Tricky Final Cut Timeline Question

J

jsauce

Active member
hopefully somebody can help with this.

so im starting a timeline on a 7d project in fcp. about 50 percent of my footage is 1920x1080 and the other half is the overcranked 1080x720. Should i drag in one of the bigger clips first and establish the full res "big" timeline with smaller stuff accomodating OR should I drag in the 1080 overcranked stuff first and establish the "smaller" timeline with the 1920 stuff squeezing in.
for some reason its really confusing me and im not sure what i should do or if it even really matters. my ultimate export will mostly be shown on the web but i do want to make sure i have the best looking, highest quality export.

any help is greatly appreciated. thanks
 
I usually use the 1080 timeline, and let fcp resize the 720 to fit.

Lately I've been suspect of the quality that the fcp upres achieves and was going to try compressor, QT pro, mpeg streamclip, or maybe even photoshop to do the upres, but haven't had the time.

Have you tried both and output for web/ dvd to see if there's a difference? I would go through the whole workflow before committing.

How's that for a wish-washy answer? :)
 
truth i can't really see a difference, but clearly one must be better/preferable. no worries on the wishy wash. thats why i said it's a tricky one. you would think using the smaller one and having the big one fit in would make the most sense if im mainly going to be shrinking down for web anyways right?
 
Personally, I start with the 1080p and uprez the 720 slow-mo stuff. I find the scaling to be quite good and I'd rather work in the larger format.
 
Match the sequence height and width to your intended delivery format, because if you want the final thing to be 1080p (1920x1080) then there is no point working in 720p (1280x720)
Then when its time to export select 'Export Quicktime Movie' and choose self contained.
Never export with quicktime conversion. FCP is a great editor but a lousy converter, use compressor for that.
 
I like working in 720 with the 7D. Scaling the 1080 video down to 720 really helps obscure some of the camera's weaknesses. So I scale the 1080 down, and use the 720 overcranked material at its native size.
 
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