Webspace of Eric Brodeur

Perspectives on storytelling and digital cinema technology

Tag Archive: Final Cut Pro

Onlining RED with Avid Media Composer

Posted Oct 24, 2011 by Eric

If you’re shooting with RED and don’t need/want a traditional conform to the 4K RAW files, you can follow Oliver Peters’ excellent tutorial found here. He explains best practices for importing RED media for the offline edit and how to re-import and create a high-quality DNxHD 175X output.

I’m in the middle of doing this for Hotel Noir and wanted to mention a few things related to Oliver’s post.

As described in Step 8 we had to relink the sequence clips, not just the sequence. Change the bin display to show all clips/elements and relink from there. In some cases you may need to relink by repeating the Link to AMA command.

It’s best that you change the Source Settings for every clip to achieve the flat color space of the RAW footage. The quickest method is selecting all of the RECCODE clips then change Source Settings. Yes, you can select groups of clips and the settings will be applied to all of them.  It’s recommended to select the Default color settings then change RED color science (ie: REDcolor, REDlog) as needed.

Although you’ve changed the color settings for all clips used in the sequence, you must force Avid to update the clips in the timeline. Select your sequence then Clip > Refresh Sequence > Source Settings. You may be tempted to choose “All” but we experienced undesired changes to the clips by doing so.

Without a RED Rocket, our 3.2 GHz 8-core Mac Pro performed the conversion to 175X – for each reel – in about 5-7 hours. This equates to approximately 36 hours of render time for six reels and six hours per. This excludes any prep time.

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Filed Under: Avid, Film & TV
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You are your NLE

Posted Sep 21, 2011 by Eric

The release of Final Cut Pro X has brought to light a certain distinction amongst picture editors.

When Apple removed key features and changed the user interface, they received a wicked backlash. The biggest complaints weren’t with the UI but lack of OMF, XML, and EDL support. Without these it’s impossible to use FCPX in a professional environment such as network television and features films.

Despite this a number of editors I follow jumped into FCPX and praised it. But how are these professional editors using FCPX if it can’t turnover a show?

That’s when I realized my definition of “professional” isn’t the same as everyone else. We can debate this all day and not have a single answer. There probably should be a common understanding of the word “professional” as it relates to post-production but I think there’s another way to tell the difference.

You are your NLE.

The system you use is indicative of who you work for and the types of projects you engage. This is an observation, not a judgment.

Read an issue of POST magazine and it won’t take long to see that Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Pro (version 7) are used to edit network television and studio feature films. There is the occasional mention of Adobe Premiere but nothing else. No Vegas. No Edius. No iMovie. No Final Cut Pro X.

Perhaps those NLEs don’t have the necessary features required by Hollywood’s production workflow. Maybe those packages aren’t popular enough with employers and employees in the Hollywood system.

So, then, we’re back to the adage you are your NLE.

Can you name a studio feature edited with Vegas? When is the last time you heard a corporate training video editor going on about Avid?

Despite the disappointment of Final Cut Pro X to network television and feature editors, we may owe Apple a big thank-you for reminding us there are different industries with different needs.

Knowing your NLE is knowing your market.

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Filed Under: Avid, Film & TV, Final Cut Pro
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Use with caution: removing clips from Log and Transfer

Posted May 12, 2010 by Eric

If you imported media using Final Cut Pro’s Log and Transfer feature and want to remove those items from the window, use the Eject button associated with each clip. Using the Delete option will permanently delete the source media files – not what you want to do.

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Brief guide to Final Cut Pro and Panasonic P2

Posted Oct 23, 2009 by Eric

Final Cut ProEarlier this week I worked with P2 footage from the Panasonic HVX200 camera. This is my first P2 project so I researched the format and workflow with Final Cut Pro version 6. Although we're distributing for television, the D.P. informed me he was shooting 1080p24.

It was during a test import of footage that I discovered my research didn't adequately reveal some important details.

Final Cut Pro identified the imported clips as 1080p30 yet there was visible interlacing in the Viewer (no on-set monitor for me). The D.P. gave me a hasty explanation but it didn't make sense at the time and – being a techie – I needed to understand in greater detail. After further research, feedback from tweeters, some rest, and a follow-up call my questions were answered.

The Problem

Using Log & Transfer I selected "Remove advanced pulldown and duplicate frames" to get the intended 23.98 fps clip. What resulted was 29.97. Various iterations later I could not attain 23.98 without forcing the clip using the pulldown option in the Tools menu.

There was something not quite right so I pushed on.

The Solution

It's important to understand the difference between shooting 24p and 24pA which – at the time – wasn't clear to me.

The 24p mode provides a film-look yet is recorded at 29.97. When ingesting to FCP there is nothing further to do. There is no pulldown required because the 29.97 video only simulates 24 frames per second. In this case FCP's sequence settings will have a time base of 29.97.

The 24pA mode provides a film-look, is recorded at 29.97, and requires pulldown during Log & Transfer (identical to a film-to-tape reverse telecine). Once pulldown is applied the clip's frame rate (23.98) is extracted from the 29.97 video. The sequence settings will have a time base of 23.98.

The Explanation

Due to our broadcast system running on 60 Hz, the Panasonic camera records everything interlaced (60 fields) at 29.97 fps. Any user-selected modes are recorded inside of this 29.97/interlaced video stream and FCP knows how to extract them as intended.

It is this nuance of P2 which is confusing when compared with clip information inside of Final Cut Pro.

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Filed Under: Final Cut Pro
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Resolving Offline Media empty filenames (“”)

Posted Oct 02, 2009 by Eric

Final Cut ProWe’ve all had media go offline in our Final Cut Pro 6 projects. This is easily remedied assuming you have the media.

What has always confounded me is when FCP is looking for an empty filename called “”. The Reconnect Files window does not allow you to view other metadata to reveal the file in question.

At a recent Pizza and Post the presenters mentioned a solution for this. They discovered the empty “” value is pulled from the Log Note field of the clip. During the logging process, paste the source media filename into Log Note and the “” issue should never present itself.

My solution to “” is searching the Browser for “Offline Media is Yes” but if your project has degenerated over time you may have Sequence clips that don’t have corresponding Master Clips in the Browser.

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Filed Under: Final Cut Pro
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