Capturing procedure at DVinfo.net

Peter Koller · May 15th, 2002, 03:59 PM

I have 3hrs of footage (several takes of each setup) and I am going to set it up for editing (Premiere 6.0).

How should I do it?

Capture the whole tape (one long .avi file), throw the long clip on the timeline, cut it with the razor-tool and name the takes I am going to use in the edit with aliases and put them in the clip-bin?

Or only capture the takes I want to use in the edit (many short .avi files)?

Harddisk-space is no problem, I have plenty. What I am not sure about is if there can be software problems if I use about 30-40 aliases from one 60min clip instead of 30-40 separate clips.

I would prefer capturing the whole tape, because the head of my camera will be grateful for it and I can scrub through the clip much easier compared to looking for the right take on the tape itself.

What is a common procedure for capturing footage provided you have enough diskspace?

Cheers,

K. Forman · May 15th, 2002, 04:55 PM

It would help us help you, if you could give us details of the system you are using. Different capture cards will handle large files differently. Some can't handle larger than 2 gig files. Premier too, I have found, doesn't like extremely large files.

Personally, I would cut it down to 10 minute lengths, just to make sure. It is a little more work, but it will work.

Adrian Douglas · May 15th, 2002, 10:32 PM

Peter, try using a program called Scenalyzer. It will capture for you making a new clip for everytime you hit the start button.

Then create bins to organize your clips into the various acts or scenes.

That's what i do anyway. It works for me, but others may have a better way.

Peter Koller · May 18th, 2002, 03:22 AM

If anyone is interested:

I tried a few variations:

Capturing the whole tape at once does work, even putting the whole thing on the timeline in Premiere is no problem. BUT cutting out the portions I need and saving them as seperate .avi files takes too much time for Premiere to compute. I don´t know why as this is just a cut from from the big cake, but it takes a lot of time.

Then I tried batch capture (lucky me wrote down all timecodes during the shooting) it, which did not work at all, because first Premiere added about 2secs to the timecodes I put in, so everything was cut short in the beginning and longer in the end. Later on it lost complete control and captured completely wrong things. I don´t know why. All clips are 1-8 minutes long and the first one starts 6 minutes into the tape, so there should be no problem finding the timecode.
I hope I find a way to get this working, because I don´t want to capture everything by hand...

Next I tried simple movie capture. This did work, but I had to be careful not to hit the record key too quickly, because it would stop recording immediately when the camera isn´t playing the tape already (after you hit the playbutton and before it really plays, it moves the tape to the right position, within that time you cannot record)
A couple of times it would stop capturing with no reason and does not react to key commands. But otherwise this method worked fine.

Equipment:
Win 2000 pro
DV300 (updated driver and capturing with it´s DV control device)
Premiere 6.0
40 + 30 GB IDE

Is it the DV300 or Premiere that causes the trouble or the fact that my system is not built around the DV300?

Cheers, Peter

Ted Jan · May 26th, 2002, 01:31 PM

I bought a firestore which allows me to capture my whole video in 2 GB segments. It's very easy to use and since it connects to a firewire drive, I just have to reconnect the drive back to my computer when I'm done and all the clips are there accessible to Premiere. However, you have to make sure that you setup the firestore properly since it can capture in multiple formats (ie: AVI1, AVI2, MOV, etc..).

What is nice about the firestore is that it retains the timecode in the video if the camcorder stored in the info in the video stream.

Biggest problem is that the firestore is expensive and you have to have a firewire drive that is formated in fat32 for it work.

May 15th, 2002, 03:59 PM	#1
Peter Koller Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Brunn am Gebirge, Austria Posts: 161	Capturing procedure I have 3hrs of footage (several takes of each setup) and I am going to set it up for editing (Premiere 6.0). How should I do it? Capture the whole tape (one long .avi file), throw the long clip on the timeline, cut it with the razor-tool and name the takes I am going to use in the edit with aliases and put them in the clip-bin? Or only capture the takes I want to use in the edit (many short .avi files)? Harddisk-space is no problem, I have plenty. What I am not sure about is if there can be software problems if I use about 30-40 aliases from one 60min clip instead of 30-40 separate clips. I would prefer capturing the whole tape, because the head of my camera will be grateful for it and I can scrub through the clip much easier compared to looking for the right take on the tape itself. What is a common procedure for capturing footage provided you have enough diskspace? Cheers, __________________ Peter Koller Vienna, Austria http://www.kop11.com

May 15th, 2002, 10:32 PM	#3
Adrian Douglas Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Chigasaki, Japan. Posts: 1,660	Peter, try using a program called Scenalyzer. It will capture for you making a new clip for everytime you hit the start button. Then create bins to organize your clips into the various acts or scenes. That's what i do anyway. It works for me, but others may have a better way. __________________ Adrian DVInfo.net Search for quick answers Where to buy? From the best in the business...DVInfo.net sponsors

May 18th, 2002, 03:22 AM	#4
Peter Koller Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Brunn am Gebirge, Austria Posts: 161	If anyone is interested: I tried a few variations: Capturing the whole tape at once does work, even putting the whole thing on the timeline in Premiere is no problem. BUT cutting out the portions I need and saving them as seperate .avi files takes too much time for Premiere to compute. I don´t know why as this is just a cut from from the big cake, but it takes a lot of time. Then I tried batch capture (lucky me wrote down all timecodes during the shooting) it, which did not work at all, because first Premiere added about 2secs to the timecodes I put in, so everything was cut short in the beginning and longer in the end. Later on it lost complete control and captured completely wrong things. I don´t know why. All clips are 1-8 minutes long and the first one starts 6 minutes into the tape, so there should be no problem finding the timecode. I hope I find a way to get this working, because I don´t want to capture everything by hand... Next I tried simple movie capture. This did work, but I had to be careful not to hit the record key too quickly, because it would stop recording immediately when the camera isn´t playing the tape already (after you hit the playbutton and before it really plays, it moves the tape to the right position, within that time you cannot record) A couple of times it would stop capturing with no reason and does not react to key commands. But otherwise this method worked fine. Equipment: Win 2000 pro DV300 (updated driver and capturing with it´s DV control device) Premiere 6.0 40 + 30 GB IDE Is it the DV300 or Premiere that causes the trouble or the fact that my system is not built around the DV300? Cheers, Peter __________________ Peter Koller Vienna, Austria http://www.kop11.com

May 15th, 2002, 04:55 PM	#2
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	It would help us help you, if you could give us details of the system you are using. Different capture cards will handle large files differently. Some can't handle larger than 2 gig files. Premier too, I have found, doesn't like extremely large files. Personally, I would cut it down to 10 minute lengths, just to make sure. It is a little more work, but it will work.

May 26th, 2002, 01:31 PM	#5
Ted Jan Regular Crew Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 36	I bought a firestore which allows me to capture my whole video in 2 GB segments. It's very easy to use and since it connects to a firewire drive, I just have to reconnect the drive back to my computer when I'm done and all the clips are there accessible to Premiere. However, you have to make sure that you setup the firestore properly since it can capture in multiple formats (ie: AVI1, AVI2, MOV, etc..). What is nice about the firestore is that it retains the timecode in the video if the camcorder stored in the info in the video stream. Biggest problem is that the firestore is expensive and you have to have a firewire drive that is formated in fat32 for it work.