NLE Mac / Final Cut questions from 2004

Rhett Allen · December 22nd, 2004, 04:43 PM

Use text on a path and you can make it do whatever you want with the handles. I don't know what version of AE you have but in AE 5.5 Production Bundle it is an option in the effects panel under "Text"-"Path Text". Hope that helps.

BTW- I completely understood what you were trying to describe so, good job.

Zander Taketomo · December 22nd, 2004, 04:55 PM

thank you very much, lifesaver!.. and im using 6.5 pro

Alfred Okocha · December 22nd, 2004, 09:31 PM

Yes I agree, mine too. It seems safe to do the upgrade for those of you that have lingered.. =)

Steve Nunez · December 23rd, 2004, 05:32 PM

I have the dual 2.5ghz G5 and want to upgrade the ram to 8GB- what's the best price you guys have found-----I've found $1536+.......what about u guys?

Link---->
http://www.memorytogo.com/componex/itemdesc,CartId,{E4183F16-0E95-47AD-9AD4-E26EVEREST3A18BEA5E},ic,MEMTG646531,eq,,Tp,.htm

Rhett Allen · December 23rd, 2004, 05:58 PM

RAM is one thing I especially do NOT price shop for! get it from http://www.crucial.com/
It will set you back just over $2000 but it's the best RAM you can get and carries a lifetime warranty.

Cheap RAM can cause problems that you just can't figure out and can't even pinpoint to the RAM easily. It's not worth it. Also, Crucial guarantees their RAM will be compatible as you move forward. Apple has upgraded the specs they require from RAM manufacturers in the past and those who bought "cheaper" RAM sometimes got stuck with useless memory that no longer worked in the machine after an upgrade to the OS. That will piss you off I guarantee and it will make the money you saved up front seem minimal.

If it's a matter of money you could buy a little less now and save for more later but DO NOT sacrifice the quality.

p.s. Never buy RAM from Apple. I know they recommend it, but it only carries a one year warranty (unless you buy Apple care, and then it's only for 3 more years) AND it is vastly overpriced!

Steve Nunez · December 23rd, 2004, 06:05 PM

Rhett,

actually memtogo does include LIFETIME warranty and compatibility on the ram I mentioned for $1536......I have a buddy who does actual hexadecimal coding using Macs and he buys from them- but I don't think they're the least expensive- there's gotta be lesser costing ram with similar warranty.......I used CL2 class ram on my older Mac G4/933 but I don't know if there is a class structure to the new ram....

......I was hoping some of you Mac savvy G5 users out there knew of a better price for 8GB ram.....or else it's $1500 for new ram!
(getting ready for HDV editing)

Rhett Allen · December 23rd, 2004, 07:02 PM

I have purchased from memtogo before and yes, the RAM I got was good quality (but I bought 222 RAM), I was one of the lucky one's who passed that last Apple RAM upgrade fiasco.
I purchased from Crucial this last time (for my Powerbook) because the last batch of CL2 RAM I got from memtogo (for one of my PC's) had one bad stick and I can't find the receipt (bought it online) and they won't even respond to my inquiries. I've always heard good things about Crucial and now they get my business because someone at memtogo didn't want to reply to my emails or phone calls. I don't reward bad business with more of my business.

so anyway... I think as long as they are giving you good quality RAM you should be ok but no, I don't know of "cheaper" reputable RAM dealers.

Fred Zara · December 24th, 2004, 07:34 PM

I'm having a problem. I'm editing a short project on a powerbook Mac 1.5 G4 laptop with 1 gig of ram. I have a 80 gig hard drive with almost 40 gig free.

Editing and viewing the project on the laptop is fine, but when I hook up my camera using firewire, it plays back choppy. The video plays a little better then the audio, the audio plays a little, then stops, a little, then stops.

Has anyone had this problem?

Steve Arcenio · December 25th, 2004, 05:27 AM

Im not really a cumputer guy but ehy I thinking about purchasing a Dual 2.5 G5 w/8 gig of RAM and the best graphic card that apple offers, is this enough for everything.

Im also buying the production suite from apple it includes everything from FCPro HD to motion etc. Another question does Final cut Pro HD capture 24p, if that make sense....

Aaron Rosen · December 25th, 2004, 01:35 PM

Yes. Have fun.

James Millne · December 25th, 2004, 06:16 PM

yeah i'd say that was enough :)

Dave Perry · December 25th, 2004, 09:17 PM

Steve,

I'm envious. Just to let you know, currently Mac OS X does not have the ability to use 8 gigs of RAM, I think 4 gigs is the limit. Tiger, or OS 10.4, is the next release due in the 1st half of 2005 and I think it will have more 64 bit abilities, which is the main point of the G5 processor.

