NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2003

Jeff Donald · March 11th, 2003, 09:48 PM

What format are you editing (DV, Betacam SP, HD)? There are no cards available for a PowerBook, no internal slots or expansion slots or bays. If you are going to originate on DV (or a derivative) then the built in FireWire port is all you need.

Trevar Mazza · March 11th, 2003, 09:53 PM

Were starting out on DV. I was under the impression that a higher quality videocard would capture footage at a higher quality (less compression?) However, I may be way off!

Thanks.

Jeff Donald · March 11th, 2003, 10:17 PM

I'm out of town right now and don't have a copy of FCP on my laptop yet, so I'm doing this from memory. Someone check and see if FCP has a luminance key, as well as a chroma key. A simple luminance key set to the value of the blown highlights would allow you to key a layer of brightly colored video onto the highlights. Set the clip level of the key fairly high and your all set.

The key could be made very bright, solid colors or even have cycling colors.

Jeff Donald · March 11th, 2003, 10:31 PM

The compression (5:1) is applied in the camera. You could capture as DV and edit uncompressed or run the DV signal through a transcoder and uprez and capture as uncompressed. Either method would require a capture card, probably a SCSI RAID 0 hard drive array, and a transcoder. What type of budget do you have for this? Depending on what you need in a card you'll spend $3,000 to $15,000. The SCSI RAID array will cost $1,500 for a fairly small array. How many hours of footage will you shoot? If you plan on having 50 hours of uncompressed footage on line figure on $6,000 to $10,000 for the drives. A decent transcoder will cost $3,000 to $4,000.

You might be able to rent a whole FCP system, with RAID, transcoder etc. A reasonable budget for purchase is between $15,000 to $30,000 for a complete system, monitors etc.

Jeff Donald · March 11th, 2003, 11:00 PM

Open the window in question. Click on the desktop, go to the menu bar, choose view>show view options and look at how the view is being sorted (keep arranged by). Is it being sorted by size or, date? Have it sort by name and all should be good.

Jeff Donald · March 11th, 2003, 11:09 PM

The rendering times would be about 10% faster, not a very significant difference. The OS 9/X signifies that it is a dual boot system. It will run both OS 9 software and OS X software. If you have a lot of older software it may be helpful. Most of the new systems only boot in OS X.

Simon Plissi · March 12th, 2003, 07:53 AM

Very strange. The view by options for the folder shouldn't bear on how the folders are displayed in the open/close box. Just carried out a test and they still appear in their logical order, regardless what sorting order they appear in the folder. Some sorte of haxie are similar causing this maybe?

Andrea Stockert · March 12th, 2003, 09:00 AM

Jeff,

Thank you for the clarification in speeds.

I have older software (an adobe bundle with Photoshop 6.0) right now and FCP v.2 (with an upgrade to 3 on the way). Will I be left in the dust in the future if I go with the OS9 boot system?

In the future am I able to upgrade to a straight jaguar boot?

Sorry if this seems elementary- I just want to make sure that I spend the money wisely.

humbly...

Jeff Donald · March 12th, 2003, 12:43 PM

The future of Apple, Macs and FCP is OS X. I would not pay for any upgrade until FCP 4 is released, probably around the first or second week of April (probably announced at NAB). You don't wan t to pay for two upgrades. Steve Jobs has said it and so have most of the Mac pundits, OS 9 is dead. Dual boot is only useful for a short while to maintain compatibility with old software, principally Quark 5. Photoshop 8 will be out around the first of the year and promises some exciting new features for photographers and video enthusiasts. Photoshop 7 had a lot of improvements for Web work so for many it isn't worth the upgrade. I would save my money and get the 1.25G dual processor and use the extra money for more memory or more hard drives.

Simon Plissi · March 13th, 2003, 10:06 AM

The questions been asked a few times on this board for info on rostrum applications. I've previously mentioned how the app Still Life http://www.grantedsw.com/still-life/ looked promising, well version 2 looks really quite good. Using OpenGL to allow realtime rostrum effects should really be built into FCP IMHO, which is what Still Life uses.

I can think of a good use for Still Life as a way to quickly make animated backgrounds for iDVD.

Just thought I'd pass on the info.

Mike Finnerty · March 16th, 2003, 11:50 PM

I'd like to have a simulated clock or time code display superimposed over some video.

