FCP workflow

[Ed Kukla]

The sony site won't work for me for some reason.

I have many clients who use FCP; I don't, so I don't know the workflow.

Can I get a brief summary of the steps needed that I can pass on to an editor?

I'll be using Sony clip browser to transfer BPAV folders to mac formatted hard drives and then letting the client take the drives to edit. I'm suprised at the number of editors who don't know anything about XD EX.

An Avid workflow would also be good to have on hand.

Does XDCAM Transfer reside within FCP?

Thanks

[Shaughan Flynn]

For FCP, just install the XDCAM driver and FCP plugin. Deliver the BPAV folder and the editor can log and transfer from that.

http://support.sonybiz.ca/esupport/eSupportHome.asp

[Alister Chapman]

My recommendation would be to have the editor download and install the Sony XDCAM Transfer Tool. Once installed, from within FCP you go "file" "import" "Sony XDCAM". The Transfer tool will start.
From within the transfer tool click on the "add" tab at the bottom left and navigate to the location of the BPAV folders on the hard drive. Thumbnails of all the clips in the folder will appear and you can select the clips you want to import and hit "import" to bring the clips into the FCP bin.

The transfer tool can be run on it's own to import the clips as .mov's to the edit suite hard drive, you don't have to have FCP running. You can also use the transfer tool to add metadata, trim clips and print out log sheets. If you want to export back to XDCAM EX you need to have the Sony XDCAM transfer tool installed.
You can change where the imported .mov clips are stored in the preferences of the transfer tool.

[Mike Chandler]

I'd have the editor use the Log and Transfer tool within FCP--it's faster and has more naming options than XDCAM transfer.

[Ed Kukla]

Alister
Excellent description, thanks

Mike, can you elaborate on the why's and why-nots of "Log & Transfer" vs "XDCAM Transfer" (for FCP)?
There has to be some negatives to L & T otherwise why does X T exist?
Thanks

[Craig Seeman]

Use ClipBrowser with CRC to copy files first. Then backup the BPAV. The BPAV is your master.

[Mike Chandler]

Ed, I wrote about this a while back in a post, but can't find it: XD used to be better, because it was faster. Then in FCP7 ( I should have said that it's better in 7), L&T got changed. I ran the same speed tests as before, and rather than being slower it was coming out faster. Plus they'd revamped it so that you can make an ascending list (like Trees1,Trees2, etc) ,but ALSO keep the orig file name, which was always big for me.

[Ed Kukla]

Mike

Thanks for the info.
Would you mind detailing the FCP process similar to the way Alister did? It may be the same, just replacing L & T for XD T. I don't know FCP at all, I need to give a specific rundown for the FCP user.

Thanks

[Alister Chapman]

XD Transfer works with both XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD giving you a common workflow for both formats. It can also be used without FCP so you could set up an ingest station on a network just for importing media. XDCAM transfer has some nice features including the way it builds a data base of your material, keeping thumbnails of any cards or discs that have ever been ingested into the system, even when the original source is no longer connected. So if in future projects you are trying to find footage you can use the search functions in XDCAM Transfer to find footage via the metadata or clip names (assuming you have a good clip naming structure) or simply browse through the thumbnails. You can also filter clips using any OK/NG markers that you added whiles shooting and any clips with shot markers have a small dot next to the clip name making them easier to find.

Log and Transfer works and works well, but as I use both XDCAM HD and EX I prefer the common workflow.

To use Log and Transfer once you have installed the log and transfer plugin within FCP you just go "file", "log and Transfer" and then click on the "add volume" button (top left, a little folder icon with a +) and navigate to the BPAV folder for each card. The clips will load into the list, then select the clips you want to use and click "add to queue" to start the import process.

[Mike Chandler]

Alistair makes a good point about XD hanging onto metadata, which can be helpful. Eg, if you're using Bridge, you lose the info once the drive's offline.

Procedure for using L&T is simple and as Alistair described. Here's some more info on batch naming from a post over on LAFCPUG. Been a while, so if anyone has new info, please let me know.

Re: XDCam EX import trouble...
Posted by: Mike Chandler (IP Logged)
Date: August 15, 2009 12:05PM

Keep the original file name while at the same time putting in your own custom name that gets numbered sequentially. You can do the latter in XDCT, but to keep the original name, you need to cut and paste it inidividually in the Comment column where it will then show up in the Logging column in fcp.

With the new L&T, you can add any number of combinations of re-naming, but the most important (for me, anyway) is to take a shot, named say 04091234, rename it Cowboy1 and keep the 04091234 next to it (I'd prefer being able to put it in a separate column, but I'll take this) and do that for all the following shots in the series, (e.g., 04091235 gets renamed as Cowboy2 04091235, etc . I add spacers after the Cowboyx so I don't have to look at the orig name in the fcp timeline and can narrow the column to hide it as well --but it's there if I need to go back to the original shot.

I prefer the ergonomics of XDCT, but will stick with L&T until XDCT has these capabilities. Also, I did a test comparing the two and rejected L&T before, because it was 1/3 slower. Now it's about twice as fast. I have no idea why, though.

Also, a pix here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...ml#post1235820