I am trying to edit 3 tapes together using fcp multicam. I have: HDV footage from XHa1 shot in 30f, footage from GL2 shot in frame mode and 16x9 set up. Also some footage shot from Panasonic GS320, in 60i(i think)..

My problem is that my main footage is with the a1, and the other 2 cams are shooting b-roll and some closeups of a live event. I would like to edit with multicam in fcp 6 to save time, but the footage from all 3 cameras is rendering our way soft and looks like crap. I'm thinking it may be a capture or down conversion problem. Possibly a easy setting gone awry. Maybe I'm just used to seeing my hdv footage, but all 3 cams are looking way soft in the canvas and viewer. Also a quicktime conversion to h.264 looks as bad or worse..

Can someone tell me the best method for prepping the footage to go to a multicam edit?
I tried dropping the hdv footage into an sd timeline, but then I get an error message if I try to combine a sequence with a clip as a multicam edit. Also I get a wrong frame size error if I try to mix the native HDV clip with the 16x9 sd clip.

Easy settings: DV anamorphic, XHA1: in camera down conversion.

Multicam edit is working with downconversion and capture to sd, but looks no good.

Any suggestions would help. let me know if you need more info to help diagnose.


Thanks,

Mike

Yikes. I recommend editing and working the multicam sequences in a ProRes HD timeline and downconverting the finished project for SD. The SD footage is the most problematic as you have to decide how it's going to integrate with the HD footage. I do not know if you can do multicam with mixed HD and SD. As pillar boxed or zoomed it to fill the 16x9 frame? Both are not great ways to work with it. Conversely you could zoom in all the HD footage on a SD timeline and then integrate the SD footage but that loses the quality of HD.

I'll try this when I get in tonight. I may have to recapture my footage...

Thanks for the advice. Any other suggestions are welcomed.

mike

Mike,

I use an A1 with my DVC30 shots occasionally and I have to use camera down convert to import as SD. You can then mix the 3 clips together. FCP will nt let you mix different codecs. So you have to either down convert in camera or export your HD timeline to SD movie then import that movie to mix with your GL 2 clips.

I use frame mode and 16x9 bars on my DVC30 and find that if I put the distort at -26 on my Xh-A1 clips it matches very well.

Hope this helps some.

FCP 6 will let you mix codecs. I do it all the time in ProRes sequences.

FCP 6 will let you mix codecs. I do it all the time in ProRes sequences.

Codecs in an open format timeline yes- as multicam multiclips- unfortunately not. I'm hoping the open format timeline gets applied to multiclips someday as well. This would help a lot. As it is now you have to convert to a common codec, framerate and resolution to create playable multiclips.

Noah

and Color. Media Offline error when sending CC'd multiclip edit back to FCP. Any sensible work around, or should I just use the original edit as a cutting guide, and then send to color?

Any help appreciated...

Thanks,

Mike W.

Codecs in an open format timeline yes- as multicam multiclips- unfortunately not. I'm hoping the open format timeline gets applied to multiclips someday as well. This would help a lot. As it is now you have to convert to a common codec, framerate and resolution to create playable multiclips.

Noah

I actually mixed JVC HDV 720p with Sony HDV 60i in a multi-cam switch. Can't say why it worked except that they are not really different codecs.

and Color. Media Offline error when sending CC'd multiclip edit back to FCP. Any sensible work around, or should I just use the original edit as a cutting guide, and then send to color?

Here's what I do: Flatten the multiclip. Media Manage to delete unused footage. Then send to Color.

I'm not sure how to flatten the multiclip sequence..Can you elaborate..thanks

sure it looks soft in the viewer and canvas - do you have the viewer quality set to FULL quality, full RES ?

FCP will degrade the looks of the footage in the canvas in order to play those streams. going out to a video IO card or FW / HDV, the quality will be fine if you have your settings right