I have a font that looks like a digital readout. Now, I just need to find a way to get the numbers to move.

Does anyone know if there is an easier way than have many one second long graphics keyed over the background video?

Is there any type of effect that will generate a clock or counter in Final Cut?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Ed Frazier · March 17th, 2003, 07:35 AM

Mike, I did something like this on a recent hunting video. I shot some video of a digital stop watch, zoomed to fill the frame. Then I created a graphic in which to place the timer. The stop watch video was scaled and cropped to size and placed on top of the graphic which was placed on top of the hunt video.

This may not be what you are looking for, but it worked for me.

Simon Plissi · March 17th, 2003, 03:53 PM

Just off the top of my head?

If you just have FCP you could do it all by hand. Output a series of stills, of set the font as a text effect in FCP, and each second swap the number +1. If you think about it you only need to do this for two sets of numbers. So, if you wanted something like this- 10:10:10:25 = H:M:S:F
One set going from 00 to 10 and another set going from 00 to 25 or 30 for NTSC.

Once you set up a series of still images with the numbers advancing +1 each sec. You can then just overlay another sequence over the top and posistion it where the next set of numbers would be, i.e. the first set is for the H, then the next overlayed would be for the M and so on.

For the frames repeat as as above.

Bit long-winded but can be quite quick and does allow for the look you're after.

After Effects would be better for this but FCP is mor than capable.

Keith Loh · March 17th, 2003, 04:26 PM

I've done this in After Effects and I couldn't think of a way either than the tedious frame by frame animation.

Sharon Dennis · March 18th, 2003, 04:22 PM

I'm a broadcast journalist who isn't interested in the "Ken Burns effect" or sepia toned, slow motion editing. I'm interested in an editing system that is straight forward...my only need for a high quality "effect" is for dissolves.
Having said that, what can final cut pro offer me that i-movie can't? Are the transitions--ie dissolves more professional and the audio portion of the edit better and in what ways?

Thanks for any input

March 11th, 2003, 09:48 PM	#226
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	What format are you editing (DV, Betacam SP, HD)? There are no cards available for a PowerBook, no internal slots or expansion slots or bays. If you are going to originate on DV (or a derivative) then the built in FireWire port is all you need. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 11th, 2003, 09:53 PM	#227
Trevar Mazza New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 18	Were starting out on DV. I was under the impression that a higher quality videocard would capture footage at a higher quality (less compression?) However, I may be way off! Thanks. __________________ Trevar R. Mazza www.fora.tv

March 11th, 2003, 10:17 PM	#228
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I'm out of town right now and don't have a copy of FCP on my laptop yet, so I'm doing this from memory. Someone check and see if FCP has a luminance key, as well as a chroma key. A simple luminance key set to the value of the blown highlights would allow you to key a layer of brightly colored video onto the highlights. Set the clip level of the key fairly high and your all set. The key could be made very bright, solid colors or even have cycling colors. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 11th, 2003, 10:31 PM	#229
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The compression (5:1) is applied in the camera. You could capture as DV and edit uncompressed or run the DV signal through a transcoder and uprez and capture as uncompressed. Either method would require a capture card, probably a SCSI RAID 0 hard drive array, and a transcoder. What type of budget do you have for this? Depending on what you need in a card you'll spend $3,000 to $15,000. The SCSI RAID array will cost $1,500 for a fairly small array. How many hours of footage will you shoot? If you plan on having 50 hours of uncompressed footage on line figure on $6,000 to $10,000 for the drives. A decent transcoder will cost $3,000 to $4,000. You might be able to rent a whole FCP system, with RAID, transcoder etc. A reasonable budget for purchase is between $15,000 to $30,000 for a complete system, monitors etc. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 11th, 2003, 11:00 PM	#230
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Open the window in question. Click on the desktop, go to the menu bar, choose view>show view options and look at how the view is being sorted (keep arranged by). Is it being sorted by size or, date? Have it sort by name and all should be good. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 11th, 2003, 11:09 PM	#231
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The rendering times would be about 10% faster, not a very significant difference. The OS 9/X signifies that it is a dual boot system. It will run both OS 9 software and OS X software. If you have a lot of older software it may be helpful. Most of the new systems only boot in OS X. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 12th, 2003, 07:53 AM	#232
Simon Plissi Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 105	Very strange. The view by options for the folder shouldn't bear on how the folders are displayed in the open/close box. Just carried out a test and they still appear in their logical order, regardless what sorting order they appear in the folder. Some sorte of haxie are similar causing this maybe?

