gh1 clip size... file sizes become huge in FCP!

R

Roca

Member
Hey guys,

One more newbie question here... have been a proud owner of the GH1 for a month now, getting pretty nice images and what not...

Now im sure it has been discussed somewhere, but I cant find it... how come the 4 gb of the sd card turns into... much more than that once dumped in the computer?

I just copied a clip, a minute and a half clip at 72060p, and it was almost 2 gigs! Just that one!

Obviously much more space than that same clip takes in the card... how does that work exactly?

Once again many thanks!
 
Yep, these files are HUGE...especially when you have longer clips.

My 57 minute interview that was less than 16 GB on my SD card ballooned to 59.57GB after Log and Transfer in FCP!

I am downconverting my footage for editing purposes and keeping my original AVCHD files as I start to run out of space with these full 1080p files... I'm still getting used to tapeless workflow...
 
That is perfectly normal for AVCHD. FCP is converting the original AVCHD files to ProRes, which means it is reconstructing all the frames of video that were not recorded in their entirety. That means that much more information is required. By doing so, your computer doesn't have to reconstruct those frames on-the-fly as you're editing.

This is true for HDV editing as well, though it doesn't take as much CPU power to reconstruct those mpeg-2 frames as it does for AVCHD (which is mpeg-4). Macs can handle HDV natively, but it does still require more power than using ProRes. Even if I used HDV I think I'd convert to ProRes before editing myself.

The answer is to get lots of SATA hard drives (at least 1TB) and use ONLY Firewire 400 or 800. USB2 is too slow to edit HD video.

Jack
 
Yep, that's what FCP does. FCP forces you to convert the files to ProRes, and ProRes files are anywhere from maybe 10x to as much as 37 times larger than the original AVCHD files.

It's one of the main complaints I have about FCP, that you don't have the flexibility to edit in the native files, and so instead you get a massive inflation of file sizes.

So, in other words, you're not doing anything wrong, it's just the way FCP works.
 
Try using ProRes LT instead of ProRes...same quality (with Gh1 footage at least) but 30% smaller file sizes.
 
Thank you all again... really helpful stuff.

Now, with my Imac, Im pretty much screwed when it comes to use e SATA connections for my hard drives, right?

Im using firewire 800, and truth is, when I speed a clip more than 200% (i think), i start getting dropped frames like crazy, so I can't go over that speed because it says, my disks are too slow... which im guessing e SATA would help, but I cant do it?

Hey Ben_B, when in the process can I select the option of ProRes LT? I thought logging and transfering with FCP means they automatically get converted to ProRes...

Garcias!

ps. I now realize this shouldve probably been posted in the GH1 workflow section... my b
 
Roca,
In the Log and Transfer window, there will be a gear icon at the top right of the left panel.
Click it, then select preferences. This is where you select the codec. For AVCHD Source, select ProRes 422 (LT) from the Target Format drop down.
 
Martti Ekstrand said:
Provided you've upgraded to FCP 7 that is.
Click to expand...

...And that's where the plan fails, haha.

Thanks either way, i guess Ill deal with the big arse clips.

In terms of dropping frames left and right, is there any solution around that? (Given that I have an IMAC and I guess Esata connection to my hard drives is not possible)
 
Just so you know, if you get a copy of the codec file for ProRes LT (which given codec licensing is probably technically piracy) you can make it work just fine with Final Cut 6 by adding it to the library. However I don't think you can transfer to it...you'll have to log to ProRes and then media manage to LT and delete the original...assuming you have the space.
 
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