Specific HDV workflow when using AE CS3! Need guidance PLEASE

St3viE B!

St3viE B!

Active member
I am looking forward to purchasing an A1, but have a few concerns about the HDV workflow. I've browsed the forums plenty and still have some questions that pertain specifically to my situation.

When editing DV in Premiere Pro CS3, I edit an action sports clip or sequence like snowboarding and then export each mov into After Effects CS3 individually for CC and slow mo, etc then render and bring it back into the NLE with it running smoothly on playback.

With editing HDV natively, will I still be able to follow the same process? If I were use an intermediate codec, would it facilitate or complicate matters. Also, I wouldn't mind switching over to Final Cut if they've got HDV more figured out than Premiere Pro as far as workflow. It's already an arduous process in DV so I don't want to be in over my head with HDV.

Computer wise, I've got a mac quad core with 3 gigs of ram and 1 terabyte of storage if that makes any difference on your suggestions.
 
I you are considering a switch to Final Cut, you may not need to export your footage to AE anymore. FCP is really robust in this area. I used to do visual effects for film and used Final Cut for nearly all of my work. When Final Cut didn't work, I would occasionally work with Combustion. I used FCP for a digital intermediate (35mm transfered to HiDef, visual effects exported to Cineon files for a 35mm film output). I guess I am trying to say, it is pretty powerful. You will have to retrain your brain a bit from AE which can be tough. Have fun.
 
Thank you for the suggestion, but I'm not trying to get AE out of my workflow because it is too awesome of a program. I just need to know if my workflow is viable with HDV.....
 
I haven't tried this myself yet, but you should also take a look at Dynamic Link that comes with the Master Collection, as well as Premium (I believe). It makes rendering unnessecary when working with footage in both Premiere CS3 and After Effects CS3.

Just thought I throw this in.

Phil
 
Yeah, you're totally right RPK. I've used Dynamic Link, but when I import my sequence into after effects it is way really unorganized and difficult to work through so I gave up on it. I'm sure if I tried to work out my problem I could find a viable solution though.
 
You shouldn't have to change step in your workflow. The only thing that will change is you'll find that the HDV files are extremely processor intensive and it'll be tough do effectively preview what you're doing without running out of RAM. AE's handling of HDV is very poor, which is why I don't shoot HDV at all when I know that there's a lot of post FX work involved. An intermediate codec will definitely help speed up the process.
 
Take a look at Cineform for an intermediate codec, makes CS3 speedy to work with and you lose less info when re-rendering.
 
Unfortunately, I won't have $1,000 to go to cineform's Prospect HD, but I do like the idea of using an intermediate codec to speed things up.
 
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