Logging and Capturing, HELP!

M

Mr. Durden

Active member
Okay so I'm very new to FCP and Im having so much trouble trying to log and capture in FCP. In iMovie I was able t o press one button and that would be it. FCP is very overwhelming and I just want to capture all of my clips at once. I have tried reading the manuls but as I continue I get more confused. Does anybody have any easy step by step instructions on how to imput my footage!?

Thank you in advance.
 
Well, very simply, you could just open your log and capture window, hit play on your camera or deck and click the "import now" button.
 
Mr. Durden,

Welcome to the world of Final Cut Pro. Yes it is a big step up from iMovie. It sort of has to be. Final Cut Pro has now developed into a professional application for film and television. It is well beyond being meant for cutting home movies (not to say it can't do that as well though). So yes is is a large application that can be overwhelming at first.

First off, the manuals might be a little tedious to try and learn the basics of the software package from. Or at least they might not provide the information in a method suitable for learning (as a manual they aren't really meant to really). So I highly recommend you do a search for Apple Pro Training Series Final Cut Pro. You can search Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, or any other major book retailer. They should all carry the line of books. Getting the two Final Cut Pro specific books is likely the best way for you to get your feet wet with the software.

As for your specific problem right now, yes it is fairly simple to do what you are asking, in theory. Once you have the camera connected to your Mac:

1) Open up the Log and Capture window (Apple + 8)
2) Rewind the tape to the head of the tape
3) Press play
4) In the lower right hand area of the Log and Capture window, where there is a header that says "Capture" and three buttons (Clip, Now, Batch), press the "Now" button as quickly as you can after having pressed Play
5) At the end of where you want to capture simply press the ESC key to stop

Now you will have one giant clip of all the materials on your tape. I wouldn't really recommend this for efficient workflow in Final Cut Pro, but it will give you all your clips in one shot.

The other solution is, go to the head of the tape, go forward about 5 or 6 seconds, press I (for In point). Then fast forward to almost the end of the tape (leave about 1/2 second to a second before the absolute end of the tape) and press O (for Out point). Give the clip a name in the "Description" field. Then press the "Log Clip" button. If a dialog window pops up just hit okay. Now you'll see a clip with a red line through it in your Browser. Right (or control) click on it and select "Batch Capture." Press OK or Continue to any windows that show up and then FCP will go into auto drive and digitize the clip for you.

All of that being said, this doesn't deal with any potential issues you might have with the Audio/Video settings and also the Capture Scratch. You may want to at least read the manual about the capture scratch. In the main "Final Cut Pro" menu, look for the Easy Setup option (control + Q). With this open, expand the drop down menu and look for DV-NTSC. If you are connecting a mini-DV camera and using firewire, then this is the choice you'll want to use. It should setup various Final Cut Pro settings properly for you (and a lot quicker and easier than trying to explain the whole Audio/Video settings window).

So as you can see, there can be quite a bit to deal with, just to log and capture. Again, it comes down to this being a sophisticated application meant to be used at a professional level. So I really really recommend you getting the Final Cut Pro 5 Apple Pro Training Series book(s), and asap. Good luck.

cheers.
 
You definitely don't want to capture all your footage as one long take. The time you save in capturing will be lost ten-fold during the edit.

Chris
 
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