Archive for the ‘NLE’ Category

Adobe Production CS6 – Cache & Render Files and their Locations

Saturday, September 1st, 2012

When I start-up any application, I like to understand at least the main side-effects it’s having on my system.  In the case of Adobe’s primary video-editing apps, Premiere and After Effects, my experience (on Windows 7) is that they save intermediate preview-renders to the system volume.  This causes me the following concerns:

  • System Volume may serve poorly as a media drive.
    • Larry Jordan, at least in the recent past, advises against using the system drive for media read/write.  On the upside, such drives may have high-bandwidth to the system, but on the downside, the system can interrupt their use with highest priority, whuch may (I guess) pose a risk to smooth playback (though I am aware that buffering may possibly reduce this risk, I haven’t done or seen any such calculations).  Cache files are indeed media files that are written and read.
    • On the other hand, an informed representative of a well-known UK supplier of video editing laptops advised me that in his experience, most users of laptops with only a single internal drive (as system drive) do use that drive in this way (for portability).
  • System drive can become “clogged up”
    • System drive can become clogged-up by many or large video files of which that the user is only partially aware, their creation having happened implicitly during their use of the NLE etc.  Like temporary files only worse!
    • Ultimately the system drive can even become full, making the operating system itself sluggish or even less stable (and video playback less smooth.
    • Backup of a system drive that includes media files will typically require significantly greater archive space and will take significantly greater time (than a clean system).
  • Migrate-ability is reduced
    • I like the idea of a video project being a free-floating data-object.  That is, it should not be tied to any particular instance of a data storage volume, let alone a particular computer (system).  It should be possible for all files relevant to a project to be stored on any volume, migrated to any other volume, plugged into any computer having appropriate installed applications, and everything to work the same way as when the project was on its original volume being edited on the original system.  That includes not only the source media files etc. but also the intermediate rendered files.

So what do the Adobe editing applications provide to enable my preferred working arrangement?

