best/fastest workflow

R

raw911

Active member
i have the following eqpt:
HVX200
P2 store
Mac Book Pro

looking to get either p2 genie or p2 log

which combination of eqpt would provide the best/fastest possible work flow for FCP editing

such as p2 card into p2 store then into mac book directly or via genie or logger?

or directly into FCP....
 
Forgo the P2 Log. P2 store to main archive drive, then archive drive to Media drive via FCP import.

You must go from P2 store to archive drive, because you want to save all the original MXF files. These are your master tapes. Then from those you import into FCP converting them into quicktime files you store on your media drive.
 
Shane Ross said:
Forgo the P2 Log. P2 store to main archive drive, then archive drive to Media drive via FCP import.
Click to expand...

Only if you can wait both transfer times to actually see the P2 clips....P2Log is primarily a viewer that allows instant access as opposed to a FCP import which has to copy the P2 clips onto hard disk and wrap into QT before viewing.

consider HD Log if your goal is to build an INDEX to all your clips.
 
i dont really understand what p2 genie does of any major value??? all it seems to do is alleviate the dragging and dropping from the card. you still end up with a bunch of huge gibberibsh-ly (is that a word?) named files on your drive that you havent seen...

im looking at P2log and HDlog from imagine, but im having a hard time with the verbage on their site. all i want to do is be able to preview and give a name to teh clips on my p2 card before inporting. according to their features chart teh lower priced P2log $199 can do this. upon playing with the download demo i found this NOT to be the case. you can ONLY change the "user clip name" whatever that means. i did notice that in the export process into FCP it seems that you are able to assign "user clip name" to the "clip name" field... BUT since the demo is save disabled i have no way to test this in real life.

i would HATE to have to pony up and additional $500 to get the $699 HDlog - just to be able to rename clips. as i have almost no need for 80% of the rest of its functionality...
 
wgzn said:
i dont really understand what p2 genie does of any major value??? all it seems to do is alleviate the dragging and dropping from the card. you still end up with a bunch of huge gibberibsh-ly (is that a word?) named files on your drive that you havent seen...
Click to expand...

I think that's very subjective to the user's workflow and shooting style. If you're a lone gun and have to offload your cards quickly and with as little fuss as possible then P2 Genie is great for offloading the cards, naming the foldes sequentially and erasing them afterwards. But if you can afford a digital media assistant then that would be anyone's preferred option, I guess... But at the price I think the P2 Genie is a good option.
 
ben, what is it that youre NOT happy with concerning p2log?

from what ive seen, p2 genie has its value - just not so much in my personal workflow.
what i like about p2log is that i get to pick what clips i bring into my FCP project (and give them a practical name while doing so)
 
License makes is pretty pricey for such a limited use app. The GUI could use some work. It's just a personal style issue for me. I don't get enough use out of it to justify paying for it twice just so I can use it on our Powerbook in the field. I get more use out of P2 Genie. It's just personal taste.
 
Shane Ross said:
Forgo the P2 Log. P2 store to main archive drive, then archive drive to Media drive via FCP import..
Click to expand...

You're adding a step more I believe.

And with p2 Log you only import the clips you want and you can rename then in the bin

My only objection is that it permits only one install. I believe it should be laptop and desktop owned by the licensee; like Apple's licensing for Studio 5.1
 
You mean, a license like most software uses?

The dongle is dead. CPU licensing like with P2 Log and Shake are dead. And Shake is about to be replaced with a totally redone app that I'm sure won't have the old license that ties you to one comptuer only.

What do I not like about P2 Log? For $200 per computer, here's what I don't like:

It locks you into one computer, when most film/video shootersu using P2, to my best knoweledge, use software on a laptop in the field and on a tower in the studio, and want both to be mirrors of each other. So only buying one copy of it is really rediculous for most shooters, and goes against how all the other software on our machines works.

In fact I can rename clips in the Bin without P2 log, I can rename them when I import them, and all with NO third party software. Import P2, delete the capture Bin from your project. Go to the HDD and rename them, import that folder, easy.

Or, just rename them in FCP5's Bin without worring about the name of the capture file. So that one feature is something you can in fact do without third partysoftware. It just takes a few extra steps. Are saving the few minutes it takes to do this worth $200 PER COMPUTER to my company? Nope. We just rename in the Capture Bin and leave it at that. Works for us.

All this side from playback glitches we still get.

But I'm sure there are folks out there who love P2 Log and use it everyday. It's just not proven itself to be worth the money in my production company. We wrote it off as a $200 learning experience. I mean, is $400 really the price I have to pay to have P2 Log in the field and in my studio at the same time? Does it do $400 worth of work for me? Does it save me $400 worth of time? Is changing P2 Metadata nessisary enough for me to cough up $400? Nope.

It may for some folks, but not for me and my crew. It didn't come any where near saving us $400 anywhere. In business, it has to pay for itself, or it's dead weight.

But if you use it and get that sort of value out of it, great! It's nice software, it really is. I just don't get $200 of work PER COMPUTER out of it.

Now, P2 Genie, we use all the time.
 
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