March 12th, 2003, 09:00 AM	#233
Andrea Stockert Tourist Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 4	Jeff, Thank you for the clarification in speeds. I have older software (an adobe bundle with Photoshop 6.0) right now and FCP v.2 (with an upgrade to 3 on the way). Will I be left in the dust in the future if I go with the OS9 boot system? In the future am I able to upgrade to a straight jaguar boot? Sorry if this seems elementary- I just want to make sure that I spend the money wisely. humbly...

March 12th, 2003, 12:43 PM	#234
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The future of Apple, Macs and FCP is OS X. I would not pay for any upgrade until FCP 4 is released, probably around the first or second week of April (probably announced at NAB). You don't wan t to pay for two upgrades. Steve Jobs has said it and so have most of the Mac pundits, OS 9 is dead. Dual boot is only useful for a short while to maintain compatibility with old software, principally Quark 5. Photoshop 8 will be out around the first of the year and promises some exciting new features for photographers and video enthusiasts. Photoshop 7 had a lot of improvements for Web work so for many it isn't worth the upgrade. I would save my money and get the 1.25G dual processor and use the extra money for more memory or more hard drives. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 13th, 2003, 10:06 AM	#235
Simon Plissi Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 105	Still Life 2.0 looks good (rostrum app) The questions been asked a few times on this board for info on rostrum applications. I've previously mentioned how the app Still Life http://www.grantedsw.com/still-life/ looked promising, well version 2 looks really quite good. Using OpenGL to allow realtime rostrum effects should really be built into FCP IMHO, which is what Still Life uses. I can think of a good use for Still Life as a way to quickly make animated backgrounds for iDVD. Just thought I'd pass on the info.

March 16th, 2003, 11:50 PM	#236
Mike Finnerty Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 40	Clock/Counter Effect? I'd like to have a simulated clock or time code display superimposed over some video. I have a font that looks like a digital readout. Now, I just need to find a way to get the numbers to move. Does anyone know if there is an easier way than have many one second long graphics keyed over the background video? Is there any type of effect that will generate a clock or counter in Final Cut? Thanks for any info you can provide! __________________ Mike mfinnerty@mac.com

March 17th, 2003, 07:35 AM	#237
Ed Frazier Major Player Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Las Cruces, NM Posts: 343	Mike, I did something like this on a recent hunting video. I shot some video of a digital stop watch, zoomed to fill the frame. Then I created a graphic in which to place the timer. The stop watch video was scaled and cropped to size and placed on top of the graphic which was placed on top of the hunt video. This may not be what you are looking for, but it worked for me. __________________ Ed Frazier

March 17th, 2003, 03:53 PM	#238
Simon Plissi Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 105	Just off the top of my head? If you just have FCP you could do it all by hand. Output a series of stills, of set the font as a text effect in FCP, and each second swap the number +1. If you think about it you only need to do this for two sets of numbers. So, if you wanted something like this- 10:10:10:25 = H:M:S:F One set going from 00 to 10 and another set going from 00 to 25 or 30 for NTSC. Once you set up a series of still images with the numbers advancing +1 each sec. You can then just overlay another sequence over the top and posistion it where the next set of numbers would be, i.e. the first set is for the H, then the next overlayed would be for the M and so on. For the frames repeat as as above. Bit long-winded but can be quite quick and does allow for the look you're after. After Effects would be better for this but FCP is mor than capable.

March 17th, 2003, 04:26 PM	#239
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	I've done this in After Effects and I couldn't think of a way either than the tedious frame by frame animation. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

March 18th, 2003, 04:22 PM	#240
Sharon Dennis New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 20	i-movie 2 vs final cut pro I'm a broadcast journalist who isn't interested in the "Ken Burns effect" or sepia toned, slow motion editing. I'm interested in an editing system that is straight forward...my only need for a high quality "effect" is for dissolves. Having said that, what can final cut pro offer me that i-movie can't? Are the transitions--ie dissolves more professional and the audio portion of the edit better and in what ways? Thanks for any input