RE-CAPTURING FOOTAGE BUT SAVING TIMELINE?

[STORYTELLER32]

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone ever tried this... Is there a way to output my edited timeline in FCP4, recapture source footage and simply import my old timeline. If I did this, would all the work I did recognize the new captured footage as it's source material and save my original editing choices? Or do I simply have to go back and start ALL over again?

In case you're wondering, I fear I may have captured my source footage incorrectly. If I did so, would it affect my output quality to DVD or video tape?

storyteller32

[Neil Rowe]

if you name the files the same thing when you import them, and put them in the same location it should work fine. it would be pretty simple to just test it out . *just rename one of the scource files, and rename some other file to the scource file. it should swap them in the timeline, provided the new file has the same times in the timcode that tht old file has for what sections you were using. or just try the actuall *thing with some useless files the one problem i could see you running into is that if you capture to a new timecode, the timcodes may not match, and your edits would be off. just recapture the stuff, after renaming the old files with a x at the end or somthing. then if it doesnt work, delete the new captures and rename the old files back

[Jive]

I think I may know what you're asking, but can you clarify some things for me...

1)When you say you might have captured your footage incorrectly, how so? *Codec? Tape position?

2)When you say that you want to "output" your timeline, what you mean exactly? *Do you want to export your edited video? Or do you mean something else?

One of the best things about FCP is that it is structured very well. *I would even venture to say that it is the best NLE in terms of media management (even tho Vegas is my primary NLE). *One of the main reasons why it's so good at media management is because of its project hierarchy model. *This hierarchy is very simply, yet it seems to pervade so many users (this is the main concept that I talk about when training someone on FCP). *Starting from the top of the hierarchy, you have...

I. Project file
* - Project files contain everything you'll be using to make your finished...uh...Project. *Such as...
* A. References to media files
* * *- this can be audio, video, still images, etc. which you can access via the bin aka browser
* * *- Note: it is important to remember that all 'files' in your bin are merely references to actual files on your hard drive. *For example, deleting a media file in the bin does not necessarily delete it from your HD.
* *B. Sequences (aka Timelines)
* * *- Sequences are where you arrange your different media files to make your finished edit.
* * *- You can have as many sequences as you want within a project.
* * *- Sequences only exist in Project files, thus, deleting them means you lose it.


That's the basic hierarchy. *If this doesn't make sense, let me know; I'm still working out how to write it coherently (it's much easier to explain by speaking about it).

Finally *:, if all you're asking is how can you recapture your DV footage from a tape with a different codec (i.e. DV instead of offlineRT), then the answer is as simple as selecting all the media files you want to recapture in the bin, right-click (control-click) them, and choose "Capture".

[STORYTELLER32]

Thanks for the responses guys.

First I'll clarify as per Jive's request:
When I say I may have captured incorrectly, I mean the codec (assuming codec means the 24p, 29.97 stuff etc. ). I was such a newbie at this when I captured that when I saw my footage actually being recognized and captured, it didn't occur to me that I might be capturing it incorrectly. I should have posted a question about that to the board before doing so but I was gung-ho about jumping into editing... oh well.

Someone who has seen the latest cut of my film pointed out that the film looked compressed because of the jagged outline of various elements in my film. When I go to output it to a quicktime file, it doesn't look as clean as when I was watching the daily's from the original source tape to my TV monitor. Is it just the way it all looks in the preview window (which I have blown up to cover a whole monitor)? So I'm wondering if I captured incorrectly giving it a weird compression or something. I believe I have it set to capture in a 29.97 timeline even though I shot 24p. I'm still not sure if that's right or wrong. Then again, for all I know, I simply need a media cleaner (which I have no idea how to use) to fix it.

When I say I want to know if I can output my timeline:
As you explained quite well, I'm referring to my sequences. What I was looking to do was save my latest sequence, re-capture my source footage, then apply that old sequence edit to the newly recaptured footage (thus hopefully not losing all the time and effort I put into the editing) to see if it made a difference in that compression look.

I believe iamloser explained it properly in that I would have to rename all my new incoming source files exactly the same as I have them now in order to do this. Makes sense, just seems like it would be incredibly difficult to bother with. Might actually be easier just to re-edit from scratch.

Or is there a way to alter the captured footage I have on my hard drive now without having to recapture?

Thanks for taking the time to respond-
storyteller32

[kyroneus]

What was your final cut viewed on? A computer monitor or a video monitor? Of course it will look terrible on a computer monitor due to the aspect ratio.

