XDCAM EX1 CS4 Workflow

[Liam]

Hello,

First time poster, long time reader... I'm hoping I can run into someone who's got some experience with what we are in the process of attempting.

We shot a short project on the XDCAM EX1 @ 1920x1080p HQ 23.976fps and have just finished our rough edit on Premiere Pro CS4 and are now in the process of compositing some shots in AE CS4 (reframing, stabilization, cc...). This is our first time taking this workflow with BPAV files. Our PP workflow is setup to the xdcam preset that maches our source footage and everything runs like a dream. However, once we start working on the selected clips in AE and go to export them back into the PP timeline - the file format has obviously changed and we get the yellow line above the footage (with added chop). We know how to get the imported file rendered into the green however I was wondering if there was a better way of working with the BPAV files in AE (and exporting them back to the PP timeline) and if anyone has taken the same workflow route with success before and would like to share.

As for additional information on our AE render queue:
Render Settings - are at best settings
Output module - lossless - Format: Video for Windows w/no compression on the Format options.

If this was discussed elsewhere on this site - please post a link of where I can find it. Thanks!

 

[r1108]

I found this on creativecow.net. It might be a fix for you, too. Skip render que and just export movie. See below:

Re: Rendering with XDCAM EX codec
by olivier amrein on Dec 23, 2008 at 11:15:25 am
I just read your post and i know its nearly a year since..
i had the same problem, and could not find a real solution,
except that when i export in after effects using file->export -> quicktime movie and use the XDCAM codec, they will play fine in final cut... if i use the render queue the exported files will drop frames in FCP !
its pitty not being able to use render queue though, but at least i could finish my project...
i suspect an after effects bug.
o

 

[Huy Vu]

Well, you would get the yellow line. It's not a bug. You're rendering it out into an uncompressed avi and so that no longer matches the sequence setting so it would need to be previewed render.

Keep in mind that once you do anything to the footage you'll have to do a preview render. That's just how it works. Even if you dynamically linked the footage between AE and Premiere (so that you're always working with the original BPAV) you're still making changes to the footage that will have to be rendered for you to view it smoothly.