FCP and After Effects PC version, can they work hand in hand?

H

HKFF

Active member
I am currently considering to purchase a new Mac Laptop so I can use FCP because it seems that FCP has excellent reviews. Currently have Avid (but I have been having some problems with it) on PC and AE, so what I want to know is: if I use FCP, can I still use AE PC version?

If I get FCP, can tranfer my timelines to an external hard drive, connect my pc, and then can I import those FCP files/timelines to AE on my PC?
 
Sorry, but moving your actual timeline won't work that way. Even if you had AE and FCP on the mac, you still need the program "Automatic Duck" to save your FCP time line into a file that AE will open and maintaine all your cuts. What you'll have to do is make sure you have a picture lock, then export just the clips you need reworked in AE. You may need Macdrive for your PC to recognize the quicktime files so AE can open them.
 
Automatic duck is killer for this. Very quick and easy. Pretty pricy though if you're not making your living doing this stuff...
 
Geeze it's "duck" is $500! Is there any other way to do it? What if I just purchased AE for mac, would that be better?

This is what I understand:
With PC, I will still need a macdrive (what is that?) and automatic duck.
With Mac, I need automatic duck.

Correct?

Because I am a student, I could probably get AE for mac much cheaper than getting the automatic duck.... Please let me know if there's a better solution, or if what I understand is inaccurate. Thanks!
 
It doesn't matter which platform you're using AE on, you can't export your FCP timeline and open it up intact in AE without third party help.
 
This might sound like a stupid question, but if I just edited a chunk of video, export it into mov or avi, import into AE, add the effects, and export it into another mov or avi file, and then import into the timeline of either FCP or Avid, would that be a good way around purchasing third party software? Or would that just deteriorate the quality of the footage?
 
You won't get your *timelines* across, I don't see any reason why you can't go back and forth with files that both programs can understand. Try not to use a lossy codec (DV, PhotoJPEG, MPEG, etc.) as an intermediate format.

One easy way to get files across is via a FAT32 FireWire drive. That won't require any special "reader" programs like MacDrive, but the caveat is that your files are limited to 4GB apiece. If you're desperate, you can try to copy them over a network, but anything less than gigabit Ethernet might be painfully slow.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the tip, that will probably save me a heck of a lot of money just by swaping files.
 
Wouldn't exporting your video in a lossless codec be the solution? I would figure that you would just finish editing your movie, then export your final version into AE for adding effects and then export it into a format of your choosing and voila, finished movie. Will this not work?
 
I'm guessing that's my only option. Export from a lossless codec and then import into AE, and then export the file out again.... can I export files to tape from AE? That's the next worry.
 
HKFF-

I would NOT get into the habit of mixing and matching the two operating systems. It's more than just different programs (FCP and AE) you are combining. In essence, you are trying to get Windows to 'speak' with Mac's OS operating system. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. And when it doesnt, it can be incredibly frustrating. If you are going to work on FCP on a mac get a mac version of AE. If you are going to work on AE for PC, get used to Avid. Trust me, it will save you many MANY headaches...for example...if you create a project in AE for a PC and import it into a mac version of AE...it can be done...but at what cost?...the text will be different or non-existent, etc. I just wouldn't do it. That is my advice.
 
I don't think it's as bad as you make it out to be. I've worked on both mac and pc for many years now and don't find myself confronted with too many inter-platform issues.

If you're intent on using AE on a PC and FCP (on a mac, obviously :)), then your best bet for the least amount of problems is to render out your video to a file from one app and import it into the other app. The trade-off by going this route is render times, because you're going to have to render your work to a file whenever you want to go back and forth.

If, for instance, you had AE on your mac, you can actually output a reference file (for which rendering time is pretty much instaneous if you don't include audio) from FCP and import and work on it in AE like any other quicktime file.

BTW, if you're working with DV25 in FCP and you haven't added a bunch of effects that need rendering (i.e. a cuts only edit), you don't have to render out to a lossless codec. You can render back to DV without any loss of quality and it'll save on disc space. Keep in mind, this is ONLY if you haven't done anything to the video that will require rendering. Also, when rendering out from AE, it's best to use a lossless codec, and do any further mastering or compression (to DV, mpeg-2, etc.) in FCP.
 
Jive said:
I don't think it's as bad as you make it out to be. I've worked on both mac and pc for many years now and don't find myself confronted with too many inter-platform issues.

If you're intent on using AE on a PC and FCP (on a mac, obviously :)), then your best bet for the least amount of problems is to render out your video to a file from one app and import it into the other app. The trade-off by going this route is render times, because you're going to have to render your work to a file whenever you want to go back and forth.

If, for instance, you had AE on your mac, you can actually output a reference file (for which rendering time is pretty much instaneous if you don't include audio) from FCP and import and work on it in AE like any other quicktime file.

BTW, if you're working with DV25 in FCP and you haven't added a bunch of effects that need rendering (i.e. a cuts only edit), you don't have to render out to a lossless codec. You can render back to DV without any loss of quality and it'll save on disc space. Keep in mind, this is ONLY if you haven't done anything to the video that will require rendering. Also, when rendering out from AE, it's best to use a lossless codec, and do any further mastering or compression (to DV, mpeg-2, etc.) in FCP.
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So for example, if I rendered a QT reference file from say FCP, I can't use that reference to the AE on PC?

I have not had much experience with FCP, but I am interested in learning it. (thinking about investing in a mac).

This is what I understand:

1. If I use FCP/Avid, render out to DV, capture it into AE (it will keep max resolution).

2. Next add effects in AE on PC, and then export it out to a lossless codec file (how do I know which codec is "lossless")

3. Put the AE exported file back into FCP/Avid timeline, in order to export to tape?

Am I correct?

sorry if I sound really stupid, I'm really new at this.
 
Rendering a reference file from FCP for use on a PC will not work. A reference file is just that, it merely references other media files, it is not an actual video file with any real data, it just appears to be a valid quicktime file to other apps.

However, if you are planning on using an Avid on a PC, then you can pretty much do the same thing with avid (create a reference file) and use it in any program that can read QT files.

You've got the basic idea of what you would need to do to move your work between a mac and a PC. Once you do it a few times, you'll get the hang of it and work out any kinks that you encounter.

As far as "lossless" codecs go, you have a couple different routes.

There are uncompressed codecs that, as the name infers, uses no compression at all. This will ensure that your video does not undergo any generational loss and keeps the quality that it currently has. However, uncompressed codecs use A LOT of disk space. An example of an uncompressed codec on the PC side would be the "Video for windows (AVI)" codec with compression set to "None".

You could also use codecs that employ "lossless compression". These codecs compress the image, but do it in such a way (I call it "magic") that no image quality is lost. As these files are compressed, file sizes are smaller than if an uncompressed codec is used, thus saving on disk space. However, depending on the level of compression, and the speed of you computer, you may experience playback issues as the footage will need to be decompressed before playback. An example of a lossless codec is the Huffyuv codec.
 
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