Downloading Raw Footage for Actors: " I need it for my reel!" at DVinfo.net

Alain Lumina · August 28th, 2008, 01:33 AM

OK, I did a shoot in SF the last few days, and one of the big things the actors want is footage for their reels.

The say, of course, it can be in any format, they don't care, etc. They actually told me thay have editors they are going to pay.

But I don't even know where the d @#$(#@ footage goes in iMovie or FCP.

Do I have to create a project and export it?

Will there be generation loss? How can I minimize it?

One wants "HD on DVD" , so uhhh... what do I do?

Thanks!

Alain

Philip Younger · August 28th, 2008, 04:47 AM

Speaking as an ex-Theatrical agent (in the UK) my experience of dealing with actors (22years!!) is that actors are not the most reliable to ask questions like that from. In fact most people who work forward of the camera wouldn't understand what you were getting at!

All an actor wants is a DVD of his happy smiling face - in a movie - that he can sent to a casting director (who probably won't watch it). The usual offering in the UK is to simply supply the actor with a DVD of the film or clip - what the actor then does with it can defy every rule in the videographer/editors handbook! - but that's not your problem.

The fact of the matter is, the actor could take your footage anywhere to turn into a showreel - probably even have a crack at it himself. So asking what format he wants will at best result in a blank expression at worst will encourage him to keep coming back wanting this, that and the other and you'll never be rid of him!

A guy in London I used to know would do showreel scenes for actors and would supply them with a standard DVD and an .avi file so they could incorporate it in a web site if they wanted easily converting to whatever file system they wanted.

Bill Pryor · August 28th, 2008, 09:28 AM

You have to capture the footage, edit it, then export in whatever format is required. If it's HDV, you can export as an H.264 QT and stick that file on a DVD as long as it's not over about 4 gigs. That seems to work for most people. Or you can use a different QT format, or something else. Compressor gives you plenty of options. Or you can make a regular video DVD the guy can play on his DVD player. I'm not sure from your question if you mean you don't know if they're going to edit in iMovie or FCP or if you don't know how to capture your footage in iMovie or FCP. Assuming the former is the case, the H.264 QT would probably be the best. If you haven't used Compressor, pay attention when using it. You want to use the full size for the QT, not the smaller size it often defaults to.

Les Wilson · August 28th, 2008, 11:05 AM

I think the question intent was "If I just want to dump the captured video onto DVD, how do I get my hands on the raw footage I captured in iMovie or FCP without editing it and exporting?"

FOr iMovie, Apple bundles your video, audio, stills etc into the iMovie document you created when you started a project. Not the iMovie application. The document (defaults to "My Great Movie" in the Movies folder). Right click the iMovie document you used when you did the capture and select Show Package Contents. That opens a Finder window to browse what's inside the bundle. drill down into the Media folder to find your raw clips from the capture.

For FCP, the default location is in Documents/Final Cut Documents/Capture Scratch/<your project name> If you changed the FCP settings to store scratch files on another disk then look there for the Final Cut Documents Folder

Bill Pryor · August 28th, 2008, 11:28 AM

Ah, OK, I get it now.
Only thing, if he just dumps the FCP files to a DVD, the other editor must have FCP to play them, won't he? I guess if he's running Avid or something else he could convert the FCP QTs.

Alain Lumina · August 28th, 2008, 05:20 PM

Your kind answers have helped me (if someone like me can be helped) clarify my question--

PLAN B FROM OUTER SPACE:

Since my web host cost averages and lets me post mogambo, humongous, gigundo, reeely big, files, isn't the best [sneaky] approach to point the finger at them and say " Get your editor to download and work with it" after posting the xxxx.mp4 on the Web thing?

Matthew Nothelfer · August 30th, 2008, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alain Lumina

But I don't even know where the d @#$(#@ footage goes in iMovie or FCP.

Do you even know how to capture footage on your computer? If you have iMovie or FCP, a short afternoon on the internet reading tutorials will get you up to speed. If you WANT to be up to speed on how to do this stuff. Media management is skill #1 to have as a user of FCP.

-or-

In your case, since you seem pretty green, you can also easily use QuickTimePro. (assuming you have it) Record a movie using the "device native" preset with your cam hooked up via firewire and the clip ends up on your desktop with the same zeros and ones from the tape.

Drag and drop that on a blank DVD, burn, and you'll transfer those zeros and ones to a data DVD. Same exact quality as the source.

Les Wilson · August 30th, 2008, 03:30 PM

I see my answer was imprecise. When I said dump them to DVD I was thinking (considering Alain's self admitted lack of skill) drag and drop onto iDVD. I know it's not the highest quality of the original but it struck me as good enough to get the actors off his back yet enable a future editor with something. Alain could hold the high quality ransom and make some bucks for it. Dragging and dropping 4.7GB or smaller files is also an option.

