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Want a mobile “suitcase” editing system, something more (and more expandable) than a laptop but not too expensive.  Primarily to be used for Adobe CS5.5 for media enhancement / editing / compositing etc.

Nearest I found was NextDimension’s range around $7000 I think (but just guesswork - could be way off - would need to get a quote).   That would (if true) be around £4500 at current rates.  Plus import…  NextDimension call such machines “flextops” (Maybe they coined the term? Google searches on it mostly come up with them.)

Apart from the (mil/broadcast-lite but me-heavy) price, it might possibly be undesirably heavy to lug around much.   If so (just guessing, not assuming), it would make more sense to go for a modular quick-setup system.  So, starting to “think different” in this direction:

• Standard tower, capable of taking new CUDA etc. graphics cards etc. as they emerge, but no need for more than say a couple of disks, maybe if SSD could even get away with just a single disk? (For system and media - inadvisable for traditional disks of course, what about for SSD’s?  I have much to learn about SSD’s though).
• “Laptop-Lite” to talk to it.  With robust shuttered-stereoscopic HD monitor.
• Gigabit network to NAS fast storage (SSD and/or RAID ?).

Maybe in that case it would be far more logical/affordable to use an existing laptop as a client working together with a luggable tower server, sufficiently light and robust for frequent dis/re -connection and travel.  And remote access of course (no heavy data to be exchanged, assume that’s already sync’d).  And some means to easily swap/sync applications and projects (data) between laptop and tower, giving the option to use just the (old) laptop on its own if needed.  All such options are handy for the travelling dude (working on train, social visits etc.) who also occasionally has to do heavy processing.  Then would just need a protective suitcase for the tower, plus another one for a decent monitor for grading etc.

I certainly won’t be spending anything just yet, but it’s good to have at least some kind of “radar”.

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When multicam-ing in FCP 7, one user reports <<I have found it much better to convert the 5D footage to the XDCAM EX codec instead of converting the EX footage to a ProRes 422 as the file sizes are absurd and there is still a gamma shift problem)>>.  It’s the gamma-shift that would bother me.

Additionally the user explains how to convert DSLR footage to XDCAM-EX format:

• http://mrmagicproductions.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/multi-cam-editing-with-a-sony-ex1-or-ex3-and-5dmk-ii/
  • To Convert the DSLR Footage:
    • Copy the exact file structure from the 5D card to the desired place on your hard drive.
      • Example tree should read:  5DCAM/”DCIM”  ”MISC” (both of the previous words in quotes are two separate folders as one will see in the native card structure)/100EOS5D/”MVI_0001.MOV”  ”MVI_0001.THM” (Again…multiple files in this folder)
    • Open MPEG Streamclip (Just google it to find and download the free program) and go to “File”, “Open Files” and select as many of the .MOV files from your hard drive that you need to convert for a multi-clip.
    • Go to “File”, “Export to Quicktime”
    • At the top of the dialog box where it says, “Compression” choose one of the XDCAM EX compression methods that fit with how your footage was shot.
    • Example:  I shot at 1920 x 1080 at 24 frames per second so I will choose, “XDCAM EX 1080p24 (35Mb/s VBR)” since this also matches the settings of the EX footage.
    • Make sure your frame rate in Streamclip on the lower right area is set to 23.98 if you shot at 24fps in your session
    • Click “Make Movie” and select your target destination
  •  The following will explain how to get the footage into FCP
    • After using Log and Transfer for your EX footage, simply select “Import” under the “File” menu and browse to your new media.
    • Double click your EX clip so it opens in the Source window.
    • Go to a point you would like to use as a sync point, stop playback and hit the letter “I” for “In-Point”  Repeat this exact process with your 5D clip.
    • Select both your 5D and EX clip in the Project area where your clips are listed, right click and select, “Make Multi-Clip”.
    • Select for the clips to be synced using In-Points and you now have a multi-clip.
  • Editing in Multi-Cam Mode
    • Drag the new multi-clip into the main timeline.
    • In the main timeline, click the “RT” button to the upper left of the video tracks.  Make sure that “Multi-clip Playback” is checked.
    • In the source window, look for the button with two playback heads and an “X” between them.  It is located at the top of the window directly in the center.  Click this button and choose, “Open”.  This will sync the source and canvas windows.
    • Double click your multi-clip in the main timeline; this should open both camera views in the source window.
    • Click anywhere in the main timeline and hit the space bar.  You should now see both videos in the source window playing and available for you to click on the angle you want.
    • When you’re done you should highlight everything in the main timeline, right click and select, “Collapse Multi-Clip”.  Don’t worry, you can easily turn it back on to continue multi-cam editing; this will just save on RAM.

I have a Sony XDCAM-EX clip at 1280×720p25 to be transcoded to ProRes, so it can be used as source for iMovie (for another user on another machine).

