[Todd Reid]

have you tried flip4mac?
Its a $99 plug in that gives FCP the ability to export wmv files “natively”.
They have a demo that locks you to :30 seconds, but you can test the quality (and estimate file size).
I’ve had good results with it.

[Todd Reid]

It is my understanding that you should mirror each riser, so yes, I suggest 3GB on each.
Also, I would put your 2GB in slot A of each riser, then the 1GB in slot B.
Some may say to use the Apple RAM first, but I would use the larger RAM first.

Not sure technically why that makes a difference, but that’s what I’ve always heard and done.
Maybe someone can explain why.

[Todd Reid]

Think of it this way.

A doctor can probably guess if you have a fever by looking at you.
Wouldn’t you want him to use the tools he has, like a thermometer, to help him do his job more effectively?

I have seen people in many production facilities ignore scopes, and I have seen people live and breath by them.

Bottom line is that every monitor is different, so the ONLY thing we can rely on are waveform and vectorscopes. For the past 4 years, I’ve relied on the software scopes within FCP.
The real test depends on the facility that will be broadcasting it. They may have exacting standards.
So set up to the scopes you have, and if there is a problem, believe me, you’ll be the first to know when it gets kicked back to you with a long list of standards you must adhere to.

Contact your client and see what they expect, and you should be good to go with what FCP provides.
If not, time to invest a lot of money on scopes, or find someone that has them.

[Todd Reid]

If this ends up being your problem, you will have to re-import your footage, with “remove duplicate frames” checked. I don’t have FCP open right now, so I may be slightly off on the wording, but its close enough that you should get it.

I think that some updates will default this preference to unchecked. Since I normally run with it checked, but have had the slow motion problem pop up, and when I looked at it….no check.

[Todd Reid]

This only comes into play if you’ve imported via “log and transfer” tool, and that is where you will see this preference. There is a “sprocket” that pulls down log and transfer preferences.

If you digitized footage, then this won’t help.

“Show duplicate frames” gives you color coding in the timeline when you have used footage elsewhere. I usually run with this checked, but I bet it slows performance a bit.

Let me know if this helps or not.

[Todd Reid]

did they come off of P2 cards?

if so, see if remove duplicate frames is checked (preferences). I’ve had this unchecked and got very similar results as you’ve described.

[Todd Reid]

I’ve had a similar problem in the past, I fixed it by making sure the “remove duplicate frames” was checked in the log and transfer preferences.

I am still on 6.03, so I can’t speak as to if it was caused by the update.

Check your preferences, it may have defaulted back to unchecked when you updated.

[Todd Reid]

Roy mentions what may be the most important thing to help someone who is starting out….NETWORK!
Meet as many people in the industry as you can.
I went to a technical college (Art Institute) and the most important thing that happened, was that I met the person who eventually recommended me for my first job.

I started as a grip for a large corporate production house. After 7 years, I had experience in almost all aspects of video production. I knew that I didn’t want to grip/gaff for my career (although many people make a great living doing that), so I looked around and decided that my best path to “the big bucks” was via editing. I made it known to the bosses that whenever a tape operator position came open, that I was very interested. I finally got promoted and started to learn about beta, D2 and 1″ tape decks, switchers and many other pieces of equipment in the linear editing suites.
I spent a couple years doing that, then I made it known to the news department that whenever their editor went on vacation, I could fill in. He did, I did. They were happy, so was I, but I went back to my normal job. Then I did the same thing to the production manager, and finally the offline (IPS) editor went on vacation and I had my next important break. I tried to go above and beyond and must’ve done so, cause when this guy got promoted, so did I into his job.
Then I got lucky and the company fired 40 people (to save money), so I was promoted to nighttime editor in one of the big suites (linear editing).
After a few more years, I got a job at a post production house, where I learned the AVID. After 2 years there, I got a job in the promotions department at the ABC affiliate in Dallas. Where I got TONS of experience in film, marketing and promotion. Then 5 years later I took a risk and went to work for a startup that basically did infomercials, but they sent me to Final Cut Pro classes, and I haven’t looked back since.
After another job at a smaller internet television network, I was a victim of numbers crunching and was let go along with 40% of the staff. I took another chance and started my own company with my wife (also in the industry, and we met at the first job I mentioned above). We now operate a production company, Digitized Media, Inc., from a converted room in our house, and we have been pretty successful. Last year our company invoiced almost $200K.

The moral of this tale is that it takes connections, perseverance, determination, A LOT of late nights, holidays & weekends lost, pride, skill, luck and a bit of craziness to have a long career in this business.
I’ve talked with several younger people wanting to get into it, and they seem to think it is easy and lucrative. It is quite the contrary. I could bore you with several horror stories of things I have had to endure over the past 20 years in this business.
Expect long hours, low-to-medium pay scale, lots of work, unrealistic deadlines, little credit, frustration, eye strain, carpal tunnel and encounters with some very nutty, crazy people.

Having said all that, there is nothing cooler than seeing your work broadcast on television, or some other delivery medium like dvd or satellite. I still get a kick seeing my name in the credits.

[Todd Reid]

Warren (or others who have updated)-

What are you seeing from the upgrades? Anything major, or just upgrades to iCal?

I’m not sure I want to clone my system again so quickly, and things are working fine, so I’m wondering if I should wait.
I usually think its a wise idea to update, especially when they mention security fixes, but that theory has failed me in the past (in my non-cloning days).

[Todd Reid]

gotta love moire!!!!!

You’d be surprised how often, even seasoned pro actors/producers, allow this to happen.