Am I screwed if I copy the lot and deal with it later?

^faldo^

^faldo^

Member
Hey guys,

I hired two HVXes and shot some presentations in P2. I'm worried my computer-style workflow has killed my footage. Here's the deal:

When the cards were full, I dropped them into the (PC) laptop and copied the entire contents of the P2 card to the PC. It was a case of open the removable drive -> select all -> copy -> create new folder on the hard drive -> paste. Then I formatted the card in the camera and shot the next take.

I've heard a bit about creating images of the cards (which I've done with two out of about 15 cards) but it's a bit late for that now unless I copy the contents back to a P2 card then image that. Besides which, it's taken Nero about half an hour per card to image them. Not exactly the speedy, tapeless solution I was hoping for, and I have to return the gear in a few hours.

I'm going to image the Firestore that was in charge of the second camera, but during the shoot it froze up on me and I'm worried I've lost data on that as a result.

I'm using Premiere Pro 2 at the office (which I'll fire up when I get back on Monday and check the footage) and then move to Premiere 3 on Tuesday If Adobe launch (and give me a copy of) Production Suite CS3 tomorrow.

Should I be worried, and if so what can I do?
 
You shouldn't be worried at all. The PC copies the cards reliably, there's no need to go through any "disk image" process or whatever. What you've got is fine.

The only problem you've got is planning on using Premiere Pro; it doesn't have any support for P2 MXF files. You'll need Raylight or some other file conversion utility, unless you're right about Premiere 3 coming so soon and if Adobe's integrated Serious Magic's DVCPRO-HD and MXF support into it.
 
Huge thanks for that Barry. Now I can relax.

To return the favour, are there any questions about the new versions of Premiere, After Effects or any other Adobe product you'd like me to ask the Adobe representatives? I'm meeting with them tomorrow, but they haven't told me what they're launching. I'm guessing CS3 or proper integration of Macromedia IP.

I'll reoport back in when the NDA dates lapse.
 
Actually I and David would be most grateful for any P2/HVX integration info you can possibly share, and if you can't share then if you could have them get in touch with us. We're close to finishing up BootCamp Volume II, which is all about post workflow solutions, and if they're planning on revamping or changing things significantly, soon, then it would be in both our interests (as and Adobe) to get the latest info! :thumbsup:
 
Barry_Green said:
Actually I and David would be most grateful for any P2/HVX integration info you can possibly share, and if you can't share then if you could have them get in touch with us. We're close to finishing up BootCamp Volume II, which is all about post workflow solutions, and if they're planning on revamping or changing things significantly, soon, then it would be in both our interests (as and Adobe) to get the latest info! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Would you like to try a prerelease copy of the Raylight Premiere plugin? There are still some issues with timecode but it's basically functional.
 
Right, Cineform HD (demo) has converted the footage and I'm up and running with Premiere. This being the first time I've handled an HVX, I have, somewhat unsuprisingly...

Questions:

The focus is soft. Is this thanks to conversion or is it because the resolution's a big jump from DV and I didn't get the focal point exactly right?

I was shooting 720 50P. Yet the frames look a little blurred. Is this because movement is captured like an SLR stills camera set to 1/50th shutter speed?

Related question: Is the crappy looking video just that because it's a Cineform placeholder? What do I do to export the real footage?

Final Cut Pro (can't remember the exact build, but obviously 5 and above) doesn't recognise the footage when I point to the folder containing it, but it can read the associated thumbnail. Is this because FCP only recognises P2 hardware, and will shifting the contents I copied from a card back onto it then pointing FCP to the card solve this?

Related question: If this is the case, WTF is wrong with Apple? And why hasn't Adobe gotten its act together yet?


I'll post screen grabs soon.
 
Is this thanks to conversion or is it because the resolution's a big jump from DV and I didn't get the focal point exactly right?
Click to expand...
If you have soft focus, it's because you didn't get the focus right when shooting. Focus is signficantly more critical in HD. Download the 720p version of DVXFest entry "Katrina" and look at how sharp it can be even when using a 35mm lens adapter; obviously it can be sharper than that without an adapter in the way.

I was shooting 720 50P. Yet the frames look a little blurred. Is this because movement is captured like an SLR stills camera set to 1/50th shutter speed?
Click to expand...
If your frames look blurred... well, depends on what you were expecting. If you were expecting film-like motion you should have been using 1/100; I would assume you were using default shutter which would be 1/50th. But 1/50th would be appropriate for video-like footage. Make sure you're using the right timeline settings so Premiere isn't frame-blending on you.

Related question: Is the crappy looking video just that because it's a Cineform placeholder? What do I do to export the real footage?
Click to expand...
Don't know about CineForm. I'd recommend you look at RayLight; it has an amazing new capability that lets you drag the MXF files directly to the timeline. No proxies, no placeholders, no file conversions or anything like that. Plug in the card and edit straight from the card if you want to.

Final Cut Pro (can't remember the exact build, but obviously 5 and above) doesn't recognise the footage when I point to the folder containing it, but it can read the associated thumbnail. Is this because FCP only recognises P2 hardware, and will shifting the contents I copied from a card back onto it then pointing FCP to the card solve this?
Click to expand...
FCP doesn't work with MXF files; it has to import them and convert them to Quicktime movies. If you properly copied the contents of the card onto an external hard disk, FCP should be able to import (file->import->Panasonic P2) from that hard disc.

WTF is wrong with Apple? And why hasn't Adobe gotten its act together yet?
Click to expand...
As for what's with Apple, and Adobe -- don't get me started. Apple's solution is an okay interim step for now, but as cards get larger, that whole goofy convert-to-quicktime step just has to go away. They need to allow you to import MXFs directly. Every other NLE can now do it: Avid, EDIUS, and (with Raylight) Vegas and Premiere. Apple's FCP is the only major editor that doesn't let you work with the native MXF data. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I have high hopes for an FCP6 (maybe at NAB?) that addresses this shortcoming.
 
It's a quicktime wrapper, everything within FCP is Quicktime including good ol DV. The footage isn't converted. If it was it would take my g4 laptop a lot longer than 6 minutes to import a 4Gb card. You can use the import P2 function to offload from the card directly or from a file. What is the problem? I'd concentrate on your shooting, and not worry about what Apple and Adobe are doing.
 
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