I am seriously about to go hulk on FCP...

[Kingsly]

Okay, I spent all day editing a trailer shot in HDV 720p24. I finish and discover, to my delight, that despite me setting FCP for HDV 720p24 that everything in my timeline was automatically letterboxed and scaled down to DV-NTSC. 😡

Numerous new sequences, projects, coffees, and XML exports/imports later I finally was able to save my original edit into a new project that actually was 720p24.

That being done, I exported using QT conversion (its a rough, so I chose it over compressor. HDV 720p24, as usual.) and dumped it to my iPod for viewing and note taking at home on my MBP. After the export I opened the file and tested it to make sure it was okay (it was flawless). I dragged it to my edits folder on my iPod and gratefully went home.

Got home, uploaded it to my MBP and... WTF!?!?! 😕 😡

I hear audio but am greeted with 1280x720 pixels of white screen!!!

Arrrggghhh!

QT pro tells me some QT components may be missing. I want to stab QT in it's electronic heart.

Please tell me I'm overlooking some ridiculously simple setting or something... 😱

Also what's the deal with FCP's unwanted scaling? 😕

 

[LethalWolfe]

Okay, I spent all day editing a trailer shot in HDV 720p24. I finish and discover, to my delight, that despite me setting FCP for HDV 720p24 that everything in my timeline was automatically letterboxed and scaled down to DV-NTSC. 😡

Are you using the Easy Setup? If so, when did you select the Easy Setup and when did you make the sequence you edited in? I ask because I see a fair number of the following.
Bob creates a new project (DV for instance) which automatically creates a new sequence.
Bob then switches the Easy Setup to desired option (HDV 1080i for instance).
Bob's sequence is still DV even though his project is now HDV. Bob either needs to delete the sequence and create a new one (which will be HDV), or go into the sequence settings option, select the "load seq presets" button (it's near the bottom), and select the setting that matches the Easy Setup he chose.

Numerous new sequences, projects, coffees, and XML exports/imports later I finally was able to save my original edit into a new project that actually was 720p24.

Granted I wasn't there seeing what you were seeing but I think you definitely took the hard way. A little copy and pasting goes a long way in FCP. I deal w/mixed media projects (DV, HDV, and DVCPro HD) nearly everyday at work and just c&p between them then sit back and wait for the render to finish.

That being done, I exported using QT conversion (its a rough, so I chose it over compressor. HDV 720p24, as usual.) and dumped it to my iPod for viewing and note taking at home on my MBP. After the export I opened the file and tested it to make sure it was okay (it was flawless). I dragged it to my edits folder on my iPod and gratefully went home.

Just for future reference, using the Export->QT Movie option is better (and faster) than QT Conversion unless you are compressing/transcoding the file into another codec.

Got home, uploaded it to my MBP and... WTF!?!?! 😕 😡

I hear audio but am greeted with 1280x720 pixels of white screen!!!

QT pro tells me some QT components may be missing. I want to stab QT in it's electronic heart.

Please tell me I'm overlooking some ridiculously simple setting or something... 😱

Does your MBP have the same version of FCP that the machine you cut on does? If not, you are probably missing the right codec.

Also what's the deal with FCP's unwanted scaling? 😕

$20 says user error. Again, I wasn't seeing what you were seeing, but I haven't had FCP do something like that unless I've messed up the settings somewhere. Remember, FCP is dumb. It does what you tell it to do not what you want it to do. 😉


Lethal

 

[Kingsly]

Are you using the Easy Setup? If so, when did you select the Easy Setup and when did you make the sequence you edited in? I ask because I see a fair number of the following.
Bob creates a new project (DV for instance) which automatically creates a new sequence.
Bob then switches the Easy Setup to desired option (HDV 1080i for instance).
Bob's sequence is still DV even though his project is now HDV. Bob either needs to delete the sequence and create a new one (which will be HDV), or go into the sequence settings option, select the "load seq presets" button (it's near the bottom), and select the setting that matches the Easy Setup he chose.

Prior to importing I set FCP to HDV 720p24 and then created a new project. Then I double checked to make sure it was in the right setting (it was) because I was having capture problems (turns out I forgot to switch the JVC 100 into HDV mode 😱 ) Everything seemed okay at that point. I wrote the bad quality off as FCP autoscaling to avoid dropped frames. ( 😱 )

Granted I wasn't there seeing what you were seeing but I think you definitely took the hard way. A little copy and pasting goes a long way in FCP. I deal w/mixed media projects (DV, HDV, and DVCPro HD) nearly everyday at work and just c&p between them then sit back and wait for the render to finish.