  • Premiere:
    • [Edit > Preferences > Media]
      •  This defines the location of the folder [Media Cache Files], which contains pseudorandomly-named files.  Example Files:
        • [929_4372_01-125eeda9-ba0d-a8ea-4418-3480000001f0.ims]
        • [Rendered – 68721ea9-25e9-4f56-8430-4ca10101ace7-04602910-cd54-1a45-a5d7-557b000001f2.ims]
      • Default location: [c:\Users\…\AppData\roaming\Adobe\Common]
      • [Yes] Save Media Cache files next to originals when possible
        • e.g. for my XDCAM-EX files, inside a CLIPR folder (which contains the EX’s “essence” (.mp4) files, in this case [929_4491_01.MP4]), appeared the following files:
          • 929_4491_01.MP4 48000.cfa (9.2 MB)
            • Unknown, but the “48000” and the “a” on the end of “cfa” are suggestive of audio.
          • 929_4491_01.MP4 48000.pek (37KB)
            • Simply the peaks (waveform graphics data) file for the audio component of the essence-file.
        • Experience:
          • I clicked the [Browse] button and selected an area on my external media drive (a GRaid Mini) as: [H:\_App_Specific\Adobe].
          • Consequently, at my specified location the following folder appeared: [Media Cache Files]
    • Media Cache Database
      • Note:
        • When Premiere Pro imports video and audio in some formats, it processes and caches versions of these items that it can readily access when generating previews. Imported audio files are each conformed to a new .cfa file, and MPEG files are indexed to a new .mpgindex file. The media cache greatly improves performance for previews, because the video and audio items do not need to be reprocessed for each preview.
        • When you first import a file, you may experience a delay while the media is being processed and cached.
          A database retains links to each of the cached media files. This media cache database is shared with Adobe Media Encoder, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Encore, and Soundbooth, so each of these applications can each read from and write to the same set of cached media files.
      • Location: [c:\Users\…\AppData\roaming\Adobe\Common]
        • [Browse]
          • If you change the location of the database from within any of these applications, the location is updated for the other applications, too.
          • Each application can use its own cache folder, but the same database keeps track of them.
          • Example Experience:
            • I clicked the [Browse] button and selected an area on my external media drive (a GRaid Mini) as: [H:\_App_Specific\Adobe].
            • In response, a prompt came up saying “Move the existing media cache database to the new location, or delete it (Buttons: [Move] [Delete] [Cancel] ).
            • I clicked [Move]
            • Consequently, at my specified location the following folder appeared: [Media Cache]
      • Purging
        • [Clean]
          • This removes “orphan” cache files.
          • To remove conformed and indexed files from the cache and to remove their entries from the database, click [Clean]. This command only removes files associated with footage items for which the source file is no longer available.
            • Important: Before clicking the [Clean] button, make sure that any storage devices that contain your currently used source media are connected to your computer.
      • [Yes] Write XMP ID To Files On Import
        • Check this box to write ID information into XMP metadata fields.
        • e.g. hence [929_4491_01M01.XMP] sidecar-file (containing XMP metadata) got written into the CLIPR folder containing its associated media  file, here an XDCAM-EX essence file, [929_4491_01.MP4].
      • [Yes] Enable Clip And XMP Metadata Linking Check this box to link clip metadata to XMP metadata, so that changing one changes the other.
    • Intermediate-Preview Render Files
      • None of the above measures affect where intermediate/preview files get rendered to…
        • I proved this (in Windows 7) by deliberately causing a render then searching on “Huge” (>16MB) files created “Today”
        • Rendered files location was:[C:\Users\…\Documents\Adobe\Premiere Pro\5.5\Adobe Premiere Pro Preview Files\Untitled3.PRV]
      • A brief Google revealed several articles where the (sadly now obsolete) solution was a setting under [Edit > Preferences > Scratch Disks]
      • Eventually discovered that in CS5.5 these settings now resided in: [Project > Project Settings > Scratch Disks]
        • Here, all settings (affecting Capture and  Preview) were set to [Same as Project]
        • As it happened, my project location was [C:\Users\David\Documents\Adobe\Premiere Pro\5.5].
      • Experiment with a different project location:
        • Save As: [H:\_Media\_Projects\MyProject\030 Projects\Adobe\Experiments]
          • The file [Expt A v001.prproj] appeared in it, but that was all.
        • Save a Copy: [H:\_Media\_Projects\MyProject\030 Projects\Adobe\Experiments]
          • The file [Expt A v001 Copy.prproj] appeared there, but that was all.
        • (The file open within Premiere remained as the original, not the copy)
        • After a while, the project file was joined by: [Adobe Premiere Pro Auto-Save]
      • Experiment to migrate the Preview-Render files:
        • In Windows Explorer, I created a folder named [Adobe Premiere Pro Preview Files]
        • Into that folder, from the similarly-named folder on the system volume, I dragged the existing folder [Untitled3.PRV]
      • Experiment: Premiere “knows” when render-files have gone, and prompts for their possible new location.
        • I deleted the project-specific render-files folder on the (external) project-drive.
        • I re-rendered, resulting in a fresh such folder, re-populated.
        • In Premiere, I Closed the project
        • Then in Windows I renamed the project-specific render-files folder, then back in Premiere I re-opened the project.
          • Premiere prompted with Browser titled: “Where is the File ‘Rendered – 5ac…..228.mpeg’?”
          • I selected the stated file in its newly-renamed folder, Premiere then found all the others there.
        • Result: the timeline render-region went green (i.e. “probably playable”).
      • Experiment: Once render-files are regarded as “gone”, they cannot be restored.
        • I closed the project, ensuring I did not save changes (such as the new location of the render files), then re-opened it.
          • As in the previous experiment (since I did not save changes), the render files folder could not be found.
          • Premiere thus prompted with Browser titled: “Where is the File ‘Rendered – 5ac…..228.mpeg’?”
          • This time however I simply used the [Skip All] option.
        • Closed the project.
        • Renamed the rendered-files folder back to its original name.
        • In Premiere, re-opened the project.
          • The timeline region remained red, indication no render-files were associated.
      • Experiment: Tidy migration of a project to a new location.
        • Warnig: in the case of doing a Copy (which is Windows’ default drag operation between different volumes), take care to ensure the Project (file) is not simply referencing the original preview files at the old location…
        • Drag both Project and its folders (including render-file folder) to a new location (e.g. on a new disk).
        • If name and relative location of folder are unchanged (as they ought to be, in good practice) then the files will be automatically detected and used, not even a user-prompt.
          • Just be sure though that the project isn’t simply referencing the render-files in their original location, if they are still present there.  Premiere is “lazy” in this respect.
      • Experiment: The relative location of the Rendered Files folder does matter (relative to the project file).
        • Tried putting the render files in a non-standard location.
          • The “Locate/Browse” prompt appeared
          • I located the file
          • All at first appeared well, and the corresponding section of the timeline went green
          • However, the “Composer” window simply displayed “Media Pending”.  That never went away.
      • Experiment:
        • When migrating, also need to move (or copy):
          • The Media Cache directories
            • Actually I’m not so sure about this. I tried exiting Premiere, renaming these directories and opening Premiere.  It created and repopulated the same directories in their original location, which in my case was an external drive.
          • The Source Media files
    • http://forums.adobe.com/thread/784220?tstart=0
      • I suggest marking each external with the drive letter that the user assigns to it, say Z:\. Then, whenever Z:\ is plugged in, it will always be seen as Z:\. This way, the NLE can keep up with where the Assets are located, starting with the drive letter.
      • If one is migrating Projects between computers, they will repeat this exact process in the OS of each computer.
      • Note: when doing the migration, ALL Assets, Scratch Disks, and the Project file, MUST be included on that external

