HDSLR: GH6 Using video clips with CapCut editing software

[BobKo]

I just recently (as in the last couple of days) learned that there was a free video edit software package called CapCut (https://www.capcut.com/). I apologize in advance if I'm the last one to know about this, but I thought others might not have heard about it. Anyway, CapCut seems pretty powerful considering it is free. And it is available for Mac, Windows and mobile applications.

I was curious to know if it would work with some of the higher data rate videos from the GH6, so I tried it with 5.7K video, as well as 10-bit 4:2:2 4K video at 150Mbps, 400Mbps and 60fps 10-bit 4:2:2 4K video at 600Mbps. Amazingly, it works with all of them.

One feature that CapCut has that I like a lot is that it allows you to choose the frame rate you want when you render out the finished project. So if your footage is a mix of 24fps and 30fps clips, you can render it at either frame rate... or something else entirely. I've been using DaVinci Resolve, and it blindly forces you to choose the frame rate at the very beginning -- if you forget to pick the frame rate you want at the start, there is no way to change it at the end. The only way to get your desired frame rate is to pick it correctly at the beginning or re-edit the entire video. CapCut does not have that annoying trait, which is a breath of fresh air.

One negative about CapCut is that it can't render files out at 29.97fps. It's output frame rates are all round numbers: 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60. It can render out in a variety of resolutions (up to 4K) and a couple different codecs (including H.264 and H.265). It can render out in either .mov or .mp4 container formats.

I thought some of you here might not know about CapCut, so I wanted to share the word on it. It looks to me like CapCut has a decent amount of features and it is a lot less daunting than Resolve for someone just starting out. I have no idea how the developer of CapCut makes any money on it, but it is free and it does seem to work pretty well with video files from a GH6.

 

[Rainer]

I've been using DaVinci Resolve, and it blindly forces you to choose the frame rate at the very beginning -- if you forget to pick the frame rate you want at the start, there is no way to change it at the end. The only way to get your desired frame rate is to pick it correctly at the beginning or re-edit the entire video.

Note, to get around this, in the same project you can just create a new timeline with different project settings including frame rate and copy and paste everything on your old timeline to your new one.

 

[BobKo]

Note, to get around this, in the same project you can just create a new timeline with different project settings including frame rate and copy and paste everything on your old timeline to your new one.

Thanks for the tip... but wouldn't you also have to find all the source material and import it all into the project? That would have been agony for one of my projects that spanned 18 months and went through a couple of additional shoots and more than a dozen approval versions. The initial edit was on Corel VideoStudio, but the final edit was on Resolve. I got to the end and discovered it was at 29.97 fps, when I expected it to be 24 fps. And there was nothing that could be done about it at that point. It was a learning experience!

 

[NorBro]

Note, to get around this, in the same project you can just create a new timeline with different project settings including frame rate and copy and paste everything on your old timeline to your new one.

On a related note, does any text, effect or anything else that's not a video adjust itself?

In FCP, when I do this sometimes, those things have to be manually adjusted because they carry over their old framerate so they don't exactly end where they originally did in the older framerate edit.

 

[NorBro]

Thanks for the tip... but wouldn't you also have to find all the source material and import it all into the project? That would have been agony for one of my projects that spanned 18 months and went through a couple of additional shoots and more than a dozen approval versions. The initial edit was on Corel VideoStudio, but the final edit was on Resolve. I got to the end and discovered it was at 29.97 fps, when I expected it to be 24 fps. And there was nothing that could be done about it at that point. It was a learning experience!

If everything is inside a NLE and you just want to change the framerate in that NLE then you don't need to reimport anything; you just copy-and-paste (although any timing might not be perfect, depends on the edit) or some may even allow you to just simply change the framerate.

 

[BobKo]

If everything is inside a NLE and you just want to change the framerate in that NLE then you don't need to reimport anything; you just copy-and-paste (although any timing might not be perfect, depends on the edit) or some may even allow you to just simply change the framerate.

I have never tried to do this with Resolve, but maybe I will try and see if I can get it to work.

Meanwhile, the point of my original post was to get the word out that CapCut works with 10-bit 4:2:2 video from the GH5 and GH6. Four years ago or so, my primary editing software was the free version of Resolve, and it would not allow me to edit 10-bit 4:2:2 150Mbps video. When I asked about this on the official Resolve forum, I was brushed off with a statement along the lines of, "That codec has a licensing fee, so of course they're not going to give it away." The implied ending to that sentence was, "You idiot." Now maybe the current free version of Resolve (v18.4, I think) does work with 10-bit 4:2:2 files, but the version I used then (v14) did not.

I thought the fact that CapCut is free and DOES work with 10-bit 4:2:2 files is good news, especially for video beginners.

 

[Doug Jensen]

Four years ago or so, my primary editing software was the free version of Resolve, and it would not allow me to edit 10-bit 4:2:2 150Mbps video. .

False. The free version of Resolve has been compatible with 10-bit 4:2:2 (any bit rate) for at least 10 years and maybe even earlier. Whatever problem you experienced was due to something else.

