AVCHD footage, AIC codec, mac and pc platforms

[droliff]

Hi all,

I have a situation that's making my head hurt. I've videotaped a presentation for someone with my Panasonic HMC40 AVCHD camera. They just want the raw footage so they can edit it in Premiere.
I have ingested the footage onto my Mac Pro through Final Cut Express. I've taken the resulting .mov files and given them to him and he says he cannot open them in Premiere ( he is on a PC platform ). I know that FCE ingests AVCHD footage using Apple Intermediate Codec, is this correct? If I configure the Easy Setup to use NTSC will the resulting .mov files be editable in Premiere on a PC platform? Is this even a platform issue? Is it a software issue? What is the easiest way that I can get the AVCHD footage to my friend so that he can edit on his PC with Adobe Premiere? I videotaped two evenings worth of footage. I still have the second evenings footage on the SDHC card. The first evenings footage is in .mov files with AIC codec that I ingested through FCE. I can let my friend have the SDHC card and ingest into Premiere that way. The .mov files with AIC codec I'm not sure about. Will I have to drop those into a timeline and export in another manner? Rather than give my friend the SDHC card can I copy the .MTS files in the folder titled 'STREAM' and give those to him?

Any help will be greatly appreciated ( heads to medicine cabinet for ibuprofen ).

Thanks.

Dennis

 

[PerroneFord]

I've videotaped a presentation for someone with my Panasonic HMC40 AVCHD camera. They just want the raw footage so they can edit it in Premiere.

Ok, then give him that.

I have ingested the footage onto my Mac Pro through Final Cut Express.

This is no longer the native footage. If you had given what was asked, you'd be problem free.

I've taken the resulting .mov files and given them to him and he says he cannot open them in Premiere ( he is on a PC platform ).

Of course not. AIC is designed NOT to work on PC.

I know that FCE ingests AVCHD footage using Apple Intermediate Codec, is this correct? If I configure the Easy Setup to use NTSC will the resulting .mov files be editable in Premiere on a PC platform? Is this even a platform issue?

This is an issue of you not giving the deliverables that were asked for. He asked for the native files.

Just copy the native files onto a disk using EXACTLY the folder structure you see on the card, and give it to him. Problem solved.

 

[PerroneFord]

Oh, and if you erased the first card, and now all you have is AIC formatted .MOV files, then you cannot comply with his request, and you'll need to find another solution. There are DARN few good ones between FCE and ANY other application. Even Final Cut Pro won't bother about with AIC.

 

[PerroneFord]

Here is the solution to your problem. Maybe.

1. Make an EXACT replica of the card that still has the original footage on it. Or if you trust the editor, give him the card so he can do it himself. That takes care of half the problem.

2. If you made a backup of your camera originals from the first card, give him an EXACT replica of that. If you did not make a backup of your camera master from the first day, but now only the compressed AIC version, you'll need to export to something common to you both. In FCE, you can export .MOV file choosing the following codecs: PNG, PhotoJPEG, MJpegA, MJpegB, Uncompressed. You might not have all those, but I know I have gotten work from other FCE people in PNG and I believe in either photoJpeg on MJpeg, but it's been years so I don't remember exactly. He will have to convert these to something he can take into Premier, but as long as he has Quicktime installed on his PC, he should be able to use them.

You'll probably not understand why this is infuriating from the editors perspective. If you want to get into the business of shooting and handing off footage, you owe it to yourself, your clients, and others to get a handle on this kind of workflow. I actually enjoy helping new filmmakers and shooters out.

ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS make an exact copy of your camera original files. That is the best quality you will ever have and it generally ensure compatibility down the road.

ALWAYS, if you are shooting for handoff, get the details in advance, and if you have questions, ask. The mistake you made here is probably harmless. In a professional setting, you could have just cost someone thousands of dollars and maybe a job. So ok, lesson learned.

Good luck getting your problem solved.

 

[ctb1010]

Premiere won't work with Quicktime files, you'd need to re-encode the .mov files to avi or .wmv files for premiere to work with them. I agree that Peerone's answer, while helpful, should have been less snarky, and I get tired of running into the same snark on these boards as well. I've worked with clients in the past who do not want the raw avchd files off of the card, half the time they don't even know what to do with those files anyways, it will definitely make your life easier if that is what they are looking for though.

 

[PerroneFord]

Premiere won't work with Quicktime files, you'd need to re-encode the .mov files to avi or .wmv files for premiere to work with them. I

The problem that he is going to have is that there just isn't a good .avi codec he can export with in FCE. The Mac in general has precious few options for AVI creation. There are a lot better options on the PC side for taking a .MOV file and making a quality AVI from it. So generally, I'd suggest he just worry about creating as good a MOV as he can and getting that over to a PC for conversion.

WMV can be a can of worms. It can be VERY lossy, or it can be lossless depending on options chosen. So I would caution if going this route, choose a VERY high bandwidth, or choose lossless if the option is available. I don't know if it is from FCE.

 

[medeamajic]

I agree with PerroneFord. Just burn the native AVCHD to a DVD if you can. My Final Cut Pro friend has done that for me many time.

 

[David Saraceno]

Gentlemen.

Be polite, respectful, and courteous with your responses. People come here for assistance and to learn.

Stepping over the line is simply a matter of not observing the rules of the forum. They are simple, easy to follow, and apply to everyone.

Thank you.