Work Procedure for Migrate-ability:

  • By associating cache and XMP files with the media (or its essence), Adobe projects are migratable.  However adding such files into the BPAV/CLIPR folder structure is considered by some applications to be an adulteration of that structure, requiring their deletion.   However, such deletion on an as-needed basis is not too onerous – given it is easy to do and in any case this situaion should rarely arise in practice.
  • When using different disks, remember to re-define (in Preferences) the location of cache files etc.
    • One work-around would be to -re-set the cache location before opening any individual project.
      • Might be hard to remember to do when opening a project from within the NLE, easier to remember when double-clicking a project file in Windows Explorer.still
    • I’m not 100% sure what to do about these…
  • As noted earlier:
    • When doing the migration, ALL Assets (Sources), Scratch Disks (Renders), and the Project file, MUST be included on that external.
      • I note that this says nothing about Cache Files etc. …

NLE Handling of 10-Bit Recordings

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

There exist various HD-SDI device to record 10-Bit 422 video data.  10 bits is useful for shallow gradients especially when expanded (steeper contrast curve) by grading, while 422 gives better detail, that can matter when pixels are big (e.g. when close to a big screen or when digital zoom employed in post).  In any case, such recorders tend to compress less than on-board camera systems, or in some cases not at all, improving the quality.  But to what extent can the various NLEs cope with this?  From my web searches it seems that the answer is “sometimes”.  For example some NLEs will accept 10-bit only in their own favourite formats, otherwise they discard two bits, interpreting the footage as 8-bit.  One might (naively) have thought the way to be sure was to experiment – but there is plenty of room for confusion when doing experiments, for example Avid’s color correction tool allegedly only displays to 8-bit resolution even when it is importing/processing/exporting at 10-bit.  Other “loopholes” may exist, like it seems (if I understand it correctly) that if you AMA or import 10-bit ProRes then Avid only sees 8-bit, implying one needs instead to transcode ProRes->DNxHD externally (e.g. via MPEG StreamClip?) and import that.  But even that might not be possible, as one post suggested DNxHD 10-bit encoding could only work from Avid, not external apps.   Furthermore, whereas all ProRes formats handle 10-bit, for DNxHD, only formats with an “x” suffix do; the only one I know of is DNxHD 220x.  There exist further subtleties/loopholes/pitfalls, hence more research to be done on this… and I’ll tread very carefully…

(more…)

Avid MC: Bundled Tools & Apps: Their Purpose

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

When you purchase Avid Media Composer, you also get a set of other applications, whose purpose (at least to the newbie) is not immediately obvious.  So I did some investigation and produced a summary of them, as below.  I have no experience of actually using them, I just trawled ReadMe files and (mostly) the web.  Here are my (interim) conclusions:

  • Avid TransferManager – Is e.g. for uploading to a Playback Server [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/274]
  • AMA – the camera-specific AMA Plugins (e.g. for Sony XDCAM) are no longer bundled with MC, you have to download and install them separately. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/316]
  • Avid MetaSync automates the inclusion of metadata (expressed in suitable XML formats) into Avid editing systems, including synchronisation with video and audio. The metadata can be anything from subtitles / closed captioning to synchronized entertainments such as lightshows or simulator rides.   [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/334]
  • Avid MetaFuze’s primary, if not only purpose is to prep files for Media Composer use – an “outboard importer”.  Avid’s article at http://www.avid.com/US/industries/workflow/MetaFuze summarises it nicely.  Though bundled with Media Composer, it is also available free. That means for example that preprocessing work (e.g. generation of burnt-timecode proxies and online files) can be generated (e.g. in DNxHD) by anyone whether or not they have an Avid system.  Potentially then a great option for breaking up work into collaborative / parallel workflows. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/335]
  • Sorenson Squeeze – a well-known compressor/encoder, bundled as part of Avid Media Composer (MC) but also an independent product in its own right. Avid MC5.5 specifies version v6.04 but further updates are available from Sorenson itself.  There is a free-to-Avid-users update from v6.x to v6.5.  The latest version is v7.0 (with CUDA).  Presumably these later versions are officially unsupported by Avid (but how much does that matter in practice?). [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/337]
  • Avid EDL Manager imports and exports EDL (in various flavours) – from/to a bin (e.g. thumbnails storyboard layout?) (or a Sequence or MXF file?).  It can be run stand-alone or from within Avid.  EDLs are somewhat of a hangover from the past, so it’s unlikely to be of much use in my case, but worth knowing about as an option, and as such still features in other people’s current workflows. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/350]
  • Avid Film Scribe generates Cut Lists and Change Lists (used in transfer from video edit to film edit) in more contemporary formats than EDL, e.g. XML formats involved in VFX / DPX workflows (? I am on very unfamiliar ground here ?).  It can generate such formats from a Sequence and also it can be used to translate between some formats.[http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/352]
  • Avid Log Exchange (ALE) is an Avid log file format that has become a de facto standard in the post industry. It is a text-based metadata exchange format used in applications from telecine to standalone logging applications, and is supported by many NLEs.  The ALE format is based on a Comma or Tab -delimited file format. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/353]
  • Avid After Effects EMP is (not a disruptive elctronic weapon but) an Avid-supplied plugin for Adobe After Effects allowing that application to use a DNA family video output box such as Mojo (“ordinaire”) or Nitris to provide External Monitor Preview (EMP) on a monitor.  Helpful in order to make use of that Avid box for the Adobe After Effects application, both for convenience and consistency.  Unfortunately it does not work with the more recent DX family, such as the Mojo DX box. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/354]
  • The Avid DNA Diags application is for diagnostics on DNA family e.g. Mojo “ordinaire” (not DX) [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/355]
  • The Avid Quicktime Codecs extend QuickTime for encoding and decoding to/from Avid codecs such as DNxHD.  Essentially they add such formats to QuickTime on your system.  The LE codecs are “Light Edition” – only needed on systems where Avid is not already installed.   [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/356]
  • Avid Media Log is a standalone app supplied with Avid systems enabling assistants on non-Avid machines to select and log raw (as opposed to RAW) footage in a manner that can easily be transferred into an Avid session/system elsewhere, where the result appears as an Avid Project.  Apparently, Media Log is much like the digitize tool on Media Composer.  But I’ve never used that either… It can output e.g. to ALE (explained below) and hence e.g to other NLEs.  [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/357]
  • Misc “Avid Downloads” (?) Looking at  my Avid Downloads page, there is a much larger list of items than I expected, and suspect that many of them are not relevant.  For example, what is Avid Deko?  It’s listed on my Avid Downloads page, though I don’t know if I would be able to activate it, or whether it would be worth the trouble.  It’s listed as Deko 2200.  So I googled and YouTubed about it…  Impression: that version (2200) is very obsolete. [http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/332]
  • On my web “travels”, I discovered a great article entitled “The Avid Ecosystem” at [http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/the-avid-ecosystem/], listing many of the resources for the Avid world: links, tutorials, filters, applications, training…
  • It’s helpful to see some of the above items in the context of illustrative workflows, e.g.:

LightWorks

Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Free open-source pro-class NLE: http://www.lightworksbeta.com/ .  Well-received by many.  Glimmers a little bit like FCPX, but more flexible user interface, including keyboard-compatibility options with AVID and FCP7.  Register to download it (just over 40 MB).  Further links:

Conservative Software Policy in Cutting-Edge Movie

Friday, April 15th, 2011

http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/91722

  • << “Avatar” was cut on Avid Media Composer systems running software version 2.8.4. >>
  • << Even with the help of stalwart first assistant Jason Gaudio, the editing team did not want to risk upgrading their NLE software in mid-project despite the fact that Media Composers have been able to playback 3D sequences directly from the timeline ever since version 3.5. >>
    • (my italicization)
  • << So when they wanted to view the 48 terabytes of footage on their Avid Isis storage system holding both left and right eye tracks, they had to run both dailies footage and cut sequences through a QuVIS Acuity 3D playback platform. >>

Final Cut Pro X (ten) – FCPX

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

Final Cut Pro X (ten) – FCPX.  Wannit now!!!

