advice needed to SXS cards ... edit ... back to camera ...

[Dean Harrington]

I've been asked to shoot in the ex on camera codec ... rough cut edit in FCP 7 and then, output that rough cut edit back onto an SXS card to be uploaded to an editor online via camera connection. Does anyone have any experience with this type of process ... advice needed.

[Mal Williams]

Hi Dean,

Here's a workaround I've used myself when I've needed to output a cut sequence from the camera via HDSDI.

EXPORTING FCP TO SXS CARD:
Use XDCAM TRANSFER PDZK-P1 (Version 2.9.0) software from the Sony site.
Use the SBAC-US10 Sony Card Reader or connect your camera via USB by ejecting all cards, turn off your camera, connect the USB cable, turn on the camera to Media, you should now be asked if you want to connect to USB, select execute and the viewfinder should now show a USB symbol. Insert the card you want to export to.
Start FCP and select the timeline to export and choose "EXPORT">"Sony XDCAM".
The "Sony XDCAM Export" window will open.
The "Exporting 'sequence name' to:" should be something like "Untitled" which should be your camera connected via USB or your SBAC-US10 Sony Card Reader.
The "With filename:" should be checked and use an eleven character name such as "EXP_0001_01"
The "As format:" drop down should be set to "MP4 (XDCAM EX)"
The "Using settings:" drop down should be set to the the format of your time line (assuming that it is a XDCAM EX format).
Make sure the drive where the "Create intermediate files in:" has enough space to write the temporary files or you will get a failed export notice.
Make sure that the file you are exporting is not larger than 4GB in size.
Now you can click the Export button.
After your export is complete, properly eject your card.
(If you are using your camera via USB, "eject" (or unmount is a better term) the card in the Finder, turn off the camera, disconnect the USB cable from the camera.)
Turn the camera on to the Media setting. (Insert your SxS card if it is not already in the camera.) You will not see your exported clip until you go into the camera's "Others" menu and select "Clip" and then "Update". Choose the card and execute. You clip should now show up in the thumb nails and play properly.

You have to set your audio outputs to dual mono instead of stereo but other than that it's very straightforward

Very strange watching your sequence playing as a clip on the camera :)

Hope this helps,

Cheers

Mal

[Dean Harrington]

thanks Mai ... now about the 4 gig limit? Does that mean each output to the camera has to be 4 gigs or under? I know the files are fat32 and that they are limited to 4 gigs but if I'm playing larger files out from a timeline to the camera will I have to limit each output file to 4 gigs?
all the best

[Dave Sperling]

They will need to be under the 4 gig limit as they go onto the card.
I don't know about exporting in FCP, but I've exported to SxS cards from Vegas and there is a check box to have the program automatically export longer files in chunks under 4GB when rendering from timeline to an SxS card. If FCP designed their output feature properly, I'd assume it should have a similar check box option.
I was pleasantly surprised that the whole process worked fine in Vegas the first time I tried it.
I don't know of an NLE option to write a file spanning more than one card, so i'm guessing you should try to limit your exporrt to a single card.

[Kevin Spahr]

Do a search.
I wrote a step by step procedure for doing this and posted it here some time ago. There are some tricks to making it work,

[Dean Harrington]

I found your post Kevin ... thanks. Mai posted it in this thread right off. If I get this straight ... on a 32 gig SXS card (115 minutes) to record in camera from an FCP 7 timeline. I would need to export about 12 minutes with in and out markers (someone suggested in&out markers would output only that section from the sequence) posited on the sequence at one time ... then export each 12 minutes in&out marked section as a separate export back to the card (each section appropriately labeled w/an 11 digit label). So, on an empty 32 gig card that would mean about 9-10 export files. Humm ... sounds like a lot of time spent putting the files back onto the card. Here's another question ... did you put a timecode on your out put?
all the best

[Tim Lucas]

Ok, I did this the other week on my PMW350.

Here goes...

Shot a few items that needed to be edited and sent back up a satellite link the next day for a live show. I dumped the footage to my Macbook Pro and edited the items in FCP and used the export to XDCam utility in the export menu. I edited about 5 items and exported them as one timeline with 2 sec black in between each one and exported the MP4 back to the SxS card using the export to XDCam utility in FCP export menu.

I tried playing this from my PMW350 and could see nothing. Here is where it gets interesting. I put the card back into the Mac and viewed the file using XDCam Browser Software. I could play the file just fine so I put it back in the camera and I could see the file in the thumbnail section of the camera and it played back fine.

So what happened here? For some reason playing the file in XDCam Browser added all of the associated files to the card that makes up the correct file structure. I am a bit confused by the whole thing but at the end of the day I shot, edited and saved back to the card and played it out via HDSDI to the sat link which was played out later that morning on the live show.

Tim.

[Tim Lucas]

Just to add to the above... I think I tricked the card into thinking it was playing footage shot with the camera?

Tim.

[Dean Harrington]

tim was that more or less than 4 gigs?

[Tim Lucas]

Hmm.. not sure. Was probably about 6 to 8 min all up. 35Mbs