 

[NorBro]

I have never tried to do this with Resolve, but maybe I will try and see if I can get it to work.

Meanwhile, the point of my original post was to get the word out that CapCut works with 10-bit 4:2:2 video from the GH5 and GH6. Four years ago or so, my primary editing software was the free version of Resolve, and it would not allow me to edit 10-bit 4:2:2 150Mbps video. When I asked about this on the official Resolve forum, I was brushed off with a statement along the lines of, "That codec has a licensing fee, so of course they're not going to give it away." The implied ending to that sentence was, "You idiot." Now maybe the current free version of Resolve (v18.4, I think) does work with 10-bit 4:2:2 files, but the version I used then (v14) did not.

I thought the fact that CapCut is free and DOES work with 10-bit 4:2:2 files is good news, especially for video beginners.

Yeah, I hear you; thanks for sharing.

As you most likely know, the industry has drastically changed.

It was beyond archaic 15, 20+ years ago the way so much tech worked (hardware, software, businesses, licenses, relationships, etc. [But I wouldn't change a thing living through all of that.]

Everything gets better every year as the world continues to change and humanity expects things to work extremely well without any type of troubleshooting, ever.

When companies create new flavors of codecs/formats, NLE-makers sometimes need time to provide support (while working with the camera companies behind-the-scenes) because they have other roadmaps in place. I don't know for sure but in your aforementioned Panasonic example it was likely a simple delay years ago when it was new and nothing to do with licensing because Panasonic needs Resolve, not the other way around.

I actually took a look at CapCut because it looked very modern and sure enough it's owned by China's ByteDance (who makes a significant amount of money).

These new styles for programs are and will be very successful because they make things much simpler for end-users vs. traditional NLEs like from Adobe, Blackmagic or Apple.

This is the major trend with a lot of software, including stuff for coding and web design, which is making everything so much easier for people to learn quickly while eliminating jobs at the same time, ha.

 

[BobKo]

False. The free version of Resolve has been compatible with 10-bit 4:2:2 (any bit rate) for at least 10 years and maybe even earlier. Whatever problem you experienced was due to something else.

All I can say is that I was accurate in my description above. I could not get 10-bit 4:2:2 150Mbps video from the GH5 to work with the free version of Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve (v14). When I inquired on Blackmagic's Resolve forum, I was given the curt response that I quoted above. I was told that the paid version of Resolve (DaVinci Resolve Studio) had the ability to work with 10-bit 4:2:2 150Mbps video, but not the free version. Pretty shortly after that, I started teaching video classes in the evening and was able to get the teaching discount on Adobe Premiere, so I switched to Premiere. I subsequently got a 9-5 job in video and was issued a computer with Premiere. I went back to Resolve -- this time the Studio (paid) version -- after that job ended. (Covid killed my video classes, so no more Adobe discount.)

 

[ade4all]

False. The free version of Resolve has been compatible with 10-bit 4:2:2 (any bit rate) for at least 10 years and maybe even earlier. Whatever problem you experienced was due to something else.

This is only true on a Mac

For some reason the free version of Resolve on Windows does not support 10 bit h264\265.

It does on Mac.

I presume you are using Windows Bob?

 

[Doug Jensen]

All I can say is that I was accurate in my description above.

All I can say is that your description above is incorrect. I've been teaching Resolve classes at client locations with the free version for about 10 years using nothing but 4K and HD 10-bit 4:2:2 footage. No problems.

As I said earlier, whatever problem you experienced was due to something else. And that something else, according to ade4all, is that you are on Windows. I don't know if that is true of not because I don't use Windows and neither do any of the clients/student I've trained, but I assume he is correct. Windows is your problem.

A good example of why it is important to be very specific when making claims that something doesn't work right. 10-bit 4:2:2 might now work for YOU, but is is inaccurate to say 10-bit 4:2:2 is incompatible with the free version of Resolve.

 

[NorBro]

Bob's experience is likely a rare case since most people won't have an issue, especially now, and especially working with one of the more used cameras out there (like Sony and their own 10-bit 4:2:2 offerings) but more people have in the past based on their system/components and exactly which camera files they were working with:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/ar...e-studio-2122/

 

[BobKo]

This is only true on a Mac

For some reason the free version of Resolve on Windows does not support 10 bit h264\265.

It does on Mac.

I presume you are using Windows Bob?

Yes, I was indeed using Windows.

 

[cyvideo]

A good example of why it is important to be very specific when making claims that something doesn't work right. 10-bit 4:2:2 might now work for YOU, but is is inaccurate to say 10-bit 4:2:2 is incompatible with the free version of Resolve.

Doug. A little qualification is required here. On Windows, the FREE version of DVR has not supported 10-Bit 4:2:2 for as long as I can recall. Ran into this problem only last week with a client with Sony XAVC 10-Bit 4:2:2 footage on his Windows 11 machine. On a Mac, it's a different story. If a Mac has the Pro Video Formats package installed you can work with the following codecs in the FREE version of DVR.

