Native MXF Editing in Final Cut Pro

D

dpavid

Active member
Any of you guys bypass the log and transfer and edit straight from mxf files? What are the Advantages or Disadvantages? What plug-ins are you guys using?

http://www.calibratedsoftware.com/MXFImport_Mac.asp
http://mxf4mac.com/quicktime-plug-ins

Also, is there a way to export or compress the native original mxf files on a mac to a low res proxy mxf format and retain all the metadata and time code. I want to ftp the proxy video to a server to have edited by someone else.

Thanks in advance!
 
Pretty much everyone supports ProRes 422 now, and MXF comes in various flavors, depending on the camera manufacturer. Don't see any reason to use it natively, nor to send it to others. ProRes 422, comparability/cross-platform problems solved.
 
BenB said:
Don't see any reason to use it natively
Click to expand...
There is at least one major reason to use it natively - speed. If you're a news cutter trying to make a deadline, slapping five cards in a PCD35 and editing 12 streams of HD in realtime, immediately, off five hours' of source footage and putting together an edit in a grand total of 10 minutes just wouldn't be possible in a "log & transfer" environment.

Similar situation for the wedding shooter who has to do a same-day edit, someone who shoots in the morning and has to screen the cut at the reception.
 
I know Barry will be surprised by my comment, but I agree with him insofar as news shooters and same day edits.

But as to other ingesting, I prefer log and transfer.
 
Point being, different workflows require different toolsets. There is a market that needs instant access to footage, and there are other markets that don't. So whether the OP needs it or not, can only be answered by knowing the type of work the OP does.
 
12 streams in that example? Slight exaggeration. And on 5 cards, ingesting via laptop during shooting is preferable, at least for backing up the data. I've done situations like that, and it works just fine. But that's just me.
 
I'm in the NATIVE MXF editing camp now too. Before I didn't mind the ingest time, as I was on docs that allowed for that. But after being on a show that shot on Tuesday and needed to deliver on Friday, we couldn't have done it without MXF4Mac. Well, we could have, if we worked long hours and didn't like seeing our loved ones.
 
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