Avid MC5 vs Adobe CS5 vs Apple FCP 7 (FCS 3)

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/will-cs5-and-mc5-toast-fcp

  • Great article comparing their pragmatics for various kinds of business and workflow situation.
  • Also speculating on their likely future developments.

Avid (MC4) Mix & Match (of formats on timeline, no need to render)

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
  • The mix&match feature of the Avid (e.g. MC4) assumes bringing in footage in corresponding projects. After that, you can instantly access that footage from any other project (or project type), and playback in real-time
  • http://lfhd.net/2009/10/01/avid-mc-4-0-inside-look-at-mix-match
    • Your sequence setting is what you tell it.  1080i, 720p, 525i…whathaveyou.  And whatever clip you add to that that ISN’T that format, gets scaled to that format…using a filter called a MOTION ADAPTER.  This add interpolation to match the sequence settings, and this is added automatically when you add new footage that doesn’t match.  And there are all sorts of interpolation modes…these are all user selectable.  AND you can change your sequence settings to match something else later.
    • If you want the interpolation to better then you can “promote” the motion adapter to a full blown TIME WARP (that has been there for many years) and the footage will benefit more.
    • Works in software-only (no Mojo required) and takes advantage of multi-core (e.g. 8 core)
    • Avid’s ‘open timeline’ implementation is much better than FCP’s.  Avid MC automatically adds a plugin that is designed to do this upscale in very smart ways. It isn’t just scaling it and then repeating a frame.
    • The editor does need to have certain “switches “ turned on to see the highest quality output, such as: -Full Quality 10bit output, -HQ RT Scaling Decoder, -Advanced Polyphase image interpolation.
  • For example: “you will have to import NTSC clips in an NTSC project and 720p60 clips in a 720p60 project. If you try to import 720p60 files into a 30i project, you will be downconverting upon import, which is not as nice, and will not be able to handle certain metadata correctly”

Aja KiPro records 10-bit 422 ProRes; can Avid use it?

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

The Aja KiPro captures HD (& SD?) from analog or SDI to 10-bit 422 to QT-ProRes (ordinaire and HQ).   In comparison the Convergent Design products currently capture to 8-bit 422 (hi-bitrate Mpeg2).  ProRes is particularly suited to (aimed at) Final Cut.  But since ProRes decoder is freely available, including on Windows, the KiPro could be used with other NLEs.Presumably (haven’t yet tried) once the ProRes is  copied to the editing system’s media drive, it can be simply dropped into an Avid project (bin/timeline).  Some seem to find it OK e.g. “I import ProRes straight into MC all day, no problems. You’ll need FCP 7 to have access to the new 4444 codec though..” [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/76196/426097.aspx#426097].  But some people are cagey about this (on principle?) “…if I were you I would reencode the quicktimes to an Avid codec” [http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/45/866733#866733].  One re-encoding option [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/62217/407573.aspx#407573] is Mpeg StreamClip [http://www.squared5.com].  Not sure what the advantage is (or whether it is real) but some people complain of problems with levels [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/62217/407573.aspx#407573] and metadata.  I would hope that Avid’s “New Thinking” would render any such problems historical, but experience will tell.One slight nuisance – Avid doesn’t work directly with the Aja KiPro.  That is, the KiPro is not a device type recognized by Avid’s Advanced Media Architecture AMA [ http://community.avid.com/forums/t/71260.aspx?PageIndex=1 ].  Not a show-stopper, but definitely a tilting force (from Avid to FCS/FCP).The KiPro is bulkier than the Convergent Design products.  It can record from more kinds of input to more kinds of storage medium. I haven’t looked at power consumption or robustness yet. Links: 

Avid-qualified Macs (incl MacBookPro)

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

http://www.avid.com/resources/qualified/MediaComposer-Qualified-Apple-Workstations.pdf

Ubuntu Studio

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Just wondered what was happening video-wise in the linux world, for example how was Cinelerra going.  Last I looked (months or a year ago) it was possible to get Cinelerra working under Ubuntu.  So when I came across UbuntuStudio, I thought it was worth checking out, just to keep abreast of developments.

