Thaxter Clavemarlton
Forum Replies Created
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Questions like this are posted very frequently. And many (most?) of the problems are solved by a simple procedure.
There is a function in FCP that is often overlooked… and it can help with many audio and video “skipping”, “sticking” and “missing” problems.
You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video stuttering, drop-outs or freezes.
NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.
First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:
Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.
You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.
It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.
NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.
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[the1ktone] “I should set my 1k tone reference point to something between -12 and -6dB? would that cause distortion on the betacam SP even if my levels are safely outta the red on my mixer?”
I’m talking PEAKS.
Tone should not be set to maximum peak level.
-12 to -14 is a good level for your tone.
Then watch your levels so they don’t spend too much time in the red.
If this is MONO audio, you could adjust the camcorder’s inputs to record channel one’s reference at -12 and channel two’s at, say, -18… that way you’re covered at either end.
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[CUT] “Does it work? Are there any pitfalls that we should be aware of? Has anyone else tried to use a keyspan to get timecode off of a deck at the same time? Any help in these matters would be appreciated.”
Some folks get good results, some don’t.
Depends on each system. Be sure to use an additional PCMCIA FW Card so you don’t have the Canopus and the HD on the same FW bus.Be sure to set it up and try it before the day of the shoot.
Make sure you test-capture for as long a segment as you intend for the production, as some have experienced “dropped frames” after several minutes of good capture.You would set FCP’s Capture to “Non-controllable Device” and hit “Capture Now.”
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[the1ktone] “because of their lower headroom”
(Mini)DV digital audio is the “same” 48kHz info as DigiBeta.
There is no more or less headroom in either.The input electronics (preamps) in some DV camcorders may have less ability to deal with higher incoming levels, but digitally, “Zero” is still “Zero” on either device.
[the1ktone] “should I just change the -20dB 1k tone reference mark to -12dB or so?”
That should make things closer to the “norm”.
If you were PEAKING at -20, you had some pretty low levels for the editor to deal with.
I never have trouble even with miniDV if I set my levels so the top PEAKS hover around -6.
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There is a function in FCP that is often overlooked… and it can help with many audio and video “skipping”, “sticking” and “missing” problems.
You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video stuttering, drop-outs or freezes.
NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.
First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:
Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.
You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.
It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.
NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.
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I’m still here, monitoring your progress.
Seems to me you’re going at it the right way.
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[sieg the mac] “it is only can do is buy a fcp 5?”
Yes.
Or use the newer version of iMovie.
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[Whitewater] “I’m so relieved to know that I’m not the only wiseass in the industry”
Happy you took this in the spirit intended!
The truth is, if you are trying to “make it” in this segment of the biz, it makes sense to “build-in” a mechanism for dealing with the general public who generally have no concept of what YOU are dealing with to get their job completed.
One method is X% up-front (some would argue x=100).
Another is, with the low cost of HD these days, dedicating a separate HD for each client (build-in the cost).There are times when my HD’s are already brimming and new projects are in the pipeline… the pressure is on.
Other times, files could sit for months with no “new neighbors” trying to squeeze in.Questions that involve “how much” and “how long” always depend on each individual’s circumstances.
You now have experienced the length of “waiting” that makes YOU feel the burn.
Next time, you can prepare for this and adjust your “up-front” client requirements and/or new HD real estate. -
[jhwilson] “I left thinking that FCP5 REALLY likes there to be time code in the stream,”
But, I’m quite sure there IS “TC in the stream” when you have the DECK in “record” and FCP is capturing from the deck’s FW (its just ignored by FCP in Capture Now).
[jhwilson] “although it will capture from a non-controllable device, that it sometimes doesn’t know how to keep up with the video stream.”
This seems the more-likely problem. “Capture Now” has always been one of those FAQ problems here. My recommendation has been in those cases to dub to DV tape and capture the DV tape.
In YOUR case, I’d try the DSR-20 in place of the DSR-11 (doubt it will matter, but TRY it).
Another way to save the “extra hour of dub-in time” would be to record from the deck’s FW to a FireStore (Hard-Disk) unit during the show, and edit from that FireStore with FCP (no dub time). -
Make sure your Canvas window size is set to “Fit to Window.”