client needs .mov but doesn't have fcp only qt-what do i do?

R

robfilms

Veteran
client needs .mov but doesn't have fcp only qt-what do i do?

i'm a newbie fcp user.

i have ingested 4 hours of sd footage and have put together a ruff cut using fcp.

the client likes the ruff cut but wants to "make sure" i've taken the best quotes. they have asked to look at the original footage.

they have a macbook 10.4.6 w/quicktime installed. they do not have access to fcp.

i wanted to give them .mov versions of the original footage on a 500gb hard drive. how do i take my fcp footage and output to .mov so they can screen using quicktime?

thanks in advance to any who share their experience.

be well

rob
 
The standard quick time install supports most of the codecs FCP uses. Unless your footage is HDV, DVCPro HD, XDCAM (any flavor) or ProRes you should be fine. A read-only version of ProRes can be downloaded though so that is an option as long as you client is okay w/doing that. Also, if you capturing using one of Blackmagic's or AJA's codecs I'm pretty sure you can download those for free from their respective websites as well. What codec is your footage in?


-Andrew
 
andrew-

thanks for the quick reply.

the footage was shot with a jvc 1/2" dv tape camera sd/4x3/30fps/ntsc.

i hope to be able to give these very non-tech oriented client the 500gb hard drive, have them click on a file and watch a qt version of the footage. it does not have to be full frame.

again, any and all info u care to share is appreciated.

be well

rob
 
perrone-

thank u for taking the time to share your experience.

is mjpeg-A .mov an export option in fcp?

if so, where would i find that option.

sorry for the newbie questions.

again, thanks in advance.

be well

rob
 
Just give them the clips you captured. They should be in Apple's NTSC-DV codec which is part of the regular QT install. No need to transcode anything. If you had too many clips to fit on that 500gig drive you could compress them into the Sorenson3 codec (which is also part of the regular QT install). I wouldn't recommend MJPEG because it will increase your file size a lot and and may cause playback problems if the drive you give the client isn't fast enough.


-Andrew
 
Since you are using DV footage you can give it to them as is on a hard drive.

Alternatively you can compress it to another format like MJPEG as was suggest above. You can also encode it to H.264 which is a higher quality codec - it does take longer to encode though.

You can convert your footage in two ways. You can export each tape as a sequence in FCP using File > Export > Using Quicktime Conversion, in the dialog that appears, select Options, in the next dialog select Settings under Video. Here you can change the encoding codec in the drop down and play with the settings till you are happy with the results (quality vs size, etc.).

A better approach would be to use Compressor, a standalone encoding application that comes with Final Cut Studio. Add your files, then in the Settings window you can find a few presets as starting points, like Apple > Other Workflows > Web > Download > Quicktime 7 Compatible, which lists a bunch of H.264 presets. You can tweak them to your liking in the Inspector window.

You'll have to do some reading (manual) and experimenting if you want to follow either of these approaches.

As a bonus, you can add a timecode read-out over your video, this will make it very easy for the client to tell you an exact frame location (based on the timecoude read-out). What you need to do is create a sequence for each tape (or individual segment) and then apply the Timecode Reader filter (Filters > Video > Timecode Reader). Then export your sequence either using File > Export > Quicktime Movie (which will use the same codec as your sequence - in your case DV) and then give it to the client as is, or convert it to MJPEG or H.264 or whatever using Compressor. Or export it to your destination codec directly out of FCP using File > Export > Using Quicktime Conversion.
 
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One step further to save some headache for you and your client might be a "time code burn" via FCP. This gives them clear times that they can log with and keeps them from trying to cut it on iMovie or have their nephew that is good with computers finish you work.

Instructions:
Effects -> Video Filters -> Timecode Reader

Then

File -> Export -> Quicktime Movie

Then get a Final Cut book or DVD and learn your tool while the footage renders and exports.

Also as a side tip I used to hate when the client wanted to see the raw footage, now I just make sure that I have 3 cameras and record for hours. Then when I tell the client I have 15 hours of footage from a 5 hour shoot they usually just trust my edits.

UPDATE: On phone with client for 15 minutes and my post was covered even more detailed above.
 
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Ha ha!

"Their nephew who is good with computers"! I'm dying over here. I love it.

This is a good suggestion - done it several times.

I would export using Quicktime Conversion as described earlier but select DV-NTSC as the codec. It'll give you the closest thing to the original file and export the fastest.

My experience has been that standard Quicktime users cannot universally view the Final Cut Capture scratch files - for whatever reason. So I always export Using Quicktime Conversion - guaranteed to work.

Compressor is not very impressive to me - it seems to move slower than FCP or even just Quicktime Pro's Export.

Just my 2-cents. Let the client know ahead of time about the timecode burn so they don't feel like you sprung it on them.


kgimedia said:
One step further to save some headache for you and your client might be a "time code burn" via FCP. This gives them clear times that they can log with and keeps them from trying to cut it on iMovie or have their nephew that is good with computers finish you work.

Instructions:
Effects -> Video Filters -> Timecode Reader

Then

File -> Export -> Quicktime Movie

Then get a Final Cut book or DVD and learn your tool while the footage renders and exports.

Also as a side tip I used to hate when the client wanted to see the raw footage, now I just make sure that I have 3 cameras and record for hours. Then when I tell the client I have 15 hours of footage from a 5 hour shoot they usually just trust my edits.

UPDATE: On phone with client for 15 minutes and my post was covered even more detailed above.
Click to expand...
 
Just give them the clips you captured.
Click to expand...
End of the discussion.
A macbook 10.4.6 w/quicktime installed will play a sd/4x3/30fps/ntsc clip. After all your clips are nothing but native Quicktime codecs (.mov)
As a side note; your clips are probably FCP clips, easiest way to turn them into Quicktime is:
Select the clip, right click, get info. Click on the 'Open with' change it to Quicktime player. Vola now they are native quicktime and will open with quicktime player(default)
 
Thank u all for sharing your obvious experience.

I'm a longtime producer who now does the ruff cut so I'm still muddling my way thru FCP.

The time code option is a good thought. Thank you.

I'm not thrilled with the idea of the client reviewing the original footage but I doubt they will watch all of it. I think they just want to exercise their control and do a little flexing.

I'm cool with that. I'm always happy to be collabrative and bill my time accordingly!

Again, thanks from a very novice FCP owner (I'm not quite a "fcp user" but I will be in time!)

Be well

Rob
 
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