Editing in Final Cut

RichW

RichW

Active member
Just got my 7D, and am having trouble getting the footage into Final Cut in good shape. I realize that I need to first transcode it in Compressor into PRO RES HQ,
because mov files codec H.264 are not easily readable in FCP.

Do i do it as 1920x1080, (even though I cannot yet make a DVD in HD)?

Also, although I can set the settings preset to Apple Pro Res 422 HQ 1920x1080 24p,

The same option is not available for the capture preset. The closest is HDV Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ) Is this the one to use?

Or doesn't it matter since I cam importing it from Compressor.?

thanks.
 
Keeping it in HD is up to you. It might look nice to upload HD onto the web. And for archiving, it will be easier to downgrade, rather than capture in HD and re-edit.

But if you really don't need HD, then you'll save time using SD. Compressed HD codecs take more processing power.

Compression questions I'll leave to others to talk about.
 
You don't need to transcode the footage to ProRes unless your computer is not powerful enough to handle native H.264 editing. FCP has no problem decoding H.264 clips dropped onto its timelines.
 
ydgmdlu said:
You don't need to transcode the footage to ProRes unless your computer is not powerful enough to handle native H.264 editing. FCP has no problem decoding H.264 clips dropped onto its timelines.
Click to expand...


really? it's been a bear for me and everyone else I know.
 
ydgmdlu said:
You don't need to transcode the footage to ProRes unless your computer is not powerful enough to handle native H.264 editing. FCP has no problem decoding H.264 clips dropped onto its timelines.
Click to expand...

Even though that's possible. I still wouldn't be recommending that to anyone no matter how fast their computer is. I guess maybe if you're doing a same day edit it'd be worth it, but otherwise you might as well transcode it to prores. No matter how nice your computer is, editing in h.264 will still lengthen your render times when effects are applied.
 
dvollrath said:
Even though that's possible. I still wouldn't be recommending that to anyone no matter how fast their computer is. I guess maybe if you're doing a same day edit it'd be worth it, but otherwise you might as well transcode it to prores. No matter how nice your computer is, editing in h.264 will still lengthen your render times when effects are applied.
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I know that Barry Green is an advocate of native editing.

The simple truth is that render times for 1080p footage will be long, even if you're using ProRes. I'm editing a project that I shot with a 5D, 7D, and GH1, and my sequences all use ProRes. Rendering a 10-second clip on my quad-core i7 hackintosh takes a couple of minutes (with only basic color and gamma correction applied).

BTW, I was responding to the OP's claim that H.264 files "are not easily readable in FCP," which has nothing to do with render times. I agree that if one's computer is not up to it, then native editing is not a wise idea.
 
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ydgmdlu said:
You don't need to transcode the footage to ProRes unless your computer is not powerful enough to handle native H.264 editing. FCP has no problem decoding H.264 clips dropped onto its timelines.
Click to expand...
Gotta disagree there. Depending on how the H.264 file is encoded it can give FCP a variety of problems ranging from not even recognizing the file, to very poor performance, to unpredictable results after rendering or exporting (random freeze frames, glitchy playback, sync problems, etc.,). I get H.264 source files from a variety of places weekly and usually I can have run into all sorts of problems. My SOP is to transcode them which usually works w/o issue but sometimes the files just can't be cleanly converted from H.264. Even if the file did play back fine in FCP the render and export times are ridiculous compared to other codecs, and and my Mac Pro is just over a year so the age of the machine isn't an issue.


-A
 
adkimery said:
Gotta disagree there. Depending on how the H.264 file is encoded it can give FCP a variety of problems ranging from not even recognizing the file, to very poor performance, to unpredictable results after rendering or exporting (random freeze frames, glitchy playback, sync problems, etc.,). I get H.264 source files from a variety of places weekly and usually I can have run into all sorts of problems.
Click to expand...
Good point. However, while that might be true for H.264 files in general, I'm referring more specifically to the implementation of H.264 in the Canon cameras, which, in my experience so far, does not present any problems with FCP.

Even if the file did play back fine in FCP the render and export times are ridiculous compared to other codecs, and and my Mac Pro is just over a year so the age of the machine isn't an issue.
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What if, instead of transcoding everything first, you simply used ProRes sequences into which you dropped the original H.264 files? You wouldn't be re-encoding H.264 every time that you have to render.
 
ydgmdlu said:
What if, instead of transcoding everything first, you simply used ProRes sequences into which you dropped the original H.264 files? You wouldn't be re-encoding H.264 every time that you have to render.
Click to expand...
What kills this for me is I'd still have to render every new H.264 clip I dropped in the timeline and/or plopped and effect onto and I work mainly w/DVCProHD 720p60 and I'm not always pleased w/how FCP handles mixed codecs and frame rates. I've found that transcoding up front takes less time overall and if I have a problematic H.264 file I know it right off the bat rather than finding out about it after I've invested a lot of time into the edit.

Horses for courses though.


-A
 
Yeah I recommend setting up a simple droplet in Compressor to handle the H.264 to ProRes conversion. H.264 *can* be edited in FCP but it's not optimized any where near as much as ProRes. That means any thing that needs rendering in FCP will take much longer to do with H.264 than ProRes. So it's either take a little extra time up front to set things up best or lose a lot of time throughout your editing with slower rendering and performance. Here's how to set up a droplet, then when you transfer footage from the camera and the conversion will all be done automatically. When you're done with the conversion, drop the ProRes files into FCP and you're all set.

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=454168

Noah
 
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