XL 2 with16x9 on Final Cut

[Michael Kevin Daly]

I'm shooting on 16X9(960x480) with XL2 and having a bit of a problem with Final Cut with regards to the correct capture and sequence settings.
I got it to capture some real nice looking 16x9 clips and they play fine in the viewer, but when I try to create a sequence in the timeline, it tells me I need to render the clips. Now I know you don't need to render 4x3 when you create a sequence, so what would be the way to go here. It seems like there's not a lot of help around this issue, as the XL2 format(960x480) is new. Is there anybody out there who knows the best way to integrate the XL2's 16x9 with Final Cut.

Much Obliged

Michael

[Dave Perry]

Michael,

All Mini DV is 720x480, even 16x9. The widescreen image is just squished horizontally to fit the frame then it expands when viewed in an NLE or TV.

The proper sequence setting is DV-NTSC48 kHz FW Basic Anamorphic when you choose an Easy Setup selection for a new project. With an existing project, either control click the sequence in the browser and choose Setting to change to Anamorphic or in the timeline, go to Sequence, Settings and choose Anamorphic.

For existing clips that have been captured with a 4:3 Easy Setup, control click the clip in the browser, choose Item Properties and check the Anamorphic check box before you bring it into the timeline. After doing this it will not need to be rendered when moved into the timeline. Depending on the version of Final Cut, the procedure might vary slightly but the concept is the same, your timeline has to be told to display the 720x480 clips as widescreen 16x9 and the clips have to be marked as widescreen 16x9 before being brought into the timeline.

I'm using Final Cut Express on the Mac I'm at right now at home but at work I use Final Cut Pro HD. At work we do no widescreen 16x9 but at home that's all I do.

Hope this makes sense.

[Michael Kevin Daly]

Dave

Thanks for your reply.

The XL2 has a new format as well as 720x480 and here is the info which I copied from the canon website

CCD's Aspect Ratios and Shooting Modes
3 CCDs, 1/3 inch, gross 680K (each) progressive scan, horizontal pixel shift

16:9: 960x480 effective pixels (460,800 pixels per CCD, total 1,382,400)

4:3: 720x480 effective pixels (345,600 pixels per CCD, total 1,036,800)

So, it's not anamorphic squeeze/expand, it's true 16X9. that's why I bought the camera. It's not quite HD, but getting close.

So I set up a custom capture with 960x480 and did not mark the anamorphic box, and I've got nice 16X9 clips. But making a sequence is the problem. It wants me to render the clips.

I tried looking at the item properties and it says anamorphic at 720X480, yet my capture settings say custom at 960X480 and the anamorphic 16x9 box is not checked.

Does this make sense

Michael

[Boyd Ostroff]

<<<-- Originally posted by Michael Kevin Daly : So, it's not anamorphic squeeze/expand, it's true 16X9. that's why I bought the camera. It's not quite HD, but getting close.-->>>

Sorry to burst your bubble Michael, but you're wrong about how the XL-2 does 16:9. Don't confuse the resolution of the CCD's with the data which is written to tape. Those CCD specs only indicate the format the image is in before it has been anamorphically squeezed. In the DV world this is true 16:9. It is not HD or getting close, just 720x480 anamorphic DV. But that isn't so bad. The thing that sets the XL-2 apart from many other cameras is that it captures the full 480 lines of resolution as opposed to cropping and stretching like the PD-170 or DVX-100a.

Dave is correct, you need to capture as anamorphic 16:9 and everything will be fine.

[Dave Perry]

Hi Michael,

Yes that makes perfect sense. Actually I was going to ask you to check the properties of the raw clips so you would see that they are actually 720x480. FCP displays that info in the browser window but OS X does as well. I find it easiest to view my Finder windows in column mode so when I select any given file, I can instantly se the properties in the next coulmn.

If you go to your capture disc and find one of the clips you have captured, try this. Just select it, don't open it, in column view and you will see that the dimension are 720x480. Those dimensions are the industry standard for any MINI DV footage and FCP looks for that.

I use an Optura XI and it too, has true 16:9 mode even though it's a single chipper. That's why I bought it.

I think if you try the settings I posted earlier you will see that it works.

[Michael Kevin Daly]

Thanks Guys for the help.

It all makes sense to me now. Since I'm pro photographer, I assumed pixels makes the size, as in stills, but what you said makes it clear how the 16x9 DV works.

So I changed the setups and it captured fine, and the viewer has the letterboxed clips. But when I try to create a sequence again it says unrendered in a blue screen when I try to play back the sequence, and the timeline has a red line on the top.

Is there something else I'm missing here?

[Michael Kevin Daly]

I got it handled now.

The sequence I was trying to drag clips into was the one from before when it was asking for rendering. I created a new sequence and added the the new clips and it worked.

Thanks for the education. It feels good to know creative folks take the time to help each other out. I hope I can do the same for someone else.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Glad that you're up and running. Yeah, letterboxing occurs when you drop a 16:9 clip into a 4:3 sequence (or generally when the clip and sequence settings don't match in some way). It will require a render in that case.