 

However it appears not to include Cinelerra, instead OpenMovieEditor http://www.openmovieeditor.org/

 

From [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/PackageList]: 

Description:

 

  • openmovieeditor – Video editor
  • ffmpeg – Multimedia player, server and encoder
  • ffmpeg2theora – Theora video encoder using ffmpeg
  • kino – A non-linear editor for Digital Video data
  • stopmotion – A program for creating stop motion animation.
  • dvgrab – Grab digital video data via IEEE1394 links

It is only available as an Installer, not LiveCD [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=703822] . For more info:

 

Mac video production: Framerate Conversion Strategies & Tools

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Gleaned from Philip Bloom’s presentation on using a 30p native cam to produce to other standards (e.g. 24p):

  • Edit native, convert the edit result, not the source (rushes). Saves render time (& space)
  • Don’t edit H264 – current machines are not fast enough to avoid jerkiness.
    • Before edit, convert to ProRes (standard is sufficient, no need for HQ).  If disk space at a premium then could instead use XDCAM EX format but that is not compatible with Cinema Tools.
      • Conversion to ProRes is done twice as fast by Mpeg StreamClip (free) than by Compressor.
        • Mpeg StreamClip:
          • [File > Open Files, File> Export to QuickTime, choose format ProRes 422, change top-slider to Full 100% Quality (default is less)
          • Can also use it to batch-convert, result can be either separate files or all concatenated in sequence.
  • (DO THE EDIT)
  • FrameRate Conversion:
    • Simplest: speed change – change the timebase (the rate at which the existing frames are presented).  OK when speed change does not matter (e.g. static scene).
      • Can be done e.g. via Cinema Tools.
        • Stages: Analysis then select desired new framerate then Conform.
        • (or [Cinema Tools: File > Batch Conform],  select a folder containing set of files, select any example file in it, Open, change speed, go: all the files are done)
    • Speed-preserving frameRate conversion can be done by Compressor or by JES Deinterlacer (free)
      • Compressor
        • Open Compressor
        • Drag file to job-strip
        • Create a Setting if needed
        • Geometry (5th icon along) – set Frame Size to “100% of source” (to ensure Compressor setting doesn’t re-scale)
        • Frame Controls: Unlock
        • (ignore settings that don’t apply e.g. resize method)
        • Rate Conversion: choose the fastest you can get away with
        • It is not compulsory to set a Destination.
          • (what happens if not? same directory as source?  what filename gets generated)
            • If no destination specified then file goes to same directory, auto-named as the original filename plus the name of the export format Setting.  Example: From TRV 12-39 AvidGrade.mov it generated TRV 12-39 AvidGrade-QT ProRes Interlaced.mov, where QT ProRes Interlaced was a compression setting (previously defined by myself).  Incidentally the QT-DV was 35MB, the generated QT-ProRes was 47MB.
      • JES Deinterlacer
        • Choose >  (input your file)
        • Output > Compressor > Export
          • (nothing to do with Apple’s Compressor, at least I assume…)

How to export a FCP7 project to FCP6

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Based on info from Rick Young’s Blog at MacVideo.tv, 16 Nov 2009

How to export a FCP7 project to FCP6:

  • Export XML from the FCP7 project – choose Apple XML Interchange Format, version 4 (not 5).
  • Open this in FCP6 then manually reconnect the media.

Alternatives that don’t work:

  • Export a project as Apple XML Interchange Format, version 5  then import this into Final Cut Pro 6 – it asks for a Template.
  • Export EDLs from the FCP7 project and try to bring these into the FCP6 project – doesn’t work.

Avid on Athlon – sometimes possible

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Un-advised by Avid but the people are doing it anyway…

  • [http://xdvfaq.tripod.com/]
    • Avid® Xpress® DV 3.5 FAQ (2003)
      • Avid does not recommend Athlon systems. While some users are reporting good success with these systems, many more are having problems. If you are going to get an Athlon, make sure you or your dealer install all the latest BIOS upgrades and chipset patches prior to installing Xpress DV (2003)
  • [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/71606/400394.aspx] (2009)
    • “New Nested Effects Technique in Media Composer 3.5” (article, May 2009))
      • MC 3.5.1, HP dv9605ea, Vista Home Premium, AMD Athlon 1.8 GHz, 2 GB RAM, nVidia GeForce 7150M, Conexant HD Audio, G-tech 500GB G-drive
  • [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/30313/168427.aspx#168427] (2006)
    • “I have two editing systems, the HP xw8200 with a Quadro FX card, and the d4100e Dual Core Athlon 64x, with a ATI x1600 video card, I had installed Avid Xpress Pro 5.6.2 with Mojo on both machines, for my surprise I do not get any errors on the System with the ATI video card and Athlon Processors. I am able to capture, edit, export and playback audio and video without any problem.” (2006)

Avid & FCP on Mac – Coexist?

