Workflow - selecting edits + file management

[Paul Gale]

I'm just wondering how my workflow might be changed using a 350 over my current 570...

Very often I'll burn a DVD with complete raw IV footage and burnt-in timecode. Someone else will then log the desired clips to an Excel spreadsheet and I'll prepare and import a CSV file into Premiere Pro and batch capture the clips.

How could this work with the XDCAM?

Of course, I can use the camera as a source device in video mode rather than FAM and batch capture - but this goes against the benefits of XDCAM.

Can I use a text file/spreadsheet CSV etc to only ingest the parts of the file I need? or do I need to copy the whole disk contents to HDD? How would I then use Premiere to select the clips I need within the MXF files?

I know I can manually insert the clips to timeline from the MXF file, but this would be time consuming and much less automated than the current methods.

Thanks,

Paul.

[Andy Mees]

hi Paul

I know that this is not currently possible using the Mac version of the PDZ software, but it may be possible with the PC version.

You can download it from the Sony website and take a look at it.
What you're looking for is the ability to import and export EDL's. If you can export one (essentially a logging list) as created from within the software, then you can look at the format and figure out how to create that directly from Excel or otherwise.
Then you can use that template for your logging and import that into the PDZ software, and in theory it should use that info to generate the subclips to import.

You'll have to suck it and see tho. Probably worth a couple of hours of your time to check it out.

Cheers
Andy

[Paul Gale]

Thanks Andy - that's an interesting idea - Excel does have powerful scripting too.

I have now experimented a bit with a few MXF files and the PDZ software - will need to look again to see if it has EDL import - it certainly has the export features.

[Tim Allison]

Here is what I want to do:

Using the Sony XDCAM transfer software, I want to load up all of the proxies from a video project on to my Macbook Pro laptop. This is easily accomplished with a Firewire cable. Then I can take that laptop computer to my office, throw away the takes I don't want, and choose the rough in-points and out-points for the takes I do want to use.

Here's the part I can't figure out....once I do all of this pre-editing work, how can I transfer all of that information off of my laptop, and on to the actual FCP computer?

[Nate Weaver]

I'd copy the whole proxy data folder over to the new computer, then do your work in XDCAM Transfer.

Then when you're done, copy that folder back to the ingest machine.

[Andy Mees]

~/Library/Application Support/Sony XDCAM Transfer
(thats the deafult setting for the Proxies and Thumbnails cache location ... you can set this in XDCAM Transfer preferences)

when you copy back to the ingest machine then you need only copy the Database.sqlite3 file from the Databases folder

[Juan Tizon]

Hello!

Next week we will shoot the first scenes of a television pilot.
It´s a soap opera kind of story in rural spain of the 50´s
We´re using an f350 with a canon 5.6*16(with extender)
All the scenes are broad daylight exteriors so i will make use
of the -3db setting and some ND´s to get some shallow depth
of focus. Shutter at 1/50 (or 1/48 if we finally shoot 24p)
I was thinking about shooting in 24p (we´re pal zone) and
try some color correction with the 4:1:1 color space vs the 4:2:0 one.

What do you think? Has anybody made any comparison of these color spaces in terms of color correction? Any benefit with ntsc HD?

I´m going to edit in FCS2, so now i have my first chance to try prores
codec and color correct with Color.

I´m not sure what would be the best workflow for what i´m going to do...

Also, some shots might be composited in AEFX (Windows) i have tried
avid DNXhd for interchange between xdcam mac and windows. Any other
solution?

It seems a lot of transcoding to different codecs.
Final output will be PAL SD.


Any tips are welcome!
(Shooting starts on wednesday)

[Greg Boston]

4:2:0 would be better than 4:1:1. If you are shooting HD, there is no PAL or NTSC, just different frame rates. No difference in chroma subsampling, and the resolution is the same.

The only way the F350 will shoot in 4:1:1 is using DVCAM NTSC mode. I hope you're not planning to go that route! If you're output is PAL SD, shoot HD 1080P25, then let the camera do the downcovert via AV/C mode in firewire. You'll lose the advantage of file transfer mode, but the camera will do a nice job of down converting which will eliminate that task later in post.

-gb-

[Juan Tizon]

Thanks :)
Wouldn´t i get any benefit editing and correcting in hd
and then rescaling to SD 4:2:2 for the pal master?
I don´t mind longer render times. The work limit is end of august ;)
I have seen some posts about this. It seems reasonable.
I do not have any hd-sdi or sdi input card it´s all fam or dvc.
In dvc i would get traditional sd pal 4:2:0
I am right?
Thank you again.

[Nate Weaver]

Originally Posted by Juan Tizon

Wouldn´t i get any benefit editing and correcting in hd
and then rescaling to SD 4:2:2 for the pal master?

I've gotten best results doing the downconvert to a very high quality SD 10bit codec BEFORE the color correction, not after.

You you could bring in FAM, edit, then downres, then color correct.

Personally, I'd also just shoot 25p if your delivery is PAL. Not gonna see a difference between the two aesthetically, and the conversion unless you do lots of testing could cause problems. Very little benefit, not a small amount of risk for audio sync, etc.

[Juan Tizon]

Great tip, thanks!

Also, what codec would allow me to go afx windows
from final cut and back?

[Alister Chapman]

Any of the Blackmagic codecs, maybe DVCPRO which gives 4:2:2 at 50Mb (SD) or better still uncompressed. The codecs can be downloaded for free from here:
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/software/

[Alister Chapman]

Nate: That's an interesting observation re transcoding before grading. Logic would suggests that if you shot 1080 HD, edited the native xdcam and then graded the timeline with the render preferences set to render to the final output codec, that would be best. Only one compression step for the entire production process. Your route implies shooting XDCAM HD, transcoding to a good SD codec and then grading before rendering to the output codec, thus 2 encoding steps.

My guess is that if you encode from HD to a good SD (uncompressed?) codec you get 4:2:2 colour space. If you then stay uncompressed then any further renders are loss-less so there should be no real degradation in terms of artifacts etc. Hummm... need to try this for myself. Thanks Nate.

[Juan Tizon]

And what about prores(hq) would it be any better to edit having it as a render codec in fcs2?
I also need to key a green window. Should i key in hd and get rid of any edge artifacts in the downconvert or should I key in the downconverted 10bit 4:2:2?
I would have a bigger matte to work with in HD but the inferior color space could cause a lot of dv-like troubles.

Your help is going to be really helpful.

You´re great, didn´t you know? :D

P.S. I´m going 25p. Didn´t know there weren´t any differences in color space.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Juan Tizon

I also need to key a green window. Should i key in hd and get rid of any edge artifacts in the downconvert or should I key in the downconverted 10bit 4:2:2?
I would have a bigger matte to work with in HD but the inferior color space could cause a lot of dv-like troubles.

Juan, according to earlier reports here on DVINFO, the keying in HD @4:2:0 is pretty decent. Well within the limits of good lighting for green screen and some software assist after the fact.

-gb-