[Simon Cawthorne]

“I am going to purchase an MXO 2 Mini to connect my laptop to an external monitor, for color correction with FCP6. I have heard that the MXO 2 Mini works well with a computer monitor, provided that the monitor has a “dot for dot” or similar setting, is 1920×1080 resolution, and has an HDMI input.”

Hi,

Just spoke to Matrox in the UK, and they advised that the MXO2 mini could take a computer LCD, but strictly on the above mentioned terms. Of course it can also output to an HDTV.

I’m far from being an expert, and was trying to work through this range of products too with the same goal as quoted above, so please take this as passing on information only!

Simon

[Simon Cawthorne]

I added a post as you were writng by the looks of it, but I’ll drop it in here too –

wouldn’t compressing Pro res lose quality if it is compressed again with pro res?

Also is it really as simple as taking the 1080p 25fps option and selecting the render fields option? It can’t be that easy — surely? I seem to recal pro res give an interlace option too – I set that up as “yes”

rgds
simon

[Simon Cawthorne]

“I see that with the route I have taken thus far, I am currently attempting to compress Pro res 422 footage twice, as well as potentially asking AE to render Interlaced as progressive.”

correction: attempting to compress footage already encoded in pro res on capture with Pro Res at the output stage from AE, which must be detrimental to quality?

[Simon Cawthorne]

Hi Dave, Kevin,

thanks for the input.

this is the route I took:

Captured the footage to FCP using Qt, Apple pro Res 422, 1080i 25fps.

In FCP, set up the timeline for this codec for the base edit.

I then rendered out a version for AE that was not self contained to cut down recompressions and disk usage. Took care that AE/I interpreted the footage properly for AE on import.

I then went to work with AE, and finally set up for render. That’s where I’m at for the moment (having rendered a web version out with no problem to complete the job at hand of course.)

From what you’ve both said for an HDV master, it seems I should go back to FCP and adjust the settings to render either a No codec or animation codec in FCP, then set up the referenced QT movie again so that AE handles this instead of the Pro Res codec it is currently dealing with. Then render a no compression/animation codec back out for FCP to create a master (?) – or render out from AE at high quality for my master? I’m not sure on this final aspect.

I see that with the route I have taken thus far, I am currently attempting to compress Pro res 422 footage twice, as well as potentially asking AE to render Interlaced as progressive.

Of course, you also indicate that in the first instance, it may be better to create effects in AE and then import them into FCP (alpha channels/screen) etc.

For information, there is a good article about GOP problems, editing in Pro res, and also capturing Pro res 422 from cameras into FCP on Creative Cow. I’ll try to find it and link to it.

thanks once more.

Simon

[Simon Cawthorne]

My initial thinking was that one would numerically and conditionally specify pixels in a javascript routine to a very precise level of colour.

Perhaps the prospect of rotoscoping ever again weighs heavily !!!

[Simon Cawthorne]

My initial thinking was that one would numerically and conditionally specify pixels in a javascript routine to a very precise level of colour.

Perhaps the prospect of rotoscoping ever again weighs heavily !!!

[Simon Cawthorne]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice –

In fact, I had at this early stage assumed that the avid codec would sit OK with an After Effects Render, and from what Bryce says, this aspect is something I now need to get sorted before committing to any workflow.

However – in theory it currently looks feasible, which is a start.

With thanks
doogal

[Simon Cawthorne]

Hi

Thanks for this – I’ll head over to the FCP forum.

doogal

[Simon Cawthorne]

Hi

I just wanted to say thanks for the advice here and also on the duplicate thread I posted (sorry!)

doogal

[Simon Cawthorne]

Hi

i thought I’d add a follow-up for those of you who may find yourselves in a similar position.

I took the approach of responding to my (potential) client an explaining that I would complete the video as requested by his client, but on a daily rate, for which i was happy to quote. He came back to me to say that could I give this quote and also for the whole project, but also said that he felt like “piggy in the middle” between me and his client, and that he thought we’d already agreed that I would do this work anyway.

I spent some time putting an answer together. In overview, I said whilst i accepted that many pitches require a great deal of work, many times including work to a high level, and yes, at the onset, I had accepted I would be in a pitch where the much of the work he was talking about would be produced – BUT I had not accepted I would provide completed work, and that to do this for a pitch would in many circumstances be considered highly irregular.

I suggested that his clients asking for additional work to be done after the pitch/presentation was also not acceptable (especially as they or he, had brought the pitch presentation forward by two weeks) – develpoment is project work, not pitch work.

I wrote that although I had given him a (healthy) quote for completing the video along with a timescale, that I advise the client should actually not take this offer up, as the video they had already seen will have shown them enough – instead, I offered to provide a treatment for the whole project that could then be submitted alongside the existing video. Much more productive, and could map out the whole project for them.

Well, this guy has been fairly efficient in maintaining contact as things have prgressed, by phone and e-mail. Indeed he’s been quite enthusiastic. However, I sent him my last e-mail a couple of days ago (the first one with a figure and a price mentioned) and guess what…

He may be talking to his client, but somehow I think I’ve seen the last of him.

I think I did the right thing, and the longer he goes without responding, the more sure of this I become.

Idle/possibly paranoid thought: I don’t think I was ever going to see a job, but wonder if I was going to provide the template for someone else’s job, or at least provide a nice shiny video for him and his clients for free, that they could use to get the rest of the project going.

regards

doogal