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Reports and advice vary:

  • Some advise “No”.
    • [http://www.editheaven.co.uk/faq.html]
      • “What about installing other video applications such as Premiere Pro or Canopus Procoder?
        Installing other NLEs such as Premiere, Vegas or Edius is seriously not a good idea. You will definitely run into huge problems and this may even result in having to reformat your system in order to fix things. Transcoding applications such as Sorenson Squeeze, Canopus Procoder, CinemaCraft and Media Cleaner are fine. “
      • “There are many software programs which you can install safely on your system without affecting performance or stability. However, our view is that your Avid system should be used for video editing only. If you need Photoshop or After Effects, feel free to install them. However, the problem is that the more software you install, the more likely that something somewhere will have a negative effect on performance. Using your Avid system as an office PC is not a good idea. “
  •  Others say yes:
    • [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/42046/237010.aspx#237010]
      • “There was a problem where FCP would act up if the Avid codecs were installed (installing Avid installs them), so maybe that’ll be a problem.  Otherwise, install both and try it–if they don’t run, uninstall and pick your editing poison.  Ghost your drive before hand in case you run into problems.  It’ll be faster than waiting for “definitive” reply.” (2007-05)
      • “I’m running them both, w/no observable deficiencies.  At least on Avid.  I can’t say I’ve used FCP for more than 10 times or so.  I really air out the Avid 2.7, so I can say it’s solid w/the FCP install. ” (2007-05)
      • “I’ve got both on the same cpu and I haven’t noticed any difference. They both seem to work fine even if they are both running at the same time. That is if I’m doing a major export or render on the Avid I can still edit on FCP with Avid working in the background. I would suggest that you keep your media on separate drives though.” (2007-05)
    • [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/18581/105067.aspx#105067]
      • “I run both systems on one partition of my Adrenaline system. There really is no problem. The only thing to be aware of is the capture card. If you are using an Aja card, you’ll need to disable it when launching the AVID by holding down the SHIFT key.” (2006-06)

FCP only half-likes CineForm AVI – try Cineform MOV instead.

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Context:

  • In FCP I imported [File>Import] a CineForm AVI file residing on an NTFS disk.   It showed up in FCP’s browser OK.  I dragged it to Viewer and it played there OK.  I dragged it to timeline and it displayed there as a clip i.e. as a long pale-green block.

Problem:

  • When I tried to play teh timeline the Canvas screen remained blank.
  • Also the timeline clip-block had no thumbnail (which, given my configuraton of FCP, I would normally expect)

Interpretation:

  • Mac support for AVI is said to be half-hearted.  This is probably what is happening here.

Response:

  • Try re-wrapping the Cineform AVI file as a CineForm MOV file.
  • This can be done via Cineform’s bundled tools as follows:
    •  On the PC by using HDLink
    • On the Mac by using ReMaster
  • (I have not yet tried this)

Compressor “feature”: Read-only source drives not accepted

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

Context:

  • In a Compressor job I defined a file on an NTFS drive as source.  That was because I had a file of graded video on that drive which was being used in a Sony Vegas project and I wanted to use FCP’s excellent SmoothCam effect to de-shake that video.  For that Compressor job I defined a destination on a separate drive that was HFS+ hence read/writable by Compressor.

Problem:

  • Compressor gave an error to the effect that the source drive was not writable hence not a valid destination.  Even though it wasn’t the destination…

Interpretation:

  • Sounds like a bug to me!

Response:

  • Workaround: copy the source media file from NTFS drive to HFS+ drive and use that as source instead, no other change.  Worked fine (apart from wasting my time and disk space).

Sony Vegas: FX Chain Saving

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

From [http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/24/887550]:

  • To save an FX chain
    • Click the “Plug-In Chain” icon (found in the upper right of the Video Event FX window).
    • Click “Save As” in the “Plug-In Chooser” window that comes up,
    • Give it a name
    • Save it.
  • When you want to use this chain again:
    • click the Video FX icon on the event
    • Click “Filter Packages” on the “Plug-In Chooser” window that comes up
    • Click the one you want.