Dollar for dollar the Mac G5 is the best desktop computer you can buy, and the cheapest I might add. Speaking of price, 8 gigs of RAM will run you $4500 (yes, that's four thousand five hundred dollars), $1500 more than the coputer itself.

Oh yeah, have fun also :)

Glenn Chan · December 25th, 2004, 11:25 PM

8X1GB of RAM will cost you "only" $2080 at crucial.com (this may be better quality RAM than apple's... and comes with lifetime warranty, which isn't terribly useful as RAM rarely fails).

You probably don't need anywhere that much RAM. 1GB or 2GB should be enough... having more than enough RAM makes zero effect on performance. Not having enough will slow down performance drastically. So the key is knowing how much RAM is enough.

The ideal RAM configuration is pairs of the exact same model. You get a bit more performance that way.

Video card: It doesn't affect performance except for previews in Motion.

Quote:

Another question does Final cut Pro HD capture 24p, if that make sense....

Yes. Read up though, as you may need to change settings and such. It depends on the camera you have.

2- You may not want to spend so much on a computer until you start doing things and figure out what you need.
A- Computers lose value really fast. In 2 years, computers will roughly double in speed / halve in price. A $8000 computer will lose roughly $4000 in 2 years.
B- You hit diminishing gains with your money fairly fast. You have to pay a lot extra for small increases in speed.

You might want to go for a refurb/academic discount G5 (i.e. dual 1.8ghz) with 1GB of RAM.

If you're just learning, you could learn on a dual processor 500mhz G4. It will get real-time cross dissolves (and real-time titles... kinda), so if you do just do cuts and dissolves it's really all you need. It also helps to have a crappy computer in a way so you don't get distracted by technology.

Mike Minor · December 26th, 2004, 06:31 AM

Hey all. I'm currently editing some 16:9 24p footage in a 4:3 24p timeline, and everything was working fine. For the first minute and a half there are 'black bars' above and below all the footage, as there should be in the 4:3 timeline. At a certain point however, around the 1:30 mark, the footage starts to stretch instead of bring up those 'black bars.' The little green line at the top of the timeline which was above the 16:9 footage is now absent. Any idea what could be happening? thanks a lot.

Boyd Ostroff · December 26th, 2004, 11:05 AM

For some reason FCP is not recognizing that particular clip as 16:9 (normally there is a signal embedded in the video that takes care of this). I'm assuming there is a clip which begins at this point, if not then I have no idea what's going on! It could also be a clip inside another sequence if you're nesting, or maybe you accidently switched the camera out of 16:9 mode while filming?

Open the clip in the viewer by double clicking on the timeline. Now click on the motion tab and then click the triangle next to distort. The aspect ratio will probably be 0. Change this to -33.33 and the clip should become letterboxed. The absence of a green line means that the footage doesn't need rendering. That means FCP believes the clip is really 4:3 and not 16:9.

December 22nd, 2004, 04:55 PM	#1787
Zander Taketomo New Boot Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Boston, Ma Posts: 23	thank you very much, lifesaver!.. and im using 6.5 pro __________________ -Zander Taketomo

December 23rd, 2004, 05:32 PM	#1789
Steve Nunez Trustee Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Pembroke Pines, Florida Posts: 1,418	G5 memory pricing I have the dual 2.5ghz G5 and want to upgrade the ram to 8GB- what's the best price you guys have found-----I've found $1536+.......what about u guys? Link----> http://www.memorytogo.com/componex/itemdesc,CartId,{E4183F16-0E95-47AD-9AD4-E26EVEREST3A18BEA5E},ic,MEMTG646531,eq,,Tp,.htm __________________ Steve Nunez-New York City www.stevenunez.com

December 23rd, 2004, 06:05 PM	#1791
Steve Nunez Trustee Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Pembroke Pines, Florida Posts: 1,418	Rhett, actually memtogo does include LIFETIME warranty and compatibility on the ram I mentioned for $1536......I have a buddy who does actual hexadecimal coding using Macs and he buys from them- but I don't think they're the least expensive- there's gotta be lesser costing ram with similar warranty.......I used CL2 class ram on my older Mac G4/933 but I don't know if there is a class structure to the new ram.... ......I was hoping some of you Mac savvy G5 users out there knew of a better price for 8GB ram.....or else it's $1500 for new ram! (getting ready for HDV editing) __________________ Steve Nunez-New York City www.stevenunez.com

December 24th, 2004, 07:34 PM	#1793
Fred Zara New Boot Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Orlando, FL USA Posts: 5	choppy video playback on monitor I'm having a problem. I'm editing a short project on a powerbook Mac 1.5 G4 laptop with 1 gig of ram. I have a 80 gig hard drive with almost 40 gig free. Editing and viewing the project on the laptop is fine, but when I hook up my camera using firewire, it plays back choppy. The video plays a little better then the audio, the audio plays a little, then stops, a little, then stops. Has anyone had this problem?

