[Tom Matthies]

I’ve had problems in the past with SDI transfers using decks that weren’t properly synced or improperly timed to the input devices. It usually shows up by audio dropping out. Make sure that everything in the chain is referenced to the same source all along the way for best results. I’ve had this happen with Digibets decks and DVCPro decks with SDI cards as well.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Some cameras just won’t work for what you are trying to do. I have an old Sony TRV-900 that will do the same thing. As soom as you plug in a Firewire cable into the camera, it automatically switches it’s input to the Firewire port. Unplug the cable, and it will revert to the analog input. It’s automatic and not a menu item on this camera. I’m not sure about the Canon, but it might work the same way. Why not just dub your VHS to a Mini DV tape and capture it off of the tape. You will get he added advantage of having time code on the footage as well. It comes in handy if you ever need to go back and revise the video later.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

I pretty sure that FCP won’t output timecode information thru the RS-422 cable. At any rate, the UVW-1800 won’t take code via RS-422 on input. Your best bet if you need to lay off your video at a specific code number is to use the 1800’s internal timecode generator and pre black your tape using the same code start time but allowing anough time at the head for bars/tone, slate info and so on. Use the edit to tape function to edit your sequence onto the tape. I usually build my entire sequence to include bars/tone and any other information needed before the start of the actual sequence. If you need the program content to start at a specific time code number, say 1:00:00:00 just “backtime” your inpoint on the tape to include everything before the program and do either an insert edit (if you blacked the entire tape) or an assemble edit if you only blacked the first few minutes. You should be able to edit your sequence using the UVW-1800 with good accuracy at the program start point.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

I’ll add my 2

[Tom Matthies]

For what it’s worth, I have tried the template listed above and I didn’t get it to work correctly. I changed a few of the fields a bit and got it working fine now. The producer for this video logged all of his time code numbers using the modified template and FCP had no trouble importing it as a batch list. Capture of 5 reels of Digibeta went flawlessly. A HUGE time saver!
Thanks again for the link.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

And one last comment…
The DCR TRV900 is a fairly old camera as far as technology is concerned. There have been many,many improvments since that model was introduced 5 or so years aro. I still own an TRV-900, but almost never use it for any serious shooting. It’s been demoted to “Vacation Cam”. It was fairly good in it’s day. It was one of the first affordable “comsumer” cameras with three CCD’s and a host of other functions, but it isn’t excatly the pinnicle of video state-of-the-art anymore. It’s still capable of producing a decent picture, but as stated above, lighting is everything. You can’t expect to get a relly good picture out of any camera without putting in some work up front on lighting, stageing and camera support. Also, take it out of the automatic mode and learn to do things manually. The camera’s computer is rerely as smart as your own brain. This is just basic stuff. Learn it now, and your future career will be much more rewarding in many ways.
So, give the “900” some good production values, and it will give you a good picture in return. Most importantly, have some fun with it now. You will have lots of time to stress professionally later!
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Just stepping into this post for a moment. Last week I needed to take a show that was edited in 16×9 animorphic and make a letterboxed version for the client. Tall, squished, animorphic people confuse him. Anyhow, I created a new sequence, DV50, nonanimorphic for this version. I dragged the original sequence icon onto the new 4×3 sequence and it would not letterbox, no matter what I did. It seems that there are times when this works just fine, times when it doesn’t work at all and times when most of the clips, but not all will distort. It all seems pretty inconsistant to me. Perhaps there is a “trick” to ensure proper distortion to the letterbox format when working with a 16×9 original sequence? I ended up applying a -33.33 distort value to “force” it to letterbox and rendered it out. I was working under a deadline and simply had to get the show out for the client. So, why is this process so inconsistant or is it just my workflow?
Just wondering about stuff on a Monday morning while getting the first cup of joe into me…
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Thanks, Just what I was looking for!
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

I know both systems and they both have their strong and weak points. I find FCP more flexible than Avid. I feel the editing interface is faster, once you get used to it. File handling on import & export is better, in my opinion with FCP. I like Avids log & capture better than FCP’s. I feel the color corrector is better in Avid. Media management is also superior…or at least less flakey. I feel that Avids editing interface is getting long in the tooth. It’s too locked into tradition with not much innovation the past few years. FCP is very flexable here.
If I’m doing any heavy compositing/keyframing, it’s FCP hands down. Avid still is way behind FCP here. FCP is replacing After Effects in a lot of jobs here.
I’m cutting regularly on a Symphony and on FCP. These days I much prefer FCP over the Avid system. The Avid Nitris is a sweet system without a doubt, however it’s very overpriced and will also become outdated more quickly than FCP. Out Symphonys were obsolete just a little over a year after we got them. Big investment, crummy support.
And then there are the AVID hardware issues to deal with…but I’m not going there today.
All in all, FCP is my choice for everyday production.
Avid gets the nod for intensive color grading jobs.
Not a comprehensive report. Just some opinions.
Tom

[Tom Matthies]

Two small and obvious things…
Make sure you are working in RGB and not CMYK in PhotoShop.
When selecting colors in the Photoshop color palette, watch for the little exclaimation mark (!) to appear over on the right side of the box. Try not to have it appear if possible. It indicates a color that’s too saturated or too bright.
tom