Instead of messing with your timeline, I suggest simply doing a test with an individual clip. If you want to recapture footage, select all your clips from the capture scratch folder. Create a new folder called "old clips" and dump all the scenes in there from your capture scratch folder. FCP will let you know that the files are now missing. Click "OK" and then mess with your capture presets if you need to. Select all the offline clips in the browser and do a batch capture. All your clips will be recaptured with their edit points intact.

[Jive]

I don't know if this has been changed, but FCP monitors the source files referenced in the Bin. This means that if, for instance, you moved a source file to the trash, then ran FCP, then the source file's location would be recognized as in the trash for that media file, and it would still be usable. The same goes for name changes.

If all you want to do is simply recapture your footage using a different codec/setting, all you have to do is what I suggested last in my previous post. Just select the media files in the Bin, right-click them, and select "Capture". This will open up the batch capture dialogue and you can manually choose the capture settings. Once recaptured, the new footage will be used in the sequence, as the old captured footage was replaced by the newly captured footage. Recapturing and renaming everything would be incredibly tedious, not to mention unecessary due to the built-in media management features of FCP.

However, from what you explained in your follow-up post, it does not seem that the footage was captured incorrectly. When you view footage larger than its original size (i.e. enlarging the preview window to the size of your monitor), it WILL suffer some image degredation. Not to mention that your monitor's gamma and color settings are likely not calibrated to that of a broadcast monitor. In order to truly see what your video looks like, you need to either use the "External Video" feature in FCP to play your timeline out to a DV device (either a DV cam, deck, or digital->analog converter) and connected to a properly calibrated broadcast monitor (or your TV if you don't have anything better ), or you should use the "Print to Tape" feature in FCP to output a fully rendered DV sequence out to a DV device (such as was already mentioned). These are the only ways that you can properly see if there has been a degredation in quality.

Like I said, it sounds like FCP captured it correctly. Just don't depend on your computer's monitor for anything more than the rhythm or timing of your edit. To verify the look and feel of your edit, you MUST output to an actual NTSC (or PAL if that's your format) monitor.

[STORYTELLER32]

Wow, that's a relief. Glad to hear I won't have to truly recature all that footage off the orginal source tape if I don't have to. And it's starting to sound like I might not have the problem I thought I had to beging with. Good news all around.

Next question would be, how come when I output a quicktime movie of the current edit at full resolution (ie. not compressed for the web for highband download, etc.) I get repetitive horizontal lines floating through my footage? Hell, even when I compress for highband, I get artifacts in my footage. It's not there when I play my timeline cut and I don't see any of it in any of the various clips people post to this board so I'm obviously doing something wrong. Do I need a media cleaner or something? If so, which one is a good one?

Thanks again for taking time to respond-
storyteller32

[kyroneus]

"I don't know if this has been changed, but FCP monitors the source files referenced in the Bin."

I tested this out yesterday - if you move the files, FCP will tell you the files went offline. It does not automatically search and reconnect. Therefore you can keep your old files as backup if you feel a need to recapture with a different codec.

I will ask again storyteller32, What are you viewing your final cut on? A computer monitor or a video monitor? There is a big difference. For example, I use a DVNTSC codec for all my captures and exports. When I view the finished Quicktime file on my computer screen, it doesn't look so hot. But it looks perfect when viewed on my monitor. When I burn to a DVD and watch on a TV, it looks fantastic. The pixels are shaped differently.

Horizontal lines are usually a result of interlacing, but considering the camera you are using, that shouldn't be an issue.

[STORYTELLER32]

Hi Kryoneus,
Sorry about that... I'm only viewing this on my computer screen at the moment. My intention for this film is to both enter into film festivals, but mostly as a portfolio piece on my website as examples of what I can do as a writer/director, etc.

Like you said, when you view your finished quicktime movie on your computer, it doesn't look so hot. However, there are plenty of posts over in the screen grabs section of this site where the footage looks pretty damn good. Granted, not as tight as a TV or montior, but much better than what I'm getting now. This is why I'm wondering if I need an additional program such as a media cleaner to finish this off as a download from my site.

Suggestions anyone?
Thanks again
Storyteller32
http://www.industryofwar.com

[kyroneus]

I see what you're saying. Perhaps one of the members whose footage you have seen could offer advice on the codecs they used.

Screen grabs are usually pulled from footage and saved in a monitor-friendly format such as TIFF or JPEG. Also, you might try changing the pixel aspect ratio in your presets editor. I imagine that would make a huge difference.