December 25th, 2004, 05:27 AM	#1794
Steve Arcenio New Boot Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 14	Is this enough!!!!RAM Im not really a cumputer guy but ehy I thinking about purchasing a Dual 2.5 G5 w/8 gig of RAM and the best graphic card that apple offers, is this enough for everything. Im also buying the production suite from apple it includes everything from FCPro HD to motion etc. Another question does Final cut Pro HD capture 24p, if that make sense....

December 22nd, 2004, 04:43 PM	#1786
Rhett Allen Major Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 607	Use text on a path and you can make it do whatever you want with the handles. I don't know what version of AE you have but in AE 5.5 Production Bundle it is an option in the effects panel under "Text"-"Path Text". Hope that helps. BTW- I completely understood what you were trying to describe so, good job.

December 22nd, 2004, 09:31 PM	#1788
Alfred Okocha Major Player Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: London Posts: 427	Yes I agree, mine too. It seems safe to do the upgrade for those of you that have lingered.. =)

December 23rd, 2004, 05:58 PM	#1790
Rhett Allen Major Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 607	RAM is one thing I especially do NOT price shop for! get it from http://www.crucial.com/ It will set you back just over $2000 but it's the best RAM you can get and carries a lifetime warranty. Cheap RAM can cause problems that you just can't figure out and can't even pinpoint to the RAM easily. It's not worth it. Also, Crucial guarantees their RAM will be compatible as you move forward. Apple has upgraded the specs they require from RAM manufacturers in the past and those who bought "cheaper" RAM sometimes got stuck with useless memory that no longer worked in the machine after an upgrade to the OS. That will piss you off I guarantee and it will make the money you saved up front seem minimal. If it's a matter of money you could buy a little less now and save for more later but DO NOT sacrifice the quality. p.s. Never buy RAM from Apple. I know they recommend it, but it only carries a one year warranty (unless you buy Apple care, and then it's only for 3 more years) AND it is vastly overpriced!

December 23rd, 2004, 07:02 PM	#1792
Rhett Allen Major Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 607	I have purchased from memtogo before and yes, the RAM I got was good quality (but I bought 222 RAM), I was one of the lucky one's who passed that last Apple RAM upgrade fiasco. I purchased from Crucial this last time (for my Powerbook) because the last batch of CL2 RAM I got from memtogo (for one of my PC's) had one bad stick and I can't find the receipt (bought it online) and they won't even respond to my inquiries. I've always heard good things about Crucial and now they get my business because someone at memtogo didn't want to reply to my emails or phone calls. I don't reward bad business with more of my business. so anyway... I think as long as they are giving you good quality RAM you should be ok but no, I don't know of "cheaper" reputable RAM dealers.

December 25th, 2004, 01:35 PM	#1795
Aaron Rosen Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: HB, CA - USA Posts: 298	Yes. Have fun.

December 25th, 2004, 06:16 PM	#1796
James Millne Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Newcastle, England Posts: 37	yeah i'd say that was enough :)

December 25th, 2004, 09:17 PM	#1797
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	Steve, I'm envious. Just to let you know, currently Mac OS X does not have the ability to use 8 gigs of RAM, I think 4 gigs is the limit. Tiger, or OS 10.4, is the next release due in the 1st half of 2005 and I think it will have more 64 bit abilities, which is the main point of the G5 processor. Dollar for dollar the Mac G5 is the best desktop computer you can buy, and the cheapest I might add. Speaking of price, 8 gigs of RAM will run you $4500 (yes, that's four thousand five hundred dollars), $1500 more than the coputer itself. Oh yeah, have fun also :) __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

December 26th, 2004, 06:31 AM	#1799
Mike Minor Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 32	Sequence issues Hey all. I'm currently editing some 16:9 24p footage in a 4:3 24p timeline, and everything was working fine. For the first minute and a half there are 'black bars' above and below all the footage, as there should be in the 4:3 timeline. At a certain point however, around the 1:30 mark, the footage starts to stretch instead of bring up those 'black bars.' The little green line at the top of the timeline which was above the 16:9 footage is now absent. Any idea what could be happening? thanks a lot.

December 26th, 2004, 11:05 AM	#1800
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,801	For some reason FCP is not recognizing that particular clip as 16:9 (normally there is a signal embedded in the video that takes care of this). I'm assuming there is a clip which begins at this point, if not then I have no idea what's going on! It could also be a clip inside another sequence if you're nesting, or maybe you accidently switched the camera out of 16:9 mode while filming? Open the clip in the viewer by double clicking on the timeline. Now click on the motion tab and then click the triangle next to distort. The aspect ratio will probably be 0. Change this to -33.33 and the clip should become letterboxed. The absence of a green line means that the footage doesn't need rendering. That means FCP believes the clip is really 4:3 and not 16:9.