WHY apple pro ress? 3 camera edit etc... help please

[jbonante]

Hello,

Just when i thought i figured out a good workflow i got sidetracked by reading and messing around with yet another format.

Here's my problem. I record using 3 different cameras. 2 of my own and one is my buddy's. I have a Sony FX-7 and a Canon 60D DSLR and he has a Canon XHA1S.

HOW I DO IT.

just recently i started using compressor. i drop both Canon clips into compressor to match the Sony FX-7 (this was my only and main source of video) Using the same codec and frame size/rate final cut then allows me to do a multi cam edit. GOOD. All the video is then imported to final cut pro as 1440x1080i 30ftp. No rendering, no delays etc... seems to work just fine. Then i export as .mov using current settings. Now in final cut pro my sequence setting is HDV 1440x1080i which after exported to .mov for final version it turns into 1920x1080i. Is this a decent work flow or should i be concerned?

Why am i reading you should convert all your footage to apple pro ress before editing?

Should i be converting all my footage to apple pro ress and if so at what size? 1920x1080 or 1440x1080. The cameras record at different sizes so i'm not sure how to set my settings. And if i did convert all the footage to apples pro ress then whatever size i choose i'd have to set my final cut pro sequence to the same so it matched?

Sorry for the scattered thoughts but am i thinking about this the right or wrong way?

Thanks!

 

[Digital Skunk]

Are you in X or 7?

In the meantime, ProRes is better for users of hard to process footage, AVCHD and so forth. ProRes also shines because it's a lossless format, you can compress your 4:2:2 footage to ProRes and save some space and not loose any quality.

It seems that your workflow is working just fine for you, and if you are in a crunch implementing a new workflow isn't a good idea.

Now!, if you are using X, I say don't worry about converting your footage since X is supposed to handle mixed formats even better than 7. If you are using 7 and don't want to be bothered with rendering every 10 sec. then i would convert, and I would convert to any codec that keeps the quality of your footage at it's highest. Since the FX7 and XHA1S are HDV, and your SLR is AVCHD, I'd stick to your old methods, and only convert the AVCHD footage from your SLR.

 

[jbonante]

I'm using final cut pro 7

Thanks for the advice. I'm prob better to stick with whats working, plus apple pro ress footage seems to be a much larger file.

Is it ok to take the 1920x1080 canon dslr footage and covert to 1440x1080...

Isn't 1440x1080 exported put of final cut as 1920x1080 anyways? seems pointless to convert the footage down and then back up again on export, but i need it all to match to multicam...hmmmm this should be easier lol

 

[acearchie]

I'm using final cut pro 7

Thanks for the advice. I'm prob better to stick with whats working, plus apple pro ress footage seems to be a much larger file.

Is it ok to take the 1920x1080 canon dslr footage and covert to 1440x1080...

Isn't 1440x1080 exported put of final cut as 1920x1080 anyways? seems pointless to convert the footage down and then back up again on export, but i need it all to match to multicam...hmmmm this should be easier lol

Install the correct import plugins for each camera and then import through log and transfer. If you set the import settings to PR422 then they will all come in in the same format.

I believe 1440x1080 is referring to rectangular pixels and 1920x1080 is referring to square pixels.

 

[ppc_michael]

ProRes also shines because it's a lossless format

Just a minor correction: ProRes is very good, but it is not lossless.

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ProRes at 1920x1080 is a solid workflow for high quality video. But quite honestly, DSLRs aren't the most fantastic video cameras out there, so if your current 1440x1080 HDV workflow is working nicely for you, you might as well stick with that. I don't think you're really going to lose any noticeable spacial resolution.