[Tony]

Is FCP doing any of the drop shadows this will add to the render times.

By the way where did you get your special version dual 2ghz G4 which you listed. Did you mean dual 2 G5?

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

First of all were you a student when you purchased the academic version? If so you received the savings while on a tight budget as a student.

Are you still a student? If not then you need to buy the full license version of FCP like the rest of us did to work in a professional for profit business.

The spec’s regarding that an academic version cannot be upgraded to the full version are on the Apple website as well as on the web at lafcpug.org where a nice outline shows all the different versions and which one might best apply to your case.

If however when you purchased the new upgrade to FCP 5 and you were told by an Apple rep that it would work then you were indeed mislead and should fight to return the upgrade package.
But in anycase you still need to buy the full version of FCP 5 to get that version on your computer.

In other words the academic savings ended when you stopped being a student and went pro.
If you are still a student why don’t you get the academic version of FCP 5 if it is available?

I cannot stress the importance of doing the necessary background checks to verify if any upgrade software will work with a specific prior software version. It is up to the consumer to do all the proper work to protect themselves. “Buyer beware” applies here. I am Sorry to say but some of the apple sales staff at their stores and on the phone are quite misinformed or downright stupid so you can’t believe everything they say. The applies to many other vendors too.

Sorry for the bad news.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

It’s quite obvious what occured here.

1) Somewhere in the chain of distribution the anamorphic material had a centercut extraction done which in effect cut off the text which had been composed for the 16×9 aspect ratio.

Who is to blame here well sorry to say but it all started either before or during post production.

First of all if the deliverables were to be both 16×9 and 4×3 (which a majority of shows must comply with 4×3 delivery) then it was the responsibility of the production company or editorial facility to create text within the 4×3 title safe area (center cut) to avoid cutting off the text and/or create two separate versions of the show. The first 16×9 and the second 4×3 which means two separate text passes to compose for the different aspect ratios.

Another easier option would have been to create a letterbox version from the 16×9 anamorphic version but not all broadcasters might be willing to accept a letterbox program in lieu of a full screen 4×3 center cut version.

So in a nutshell the lesson to be learned here is to always get the broadcast specs including aspect ratio deliverable in writing well ahead of shooting.

The best method to avoid a mess in the end is to start at the end of the chain and work backward to fill in the gaps.

No such thing as fix it in post (at least not cheaply or without major headaches).

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

The files for these sequence are all part of the master project file.

Think of it this way:

1) You have a file cabinet (pick your favorite color and style, try Ikea they got cool stuff)
2) You put folders into the file cabinet (multi colored folders are ok)
3) Inside the folders are is your paperwork (must be on 8-1/2 x 11 no larger please)

The papers inside each folder are stapled so they will not fall out. (Don’t use paper clips)

Well this is what you have when you create multiple sequences within one master project.

As far as workflow is concerned this method will allow you to switch back and forth between sequences all related to the same project but you must be very careful about what you modify etc.

It also reduces the hassle of constantly changing the system settings to redirect where you scratch drive, autosave media and file are to go for each project.

So my suggestion is to work they way your are presently doing but make sure at the end to create a new project and pull over the individual sequences and bins associated with that sequence and then save that as a completely separate project (rename it what ever you like and may include the word “Final” in the name to make it easier to recall the last “final” best ever version.

This will allow you to have the peace of mind you are seeking and let you see all the lil digital data which was hidden from you.

Now go on grasshopper and resume the joy of FCP editing just be wise not to burn your fingers on the keyboard once you get lightin fast lest you cause a spark which burns the house down.

Good luck,

Tony Salgado

ps- your lucky I got alot of rendering I am doing because whenever I have a render I jump on the cow to post answers and see what other folks are up too.

opps my render is done got to go now

take care…..

[Tony]

Two things

1) If you use FCP to accomplish the so called “Ken Burns” (motion control) effect it is lame and sucks compared to third party plugins such as moving picture or a very inexpensive lesser known program called Still Life.

Both of these programs were designed for motion control photo work and offer the ability to ramp the “camera” moves quite slowly.

Go on the web and google “Stage Tools- moving picture.

Still Life can be found at http://www.grantedsw.com

You can also use imovie for their version of motion control.

Good luck,

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Are the 12 versions separate sequences within one project?

Go to the browser and see if you have one tab or several tab folders in your browser. Each tab represents one project. Verify the name on the tab matches what you have saved the project as when you originally did a “save as”.

Then check if you have a single or multiple sequences in the project which you have renamed or called a different version. If you have mutiple sequences within a project this is ok and would account for why you did not find what you may have thought were different “project versions”.

I suggest adding the date or version number to each different sequence as part of the name so it make it easy for you to backtrack within the browser when looking at the different versions within the same project.

If you need to separate the sequences into different projects you can do this also but be aware that each time you jump back and forth between different project you must remember to reset your scratch drive and autosave preferences so that they are saved in the specific project associated with the project you are working on.

I personally hate that FCP cannot remember the scratch disk, wavform,thumbnails, and autosave settings on a project per project basis.

One last thing if there is anyone thing you must understand about FCP it is the system settings and specific chain of events that need or will take place when you start a new project, save a project, “save as” a project and the results it will have on where the scratch drive and autosave files are stored.

WARNING: Do not disregard the importance of these steps. You would be foolish to go on and then somewhere down the line find out you organization skills have screwed you big time and you lost a project or files because of your lack of attention to detail.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

I wonder if another factor might be RT extreme and the effect that has on the image output as well as the speed of the hard drives for playback?

This might account why the issues are not visible when you create a QT movie of the file.

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

You are seeing SDI errors which could be caused by many different items.

1) Brand, type and quality of video cable being used (are all the bnc cables you are using rated to pass Standard Def SDI?)
Belden 1505A, 1694 and 1855 are all rated for SD SDI and HDSDI.

2) Are you using any bnc barrels and/or extending bnc cables with different brand model, length and ratings?

3)Are you feeding out of a patchbay?

4) Do you have an SDI wfm that can record an error log so you can see what the specific errors and error rates are?

5) How full are your hard drives?

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

The proper produre when you break the control track and timecode via a power down on any camcorder HD or SD is to cue up the tape via what is termed “tape return” which will roll back the tape and cue up to the last timecode and solid video frame.

This in effect performs an assemble edit once you press the record button on the camera or lens for the next shot and/or scene.

It is the responsibliity of the camera operator to do this procedure each time they power down, change a battery, eject and reload the same tape. You will have to account for the 7-10 seconds it takes for the HDCAM camcorder to rerack the tape and cue up during the “tape return” process. The Varicam is much faster when recueing due to the reduced length and size of the tape path.

FYI in the camera menu tape return is also referred to as lens return or vtr return depending on the vendor.

Whatever camcorder allows this feature I suggest “you use it or lose it in post during capture”

Tony Salgado

[Tony]

Dan,

SD is not dead and gone by any means the same applies to “the death of film”.

Alot of corporate clients I have seen are using HD to shoot on but post in SD via FCP thereby allowing them to pan and scan the image for shot changes etc.

There will always be the need for SD as not everyone will jump onto the HD bandwagon just because your neighbor has a six foot HD plasma.

I speculate that AJA’s goal to fulfil SD needs is via the IO products since they currently do not work in HD.

Tony Salgado