In principle it should be very simple: go on Mac, use Compressor to transcode the XDCAM footage to ProRes.  But as usual, things are pernickety…

Sequence:

• First tried dragging the XDCAM [.mp4] file into compressor.
  • Not recognised.
  • Likewise the BPAV folder.
• Next, I transcoded the XDCAM footage to “MXF for NLEs” format, using the Mac version of Sony Clip Browser
  • Not recognised.
•  Next, opened the XDCAM Transfer app.
  • In this app, open the XDCAM’s BPAV folder.
  • The footage displays OK but how do I export it to a QuickTime [MOV] file?
  • Looks like I can’t.  It only offers to export to an [MP4] file.
  • Instead, I guess I’ll have to open it from FCP.
• FCP
  • I opened a random existing FCP project.
  • The footage is 720p but the project/sequence settings are arbitrary (unknown to me)
  • FCP: File > Import > Sony XDCAM…
  • It imported to somewhere … but where?
  • FCP Browser: file > RightClick > Reveal in Finder
  • It was at [/Volumes/GRm HFS+/_Media/_Projects/2010-05-30 (Esp) Alison Doggies/020 Source/Sony XDCAM Transfer/SxS_01]
• File System:
  • In other words, at whatever destination was last used by some app - presumably XDCAM Transfer or possibly FCP
  • The destination path was in fact specified in XDCAM Transfer, under its Menu: [XDCAM Transfer > Preferences > Import]
  • Moved the file instead to [/Volumes/GRm HFS+/_Media/_Projects/2009-11-22 (JRM) Lady of the Silver Wheel]
• Compressor:
  • Open it in Compressor
    • Drag it to the “job-strip” (my term) in Compresor.
  • Compressor displays data about that clip (e.g. 1280×720, 25 fps)
  • Select jobstrip settings:
    • Select Setting
      • Settings: Apple > Formats > QuickTime > Apple Pro
        • Name: Apple ProRes 422
        • Description: Apple ProRes 422 with audio pass-through. Settings based off the source resolution and frame rate
    • Apply (Drag) Setting to Jobstrip
  • Destination
    • Leave destination unspecified.  Then it will be the same folder as Source.
  • Processing (transcoding) of this footage (1280×720p25) took about 3 minutes (on MacBook Pro 2009).
  • Result was not that much bigger than the original:
    • Originally recorded [.MP4] file: 1.19 GB
    • Rewrapped [.MOV] from XDCAM Transfer: 1.14 GB
    • ProRes [.MOV] from Compressor: 1.97 GB

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…

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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.:
  • http://www.avid.com/static/resources/documents/solutions/REDstepbystep.pdf
  • http://www.studiodaily.com/main/minisites/avid/f/mtutorials/Streamline-Your-QuickTime-Based-Workflow-with-MetaCheater-and-Avid-Media-Composer_9547.html
  • http://pomfort.com/support/Pomfort_Metadata_workflow_AVID_Media_Composer.pdf.

• http://techblog.cineform.com/?p=3137
  • (The original article includes dialog screen-shots, maybe these give extra info/insight)
  • 1. File->Export
  • 2. Select “Send to QT Movie” in the Export Setting dropdown at the
  • bottom of the export window.
  • 3. Select an output location and input output file name.
  • 4. Click “Options” to the right of the Export Setting dropdown
    • In the “Options” window:
      • - Export As: “QuickTime Movie”
      • - Width x Height: match your source or input desired scale size
      • - Select “601/709″ if you have NOT selected “Enable 4:4:4 encoding”. If you have, select “RGB”
      • - Display Aspect Ratio: “Native Dimensions” if you are not scaling, desired output if you are.
  • 5. Click “Format Options…”
    • - Sound: Checked, uncompressed, 48kHz, 16-bit, Stereo
  • 6. Click “Settings”
    • - Compression Type: CineForm HD/4K/3D
    • - Frame Rate: Current
    • - Depth: Millions of Colors+
    • - Quality (Set at user discretion, recommended “High” or “Best”)
  • 7. Quality Options: “Enable 4:4:4 encoding” and “Interlaced video source” are options to use at your discretion
  • 8. Click “OK” as you navigate back to the original “Export” window, and click “OK” again to start your export.
  • 9. Upon completion, go back to your project bin, right-click and select “Link to AMA File(s)…” and navigate to your new file.
  • For 3D projects, you will want to do one of these renders for each eye, then mux the outputs back together for a 3D master, as described here: http://techblog.cineform.com/?p=3071
• http://cstest.avid.com/forums/p/99404/572126.aspx
  •  Joachim Claus (Aug 2011) Re: MC 5.5.2 and CineForm Codec
    • If you need a QT-Cineform file format, I recommend o export a QT Reference and then use QT-Prof for transcoding to Cineform.
      • I have tested QT-export with Cineform Codec (GoPro-Cineform HD/4K/3D). It worked flawlessly from a HD720P50 timeline. However, the export is slow. For a 1:03 minute timeline (coded in DNxHD120), the encoding took 5:21 minute.
      • In another test, I exported a QT-Reference file from the same timeline, imported it into QT-Prof. and exported the file with Cineform Codec as above. In this case, the encoding took 2:49 minute.

