Greetings from (yet another) newbie...

Katie Fasel · October 7th, 2011, 10:37 AM

And good eye on the classifieds. Used is definitely a great way to go, you just have to be smart about it and know what to look for, both in product and seller.

Jeff Harper · October 7th, 2011, 11:14 AM

No, I don't do any marking or identifying except the clips before downloading to hard drive after the shoot. I use Windows and Vegas, and I don't know how FCP works, but here's what I do.

First and foremost my clips are named and numbered, using the built in feature in windows to batch rename clips. I view the card before downloading, select all files on the card, right-click and batch rename the clips from that card, eg. SmithCamOne and then Windows numbers the clips SmithCamOne 001, SmithCam One 002, etc. I then drag and drop the clips into a pre-made folder. I then copy that folder to second drive (back up).

I repeat this for the card from the next camera. I use 32GB cards for this reason, all footage from the whole day for a camera is on one card, not broken up over multiple cards.

I do not label ceremony, etc, because it is not necessary with Vegas and Plural Eyes later on, but I'll get to that.

When I'm ready to edit, I use Cineform to re-encode the files. When that is done, I drag all files from one camera onto a timeline at one time, and I name the timeline CamOne.

I create a second timeline, below the first, and repeat this procedure for all four cameras.

I start up Plural Eyes, and it syncs everything up that can be synced, works perfect. Then I delete all non ceremony and reception footage from the timeline, which of course I edit separately, open multicamera, and edit the ceremony and reception.

Later I drag and drop the extraneous footage like getting ready stuff and edit it separately of course, and later assemble the parts fine tune it to work together.

Windows shows thumbnails of clips, so when I'm ready to edit the getting ready, I can easily see in the video folder which groups of clips I need to select and drag and drop back into Vegas later, as it's clear what is what just by viewing the folder, takes no time to select footage. I already know which cam has the getting ready footage, it's always my Cam One, so that is a piece of cake to find.

I hear terms like logging etc used in conjunction with FCP, and I have no idea what that is, or why that extra step is needed, but it sounds painful and tedious. Maybe not, I don't know, of course.

I'm not sure, but my workflow is all drag and drop, but that is a Vegas feature. I do not have to navigate to a folder via Vegas and select what to bring into a project, I just drag it onto the timeline from an open folder.

Vegas edits AVCHD natively, so I don't always transcode at first, sometime's I'll just start edtiting the raw files, and encode later. I use another tool that allows me to switch back and forth from the converted clips to the original HD clips as needed for whatever reason.

Ben Creighton · October 7th, 2011, 12:07 PM

I think maybe I can kill 2 birds with one stone here; I was planning on playing around with my 7D this weekend, and start learning to use it. Then, I can also get a feel for ingesting/transcoding footage in FCP.
I assume the process would be exactly the same with a Panny camcorder?

I've always been rather gun shy of used equipment; you just never know the true history of it. I have no problem clicking on 'place order' for $8K worth of new cameras... if I can be certain I am making the right decision. I guess I have at least a month to decide for sure. But the thought of shooting weddings with 2 new Panasonic AC130's and a Canon 7D sounds pretty exciting to me! :)

Jeff Harper · October 7th, 2011, 05:46 PM

Yes, as of now, for the money, the Panasonic is what I would very much like also. It looks to be a very good camera at a great price, for what it can do. I'd be excited in your shoes also, Ben.

Katie Fasel · October 8th, 2011, 04:58 PM

Wow, thanks for the run down Jeff, that is very helpful. The editing process is pretty similar for me, using pluraleyes for all the major events, multi cam editing, etc. The major logging time for me is checking out all my b-roll and wedding prep mostly. I know that the way I do things is not always the most efficient it can be, so I'm always looking for ways to speed up the process.

October 7th, 2011, 10:37 AM	#31
Katie Fasel Major Player Join Date: May 2011 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 236	Re: Greetings from (yet another) newbie... And good eye on the classifieds. Used is definitely a great way to go, you just have to be smart about it and know what to look for, both in product and seller.

