Canon HF10 Workflow Question

[Joseph Clark]

I've been out of the loop for a while with digital production. My old workflow was:

1. Acquire with Sony HDR-HC1 (HDV).
2. Capture with Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5.1, using Cineform Aspect HD v.4.
3. Edit with an Athlon x2 4800+ and RAID 0.
4. Author to HD DVD with Ulead MovieStudio 5+.

This worked well and I created a lot of material on regular DVD recordables. Last week, I got a Canon HF10. Love it's size, weight and SDHC card convenience. But I need a new workflow.

I want to stay with Premiere. I know it well and it's been very reliable. I'm upgrading to PP CS3. I've used the trial and feel comfortable with it. Not a hard transition from PP 1.5.1.

Here's part of a workflow that I'd like to get some feedback on:

1. Acquire with Canon HF10 (AVCHD).
2. Transfer AVCHD files straight to a Core2Duo 3GHZ/RAID 0 system. (Concatenate files into one large MTS file with a handy little utility I found here today. It joins <2GB AVCHD files into one large file, without audio or video glitches.)
3. Edit with Adobe Premiere CS3 and Cineform Prospect HD (10 bit, full 1920x1080).
4. Author using Premiere CS3 (or perhaps MovieFactory) to Blu-ray disc (and to regular DVD recordables as AVCHD).

Some questions about the workflow:

1. Is anyone here working with a similar workflow and if so, is there anything I should be aware of that will create problems?
2. Can Premiere output Blu-ray compliant H.264 files in this scenario or must they be rendered out as MPEG2 (thus increasing size)?
3. Are there any alternative PC programs that would make for a better workflow?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Angelo Alberico]

I'd recommend Vegas Pro. It's a great program and it can work with the RAW mts files w/o having to decompress them. Though, for some they can't deal with the lack of fluidity in previews (due to the raw power AVC requires to playback) there are benefits though you can create a movie or clip very quickly this way.

Alternative:
Look into Voltaic HD (google it) they make a PC and MAC version of this software. It will take the raw MTS files (pulled directly off the flash drive) and decompress them to AVI or WMV (for PC) and then you could use any NLE to edit the footage, in your case Premiere.

[Joseph Clark]

Thanks for the suggestions. Voltaic sounds interesting. I'll check it out.

[Christopher Glaeser]

Originally Posted by Angelo Alberico

I'd recommend Vegas Pro. It's a great program and it can work with the RAW mts files w/o having to decompress them.

Premiere can edit HDV natively and yet Joseph uses Aspect HD. For some, there are compelling reasons to do it this way. Given that he is already familiar with Premiere, and given that he is fine with Cineform in his workflow, I'm guessing that Premiere and Cineform will be a better option for him with AVCHD.

Best,
Christopher

[Joseph Clark]

Yes, I want to stay with Premiere and Cineform. It's been a very smooth combo for me in the past.

[James Duffy]

I've been a Premiere user for... Hell, five years now... But I'm going to give Vegas a whirl when I make the switch over to the HF100. Frankly I'm kind of upset that Adobe still hasn't released a patch to support AVCHD after all this time.

[Christopher Glaeser]

Originally Posted by James Duffy

I've been a Premiere user for... Hell, five years now... But I'm going to give Vegas a whirl when I make the switch over to the HF100. Frankly I'm kind of upset that Adobe still hasn't released a patch to support AVCHD after all this time.

Fair enough, but it's noteworthy that an Adobe patch would likely not affect Joseph's workflow. Adobe has already released a patch for HDV and he (nor I nor many other Cineform users) use that patch either. Though not for everyone, there are compelling reasons why we prefer the CFHD codec.

Best,
Christopher

[Joseph Clark]

The Cineform intermediate makes for a smooth editing experience - very fluid scrubbing and playback. My main concerns are exporting to MPEG4 and authoring to Blu-ray once I'm finished editing.