Smaller alternative to Apple ProRes for DSLR footage

D

Dannyajm

New member
Hi,

I just finished shooting a project on DSLR and I'm looking to transcode the footage to a smaller codec than Apple prores that would still hold up relatively well for editing.

The reason for this is because the harddrive I'm going to be working off of is only 500GB and the H.264 footage off the camera currently totals at 136 GB meaning that if I do transcode to prores it's going be over 600GBs

Help is extremely appreciated!

Thanks
 
Can you use ProRes LT? You'll save some space there...

But I'd just recommend picking up a 1TB drive. They're so cheap these days...
 
Unfortunately I don't have premiere, I'm stuck with Final cut pro 6.0.6 right now so I can't even use the Prores LT or Prores Proxy codecs that come with FCP 7.
 
I usually use prores LT, but have used XDCAM in the past as well. It has worked fine for me, but im sure someone would know more about the details
 
My only issue with DVCPro HD is that it downscales the resolution to 960x720 (when transcoding 1280x720 footage). I'm not too familiar with XDCam, it seems like it's worth checking out.

Does anyone know anything about the Apple Intermediate codec? It seems like it's okay but it only maintains a 4:2:0 chroma subsampling. But does that even matter for HDSLR footage since it shoots 4:2:0 anyways? I do plan on colour correcting the footage and wouldn't want to cause any artifacting or other issues.
 
a +1 for intermediate - I used it with my first D90 footage before I upgraded, used it on like FCP 4-ish. Seemed to work just fine.

I'd really second the second-drive comments though - check amazon and (for sure) buy.com, they're blowing out 1T drives in my inbox every week. I know budgets are tight, but an almost-full drive is no fun. Drives need some storage headroom, for what you're doing. And a 1-2T drive will be useful for some time, make it a backup drive later, etc.
 
You really can't afford to just buy a new drive?

Personally, I'd avoid XDCAM like the plague. It's a long GOP codec. One of the huge downsides of SxS and the EX-3 workflow IMO.
 
Again, I'd go with the second drive. Get a 1.5 or 2TB drive for around $100... then you'll have room for the source files, you won't have to skimp on the editing codec, and you'll have overhead for render files and final output and whatnot.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions guys,

Getting the drive is always an option, but it's hard to find a Firewire 800 drive for less than $200 and I wouldn't settle for anything less. I Haven't had great experiences editing off USB drives. Regardless it looks like that's the way to go for the longer run.
 
thetvirus513 said:
I usually use prores LT, but have used XDCAM in the past as well. It has worked fine for me, but im sure someone would know more about the details
Click to expand...


The XDCAM codec works fine. I used to use it after seeing that Philip Bloom suggested it. I'd suggest that Prores is overkill.
 
I've never had a problem editing off USB. I edit 1080p ProRes LT files off a 5400RPM usb portable drive all the time. There's a slight delay that I don't see in a 7200RPM USB drive, but still, I've literally never had a problem editing off USB.
 
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