Mixing Camcorder footage with Canon 5D footage in the same time line in Final Cut

[Tim Palmer-Benson]

if you have XHA1 footage that you have imported into FCP as Pro Res 1440 x 1080 anamorophic 30F, 48kHz audio and you want to match up with footage from a Canon 7D or 5D, which you have also imported as 1920 x 1080 at 30F 48KHz audio, what do you do?

I ask this question because although FCP will allow you to place both resolutions on the time line, it will struggle harder with rendering and increase render times significantly on long sequences. Also you may have seen that with a fresh sequence FCP will always ask you if you want to change the sequence settings when you try to place a video clip on to the time line that does not match the existing settings. After this you can place further clips without any warnings. But, the issue persists and FCP will not allow you to do multi-clips unless the sequence settings for each clip are EXACTLY the same.

Therefore, one of the Pro Res files needs to be changed. I have been "up resing" my imported XHA1 clips with Mpeg Streamclip. The results look okay but I am just wondering if I am sending an XHA1 file through two stages of compression resulting in a slight loss of quality and possibility creating other problems. I do not understand Apple Pro Rez fully and what QT, and LT do.

[Bill Pryor]

I've intercut some XH A1 footage with the 7D. I always transcode the H.264 to ProRes 422, so I did the same thing with the HDV stuff. Looked good.

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Tim Palmer-Benson

have imported into FCP as Pro Res 1440 x 1080 anamorophic

I assume you mean 2440 x 1080 anamorphic...?

Anyways -- you could always do a progressive stretch of the 1920 x 1080 material... if you can live with that.

-- peer

[Nigel Barker]

HDV the video format used by the Canon XHA1 is 1440 x 1080 with rectangular pixels it's not anamorphic.