The Pro Video Formats package provides support for the following codecs that are used in professional video workflows:

• Apple ProRes RAW and ProRes RAW HQ*
• Apple Intermediate Codec
• Avid DNxHD® / Avid DNxHR® decoder
• AVC-Intra 50 / 100 / 200 / 4:4:4 / LT
• AVC-LongG
• XAVC
• XF-AVC
• XF-HEVC
• DVCPRO HD
• HDV
• XDCAM EX / HD / HD422
• MPEG IMX
• Uncompressed 4:2:2
* Requires a Mac computer that supports Metal: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205073

For example, you can use fx6 footage on the FREE version of Davinci Resolve on a Mac if you install the Apple Pro video formats package. It’s free and takes about a minute to install.

http://https://support.apple.com/kb/DL2100?locale=en_US

Sadly for Windoz users, this is not the case.

Chris Young

 

[Doug Jensen]

Doug. A little qualification is required here.

Chris, you should direct your comments to the OP. I have no interest in this topic and just jumped in to correct something he said that was false.

 

[cyvideo]

False. The free version of Resolve has been compatible with 10-bit 4:2:2 (any bit rate) for at least 10 years and maybe even earlier. Whatever problem you experienced was due to something else.

And yes Doug. That "something else" is Windows. Your world may be 100% Mac. For a lot of others that is not the case. So your statement is true if you exclude Windows. Which of course in the reality of a forum discussion where users use a variety of OSs you cannot.

Doug. This is a "forum". My comment was not directed at you. Why do you think that? My comments were directed at the total discussion on this forum. My commennt was for all interested that a bit of clarity may help. That the functionality of DVR is different between OS systems. Your comment that DVR Free has worked fine for the last number of years is totally correct... for Mac. So in that regard your statement is 100% true. Whereas those who commented that they couldn't use 10-bit 422 in the Free version are also 100% correct in their comments with regards to Windows. In other words both sides of the discussion are 100% correct. I felt for all interested a bit of clarification for all as to where DVR Free does and doesn't work in the 10-bit 422 world may be useful information to some. Nothing aimed at you, Doug.

Chris Young

 

[Doug Jensen]

Doug. This is a "forum". My comment was not directed at you. Why do you think that?

Why do I think that? Uh, maybe because you quoted me in your post. Go back and look, and then tell me your reply wasn't directed to me.

So your statement is true if you exclude Windows.

My statement was 100% true. I made no mention of Mac or Windows, and neither did the OP in his original statement. So my refuting his claim about incompatibilty was 100% accurate.

I only called out his false statement because nobody else did. If you or someone else chooses to elaborate on it and point out that his problem only applies to Windows, be my guest, that is what a forum is for. My reason for posting was to refute his claim that 10-bit 4:2:2 isn't compatible with the free version of Resolve. That is a was a false statement the OP made and you know it, so you're issue should be with him for not being more specific -- not me.

Perhaps you missed this part of my original post:

Whatever problem you experienced was due to something else.

It was not up to me to explain what that something else was.

In the future, if you don't want to be accused of aiming a comment at someone else and implying they were wrong, then don't quote them in your post. Seems logical to me.

 

[NorBro]

I was looking on Reddit and apparently there is some HEVC pack for $1 in the Microsoft Store that might solve the issue in this thread in the free version on Windows, IDK.

___

On a related note, I actually purchased a Windows computer recently and although it's a PITA to use (the frequent OS updates are just silly and no Mac person would ever understand this), I do love it.

It's a different experience than a Mac and I'm tied into it for gaming with my Xbox and Game Pass and Steam, but I would never use it for editing stuff. Even the most basic tasks to personalize the computer are such a process compared to Mac and some things just don't work seamlessly as they should.

 

[BobKo]

It's a different experience than a Mac and I'm tied into it for gaming with my Xbox and Game Pass and Steam, but I would never use it for editing stuff. Even the most basic tasks to personalize the computer are such a process compared to Mac and some things just don't work seamlessly as they should.

We're wandering far afield from the original topic of this discussion (hijack, anyone??), but I had the opposite experience with a Mac a few years ago. I had Atari computers starting in 1980, then worked in an office with TRS-80s, then worked for IBM where it was all PC-DOS computers. When I left IBM in 1992, I bought a Windows PC for my own business. Years (and a different career) later, I was hired to be the editor of a magazine and was issued a Mac laptop. I worked with it for a month and just couldn't figure it out. I begged my management to swap it with a Windows PC, and I was much happier.

I really tried with the Mac, because everyone says it is so much easier to use. Not for me.

 

[NorBro]

lol, that's crazy, Bob's one-in-a...billion?

Macs are so much easier to use, and so much better...all subjective though (but, no, it's true, lol).

It also depends on which year you're talking about. "Years later" from 1992 could still be the 90s, or even early 2000s, and any experience with those from 20+ years ago can't be logically (and responsibly) compared to what Macs have become today.