Best way to transfer footage from one comp. to another?

anchoryanker

anchoryanker

Well-known member
Here's my problem: I'm doing the basic editing on my school's MACs with FCP 4.5, and using Magic Bullet Editors on my home PC with Sony Vegas 6.0.

What is the best way to transfer footage from the MACs to my computer? I tried transfering using DV tape, but the generational loss from compressing and decompressing was too great.

Can I use a external hard drive and take the finished project, convert to AVI, and run through Magic Bullet at home and back to the MAC? or should I use some other method or codec?

Basically I want to work with the same project on 2 different computers and damage the footage in transfer as little as possible.
 
You're sorta lost when you bump between platforms if you're not transporting as uncompressed.

But those are huge files...


Gunleik
 
I'm not a Vegas guy, so I don't know what it can and can't handle, but if Vegas will take MOVs, I'd stay in MOV the whole time myself. Especially if you're going to do the last step in FCP, then I wouldn't want to leave the MOV realm. And also what gun said, if you're gonna keep flopping back and forth you need to stay in uncompressed to avoid genloss. But depending how big your project is you may need some sizable drives to accomodate.

Honestly, I think shifting around platforms, or well platforms and NLEs, is asking for a headache sooner or later. I'd either move into Avid (not sure how well Avid PC and Avid Mac play, but odds would be better) or ask around here for a FCP method to accomplish whatever you're trying to do in Vegas. Chances are someone here might be able to offer you an FCP solution. Good luck.

cheers.
 
Well, the problem is that I want to use Magic Bullet, but I can't load MB on the school's computer so I have to transfer the footage to my computer(that has MB) after I've finished editing it in FCP.

So I reckon that once I finish editing in FCP I should export the sequence as a MOV to an externl hardrive and take it home and do what I need on mine?
 
Sounds good.

Export to a format that holds up to the transfer and you should be good.

Gunleik
 
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