I tried to copy/paste into a new sequence. It went 1280x720 alright, with the tiny 720x480 letterboxed video in the middle of a huge black frame. I eventually got it to work with an XML import by deselecting "override project settings with XML" (or something like that) and selecting "use master files" (or something like that... to avoid the scaled files completely)

Just for future reference, using the Export->QT Movie option is better (and faster) than QT Conversion unless you are compressing/transcoding the file into another codec.

Thanks. I am officially an idiot. 😱

Does your MBP have the same version of FCP that the machine you cut on does? If not, you are probably missing the right codec.

Ditto on my last comment. 😱
FCEHD here at home. Hopefully the full suite soon... (Christmas?😀 )

Anywhere to d/l the proper codec?

 

[LethalWolfe]

Prior to importing I set FCP to HDV 720p24 and then created a new project. Then I double checked to make sure it was in the right setting (it was) because I was having capture problems (turns out I forgot to switch the JVC 100 into HDV mode 😱 ) Everything seemed okay at that point. I wrote the bad quality off as FCP autoscaling to avoid dropped frames. ( 😱 )


I tried to copy/paste into a new sequence. It went 1280x720 alright, with the tiny 720x480 letterboxed video in the middle of a huge black frame. I eventually got it to work with an XML import by deselecting "override project settings with XML" (or something like that) and selecting "use master files" (or something like that... to avoid the scaled files completely)

So you had the JVC sending out a DV signal instead of an HDV signal at one point, but you addressed that issue and everything you captured was HDV, correct? Or did you capture everything at DV by accident?

When you c&p'd it into a new sequence (so you had the 480 image inside the 720 frame) did you try doubling clicking on a clip and making sure the "scale" value was at 100 and the "aspect ratio" value was at 0? Sometimes when moving stuff between sequences w/different aspect ratios and/or sizes you have to manually adjust those settings to keep the frame size looking the way it should.

Anywhere to d/l the proper codec?

To the best of my knowledge, no.

Just about all the stuff you learned to night. 😀 Welcome to the real world where most of your education comes from screwing up, not from books.


Lethal

 

[Kingsly]

So you had the JVC sending out a DV signal instead of an HDV signal at one point, but you addressed that issue and everything you captured was HDV, correct? Or did you capture everything at DV by accident?

The capture window told me that there was no communication. I finally realized my mistake and switched it into HDV. Then I forgot to throw the IEEE1394 switch into HDV!
It captured HDV and my preview window shows me HDV. 🙂

When you c&p'd it into a new sequence (so you had the 480 image inside the 720 frame) did you try doubling clicking on a clip and making sure the "scale" value was at 100 and the "aspect ratio" value was at 0? Sometimes when moving stuff between sequences w/different aspect ratios and/or sizes you have to manually adjust those settings to keep the frame size looking the way it should.

I got info on the clips and oddly it said 1280x720, yet compressor told me it was getting 480 from FCP. My eyes confirmed that it was running low res.

Just about all the stuff you learned to night. 😀 Welcome to the real world where most of your education comes from screwing up, not from books.


Lethal

Well, prepare for a redux tomorrow when I mix audio and color correct with Shake. (and erase copyrighted logos on the beginning scenes before I remembered to cover them with gaffer tape!)

 

[poppe]

Hey at least you were able to import... I have so many d*** problems with FCP... Sometimes I wonder why I even waisted my money with it. FCP I have so much problem getting all the files just imported let alone beginning to edit. I swear if everything is not in the exact file it has to be then I have to convert every single file. What a joke...

The only problem I had with avid was getting it off the computer... No drop frames no none of the other errors I keep getting...

I bought a Mac for video editing and I sometimes think it was a mistake. OS X is good and everything but not worth the the crap I have to deal with to video edit...

 

[LethalWolfe]

Hey at least you were able to import... I have so many d*** problems with FCP... Sometimes I wonder why I even waisted my money with it. FCP I have so much problem getting all the files just imported let alone beginning to edit. I swear if everything is not in the exact file it has to be then I have to convert every single file. What a joke...

The only problem I had with avid was getting it off the computer... No drop frames no none of the other errors I keep getting...

I bought a Mac for video editing and I sometimes think it was a mistake. OS X is good and everything but not worth the the crap I have to deal with to video edit...

If you are having so many basic problems you might have to actually break down and read the instructions.


Lethal

 

[poppe]

If you are having so many basic problems you might have to actually break down and read the instructions.


Lethal

Already did that...

 

[xsedrinam]

Just about all the stuff you learned to night. 😀 Welcome to the real world where most of your education comes from screwing up, not from books.


Lethal

That's about the best synopsis I've read in a while for any serious FCP user. That which shows perfectly and flows flawlessly for 28:00 is usually the result of hours of tediously, amended screw ups. It happens to be one of the reasons (imo) why people stay to view and comment later on the out takes.