October 7th, 2011, 11:14 AM	#32
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Greetings from (yet another) newbie... No, I don't do any marking or identifying except the clips before downloading to hard drive after the shoot. I use Windows and Vegas, and I don't know how FCP works, but here's what I do. First and foremost my clips are named and numbered, using the built in feature in windows to batch rename clips. I view the card before downloading, select all files on the card, right-click and batch rename the clips from that card, eg. SmithCamOne and then Windows numbers the clips SmithCamOne 001, SmithCam One 002, etc. I then drag and drop the clips into a pre-made folder. I then copy that folder to second drive (back up). I repeat this for the card from the next camera. I use 32GB cards for this reason, all footage from the whole day for a camera is on one card, not broken up over multiple cards. I do not label ceremony, etc, because it is not necessary with Vegas and Plural Eyes later on, but I'll get to that. When I'm ready to edit, I use Cineform to re-encode the files. When that is done, I drag all files from one camera onto a timeline at one time, and I name the timeline CamOne. I create a second timeline, below the first, and repeat this procedure for all four cameras. I start up Plural Eyes, and it syncs everything up that can be synced, works perfect. Then I delete all non ceremony and reception footage from the timeline, which of course I edit separately, open multicamera, and edit the ceremony and reception. Later I drag and drop the extraneous footage like getting ready stuff and edit it separately of course, and later assemble the parts fine tune it to work together. Windows shows thumbnails of clips, so when I'm ready to edit the getting ready, I can easily see in the video folder which groups of clips I need to select and drag and drop back into Vegas later, as it's clear what is what just by viewing the folder, takes no time to select footage. I already know which cam has the getting ready footage, it's always my Cam One, so that is a piece of cake to find. I hear terms like logging etc used in conjunction with FCP, and I have no idea what that is, or why that extra step is needed, but it sounds painful and tedious. Maybe not, I don't know, of course. I'm not sure, but my workflow is all drag and drop, but that is a Vegas feature. I do not have to navigate to a folder via Vegas and select what to bring into a project, I just drag it onto the timeline from an open folder. Vegas edits AVCHD natively, so I don't always transcode at first, sometime's I'll just start edtiting the raw files, and encode later. I use another tool that allows me to switch back and forth from the converted clips to the original HD clips as needed for whatever reason. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described." Last edited by Jeff Harper; October 7th, 2011 at 05:44 PM.

October 7th, 2011, 12:07 PM	#33
Ben Creighton Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Kingsburg, California Posts: 84	Re: Greetings from (yet another) newbie... I think maybe I can kill 2 birds with one stone here; I was planning on playing around with my 7D this weekend, and start learning to use it. Then, I can also get a feel for ingesting/transcoding footage in FCP. I assume the process would be exactly the same with a Panny camcorder? I've always been rather gun shy of used equipment; you just never know the true history of it. I have no problem clicking on 'place order' for $8K worth of new cameras... if I can be certain I am making the right decision. I guess I have at least a month to decide for sure. But the thought of shooting weddings with 2 new Panasonic AC130's and a Canon 7D sounds pretty exciting to me! :)

October 7th, 2011, 05:46 PM	#34
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Greetings from (yet another) newbie... Yes, as of now, for the money, the Panasonic is what I would very much like also. It looks to be a very good camera at a great price, for what it can do. I'd be excited in your shoes also, Ben. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

October 8th, 2011, 04:58 PM	#35
Katie Fasel Major Player Join Date: May 2011 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 236	Re: Greetings from (yet another) newbie... Wow, thanks for the run down Jeff, that is very helpful. The editing process is pretty similar for me, using pluraleyes for all the major events, multi cam editing, etc. The major logging time for me is checking out all my b-roll and wedding prep mostly. I know that the way I do things is not always the most efficient it can be, so I'm always looking for ways to speed up the process.