5D in FCP transcoded files

M

maltess2

Well-known member
Hello, I am editing 5D footage in final cut, I am transcoding the files in apple pro res , firs time I do this. I see al the transcodes files go to the scrath disc folder in FCP documents. First I tried pro res 444, then 422 hq and 422, I see all this files are much bigger than the originbal files, is this normal? Am i doing something wrong? what would be the best prores to get the best quality?

once i transcode the files, I guess i can put away the original files, is this right?

I heard that premiere pro import directly 5d files without transcoding, would be this a better program to work with? thinking about keeping same quality

Thanks !
 
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FCP creates new ProRes files (or any other kind you have specified in the preferences) in the Capture Scratch folder, where it creates a new folder named after the project, or "unnamed" if you start the transcode before naming and saving the project. FCP does not delete, transform or replace the original files when transcoding them. They appear to the file list in FCP, but the location is at the Capture Scratch folder (the location of which you also set with the preferences). I use ProRes422 for transcoding, using ProRes444 is useless, as there is not enough color information in the original files for 444, actually not even for 422, if I am not mistaken. I think the color compression is 420 on 5D native files. Using too "good" a codec only slows down the computer, we noticed that when we accidentally transcoded the files to ProRes444.
 
Ok, should i go for 422 HQ or 422? this is part of a project which is mainly shoot with a red camera, so I would like to take the best possible out of the 5D shoots,
 
Actually, this is from Apple's White Paper

"Users may select either the ProRes 422 or ProRes 422 HQ quality setting. Both settings feature HD quality that is indistinguishable from the original, even after many generations of reencoding. Normal ProRes 422 provides excellent preservation of either 8-bit or 10-bit source quality at an economical bit rate. ProRes 422 HQ offers even greater headroom to preserve the quality of even the most demanding, complex material with no visible artifacts."

If you have the space, use HQ. For peace of mind if nothing else, as the difference is small, practically invisible. If the Red actually puts out 444 quality, than use that for all material, but that starts to slow down the editing and the files are quite huge.
 
The only reason to transcode is if it makes your editor work better (which with FCP it might, but doesn't really in Vegas or Premiere). As noted above, the source is 4:2:0 from the camera, so it's like recording a record to CD, the CD will still only be as good as the source.
 
Thanks!

but, if the project is going to be maniny shot on red, and then edited in prores 444, does the 5d footage have to be transcoded at 444 at some point? I am confused, with this, I guess it depends on the export,lest say the project can be show in theaters

I found using the media manager, could be a good solution, edit in h264, and then converto what i really want to prores. Delete unused media and then convert the rest to prores, does this make any diffrence to the log and transfer window process? The recompress media manager option miss the Eos movie option that appears in the preferences of log and transfer window, is this important?
 
If your mixing with RED, then might be better to transcode to the same codec that your using for RED. Is the Red footage transcoded down to 1920X1080? If so, then just transcode.

If you're shooting just 5D footage, you might try the GrassValley Edius trial. I've switched over, and I love the 5D native footage on the Edius timeline with up to 5 PIP's playing realtime. Can't beat it, and no expensive Cuda card.
 
maltess2 said:
Thanks!


I found using the media manager, could be a good solution, edit in h264, and then converto what i really want to prores. Delete unused media and then convert the rest to prores, does this make any diffrence to the log and transfer window process? The recompress media manager option miss the Eos movie option that appears in the preferences of log and transfer window, is this important?
Click to expand...

If you are using "EOS movie option" and "log and transfer" in FCP then you are transcoding to pro res. If you have FCP 7 or less then I recommend, very much, not editing native DSLR footage. Frames can be lost and synch issues can happen.
 
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