Alain,
As far as your website thingy goes, the files you capture from your footage is 3.5 megabytes per second. You can do the math and see how many seconds will fit in a mogambo sized web site. Turning them into good looking xxxxx.mp4 files is another skill you need to hit some books/internet/tutorials to learn.

August 28th, 2008, 05:20 PM	#6
Alain Lumina Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Dick California ( Far North) Posts: 59	The Actors' Lament- Continued Your kind answers have helped me (if someone like me can be helped) clarify my question-- PLAN B FROM OUTER SPACE: Since my web host cost averages and lets me post mogambo, humongous, gigundo, reeely big, files, isn't the best [sneaky] approach to point the finger at them and say " Get your editor to download and work with it" after posting the xxxx.mp4 on the Web thing?

August 28th, 2008, 01:33 AM	#1
Alain Lumina Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Dick California ( Far North) Posts: 59	Downloading Raw Footage for Actors: " I need it for my reel!" OK, I did a shoot in SF the last few days, and one of the big things the actors want is footage for their reels. The say, of course, it can be in any format, they don't care, etc. They actually told me thay have editors they are going to pay. But I don't even know where the d @#$(#@ footage goes in iMovie or FCP. Do I have to create a project and export it? Will there be generation loss? How can I minimize it? One wants "HD on DVD" , so uhhh... what do I do? Thanks! Alain

August 28th, 2008, 04:47 AM	#2
Philip Younger Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Warwickshire Posts: 207	Speaking as an ex-Theatrical agent (in the UK) my experience of dealing with actors (22years!!) is that actors are not the most reliable to ask questions like that from. In fact most people who work forward of the camera wouldn't understand what you were getting at! All an actor wants is a DVD of his happy smiling face - in a movie - that he can sent to a casting director (who probably won't watch it). The usual offering in the UK is to simply supply the actor with a DVD of the film or clip - what the actor then does with it can defy every rule in the videographer/editors handbook! - but that's not your problem. The fact of the matter is, the actor could take your footage anywhere to turn into a showreel - probably even have a crack at it himself. So asking what format he wants will at best result in a blank expression at worst will encourage him to keep coming back wanting this, that and the other and you'll never be rid of him! A guy in London I used to know would do showreel scenes for actors and would supply them with a standard DVD and an .avi file so they could incorporate it in a web site if they wanted easily converting to whatever file system they wanted.

August 28th, 2008, 09:28 AM	#3
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	You have to capture the footage, edit it, then export in whatever format is required. If it's HDV, you can export as an H.264 QT and stick that file on a DVD as long as it's not over about 4 gigs. That seems to work for most people. Or you can use a different QT format, or something else. Compressor gives you plenty of options. Or you can make a regular video DVD the guy can play on his DVD player. I'm not sure from your question if you mean you don't know if they're going to edit in iMovie or FCP or if you don't know how to capture your footage in iMovie or FCP. Assuming the former is the case, the H.264 QT would probably be the best. If you haven't used Compressor, pay attention when using it. You want to use the full size for the QT, not the smaller size it often defaults to.

August 28th, 2008, 11:05 AM	#4
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	I think the question intent was "If I just want to dump the captured video onto DVD, how do I get my hands on the raw footage I captured in iMovie or FCP without editing it and exporting?" FOr iMovie, Apple bundles your video, audio, stills etc into the iMovie document you created when you started a project. Not the iMovie application. The document (defaults to "My Great Movie" in the Movies folder). Right click the iMovie document you used when you did the capture and select Show Package Contents. That opens a Finder window to browse what's inside the bundle. drill down into the Media folder to find your raw clips from the capture. For FCP, the default location is in Documents/Final Cut Documents/Capture Scratch/<your project name> If you changed the FCP settings to store scratch files on another disk then look there for the Final Cut Documents Folder

August 28th, 2008, 11:28 AM	#5
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	Ah, OK, I get it now. Only thing, if he just dumps the FCP files to a DVD, the other editor must have FCP to play them, won't he? I guess if he's running Avid or something else he could convert the FCP QTs.

August 30th, 2008, 03:30 PM	#8
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	I see my answer was imprecise. When I said dump them to DVD I was thinking (considering Alain's self admitted lack of skill) drag and drop onto iDVD. I know it's not the highest quality of the original but it struck me as good enough to get the actors off his back yet enable a future editor with something. Alain could hold the high quality ransom and make some bucks for it. Dragging and dropping 4.7GB or smaller files is also an option. Alain, As far as your website thingy goes, the files you capture from your footage is 3.5 megabytes per second. You can do the math and see how many seconds will fit in a mogambo sized web site. Turning them into good looking xxxxx.mp4 files is another skill you need to hit some books/internet/tutorials to learn.