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.

Compression formats for Digital Intermediates when using Sony Vegas:

• http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=770173
  • Cineform for highest quality (smart-renderable)
    • Cineform (is great for transfer) between After Effects and Vegas.
  • MXF for almost the same quality at a fraction of the size.
    • MXF previews beautifully off small bus-powered USB 2 drives.
  • Quicktime .mov with png compression for anything with a transparent alpha layer.
  • Quicktime .mov with Avid DNxHD codec for Handbrake encoding intermediary and for working with the FCP world.

Details (again from the above link) about use of MXF:

• The big thing with MXF is to make sure that you use it interlaced even (if) you are using progressive footage.  …set it using one of the interlaced templates but set the deinterlace method to none.
  • The reason this is important is that Vegas will only smart-render .mxf footage flagged as interlaced. If you set the MXF render properties to progressive, it won’t smart-render. If you set the properties to interlaced and select either blend fields or interpolate, it will screw up resizes and renders to other formats.
• MXF with a smart-render is very cool. The format looks wonderful and no damage is done as you smart-render sections into a final piece.
  • MXF without a smart-render isn’t really good enough. MXF will not hold up to successive rerenders like Cineform or a lossless codec.

Based on other people’s experiences, I am always wary of new versions of QuickTime.  I haven’t tried this one, and don’t intend to.  Some evidence of potential problems:

• [http://www.lafcpug.org/phorum/read.php?1,260877,261037#msg-261037]
  • Problem:
    • … when I exported my sequence using the Prores Codec, … it changed the colour of my sequence, adding a reddish hue/ saturation to it.
    • On my search round the web there seems to be quite a few people with this issue, but is there any fix for it ?
  • Likely cause:
    • QT 10 (QT X) is the worse thing Apple has unleashed to the Apple audience. It is NOT ready for release…and why it is on these systems…really only for consumers, but still…not ready.
  • A proposed fix (if QT X has already been installed):
    • Look in your UTILITIES folder for QT 7. Move that into the APPLICATIONS folder. Right-click on QTX and COMPRESS it. Then trash the app. This way you still have it, but it won’t be available as an application, and any QT file will default open with QT7.
      • This “hack” was advised by Apple to Shane Ross.  Pretty credible then…
    • Alternatively, use the Get Info dialog to set all QuickTime movies to open with QuickTime 7 Player
      • (although for some reason if you set a WMV to open in QuickTime Player 7, Flip4Mac keeps changing it back to QT X).

What happens when Sony XDCAM Transfer is used, within or without FCP, to import XDCAM footage (BPAV folders etc.)?  The following is my best guess at the moment, based on my experiences and web-searching.

• Logging is best done via ClipBrowser.  That updates the meta-info of this “master source”, which may then feed downstream to other formats (mxf?  mov?)
• The main function is to re-wrap to [.mov] files.
  • These may be FCP-specific
    • “.Mov’s containing XDCAM material are a very specific file, tailored for FCP. Even Premiere CS5 on a Mac doesn’t like them.” [http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/480547-ex-workflow-do-you-keep-bpav-files.html]
• Each time you start XDCAM Transfer, check the settings in Preferences, in particular for Import Location.
  • The Cache location can instead be an application-specific, project-independent location.
• To import to FCP:
  • Start XDCAM Transfer, by doing one of the following:
    • From FCP, do one of the following:
      • Menu: File > Import > Sony XDCAM
      • Browser: RtClk > Import > Sony XDCAM
        • Sadly, only ever imports to root of project, not to bin you right-clicked from…
    • From MacOS:
      • Start [XDCAM Transfer.app]
      • Optionally, in Preferences, tick [Open imported files with: Final Cut Pro]
  • Can mark-up selected clip(s) - e.g. OK/NG - affects all (selected) clips straight away (no ‘go’ button…).
• XDCAM Transfer is not just an application but a package, including File Access Mode (FAM) Driver (for XDCAM disks), FCP Import and Export plugins and FCP Sequence presets.
• It can import not only raw BPAV folders (etc) but also MXF-Sony (I tried it).
• There is a Fetch Metadata option, but I have yet to see it have any effect - because as far as I can see all the metadata is displayed anyway.  Possibly only useful for obscure situations e.g. if some data or thumbnails fail to appear http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/142/865859 or for a “clip or disc that contains modified essence marks” http://www.tapelessmadeeasy.com/2008/11/xdcam-transfer-update/
• Opinions are divided on whether or not to retain BPAV folders, but the balance is in favour of doing so [http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdcam-ex-cinealta/480547-ex-workflow-do-you-keep-bpav-files.html]