p.30, p24, or p25…(anything else I should ask her?)

Answer:(“If you stay in HDV, you will have to conform when you are ready to output, but that’s a different story.”)

Since I’m on a timeline here, can you tell me what’s involved in conforming…or point me in the right direction? At this point, I was just assuming (as in sd), that I could just “print to video” and output to a mini-dv like usual so i can jet them their assembly cut. Is there more involved here?

I really appreciate the help. Sorry, this is probably so basic.

[Sally Lundburg]

I forgot to say that no, the deck is not the only firewire device connected to my mac. I have my powerbook hooked up to my cinema display, and through the ports in my display, i have both the sony deck as well as a external hard drive to store the footage.
Also, I’m running OSX 10.4.11 and FCP 5.1.4.

[Sally Lundburg]

thanks for responding so quickly!
I got it to recognize the deck earlier, after taking a brain rest. This is what I did differently: I powered up the computer, then powered up the deck, WITHOUT A TAPE IN IT. Before, I had a hdv tape in it. FCP recognized the deck, then I inserted a tape and I was able to capture.
But now I have some other issues. When I am capturing, I cannot hear audio. Also, When the clip pops up and i put it in the timeline, it needs to be rendered. Is this a function of working with HDV and is there any remedy for both the audio and render issues?