Re: Time Code on a FCP project

You can use qt sync to generate a tc track and encode with that. Instant and doesn't need rendering.

[www.qtsync.com]

If you want to monitor with bitc or dump to a set top DVD recorder, you can insert it with the aja kona card.



www.strypesinpost.com

hmmm.. i thought i'd deleted this post?
the question is also posted in it's own thread.
oh, well, must have missed it.

nm

Yes. I'm on the phone and I missed that thread.



www.strypesinpost.com

Hello, wondering if someone can answer a quick headache question...

I am editing some HDTV footage (sequence and clip settings are: 1920 x 1080i)

I am making a nested sequence and generating a TCR for a sequence. Exactly the way that it's demonstrated in this video:



However, when I apply the TCR, it looks as though I have to render the entire nested sequence which doesn't make sense. Even when I have rendered it, and I make changes to the original (non-nested) sequence I go back to the nested one and rendering is needed again.

I am in a 1920 x 1080i environment (same as the clips) and both sequences have settings that match exactly. (I checked)

I tried the same thing in a separate sequence I made of standard-def footage (went to Effects > Video Filters > Timecode Generator) and it was fine.

Baffled.

Thoughts?

Could it be that the effect in the effects tab isn't HD? That seems impossible.

"when I apply the TCR, it looks as though I have to render the entire nested sequence which doesn't make sense"

sure it does
you are applying a filer to the nest.
that's why you have to render it.

"I make changes to the original (non-nested) sequence, go back to the nested one and rendering is needed again."

yup.
you've changed the content to the nested sequence, and the nested seq had a filter on it.
(you probably changed you edit duration, so changed the relative position of every frame compared to the TC burn-in)

of course despite what the guy in that video says, his nested sequence in does needs rendering, too.
not to play, but to export, (you are always better off rendering first).

so my guess is you are getting a RED render line.
set your RT menu (top left of timeline) to Unlimited, and you'll never get a red line again.
but why the red line?
my other guess is your "Master" sequence settings aren't matching your TC sequence settings.


can i ask why you are bothering with a TC overlay if you haven't finished editing?


one more thing, there is a simpler way to add a TC overlay.
it's similar to the bogus "blue-Screen" method in the video, but it's NOT bogus.

use an empty text generator as the TC filter holder!

open up the text generator (Control X)
go to the controls tab and delete the sample text.
in the duration feild, enter a number that is longer than your master sequence if you are still editing.
if you are done eidint, hold option , and drag the duration value from the CANVAS duration field into the VIEWER duration field.

finally add the TC Generate filter to the text generator, and adjust to match your sequence TC.

you'd want to keep the TC holder on a track above all the others, of course,
make it a few tracks above to give yourself room to work,
AND LOCK IT. if you accidentally cut the TC holder, the TC filer is likely to reset.


hope that helps
nick

ps, it's sort of bad etiquette to post the same query in multiple threads.

nick

Thank you for the help. Yes the Red render line.

I just wanted to see if the TCR could work in a RED camera environment. I am trying it out before I'm done editing to see if re-rendering would be needed if I modified the timeline later.

I could have sworn that my "Master" sequence settings matched my TC sequence settings, but i'll look again.....

"RED camera environment"?

what sort of media are you using?

"I am trying it out before I'm done editing to see if re-rendering would be needed if I modified the timeline later."

yes, it is.
i cant remember if it;s just everything after the change that would need rendering,
but generally with time-based effects it;s the whole thing that needs re-rendering if there's any change.


nick

>Could it be that the effect in the effects tab isn't HD?

There is no such thing as an "HD effect", not any that I know off anyway. In HD, a lot more processing is required due to the higher resolution. When you add a burnt in timecode and export from FCP, FCP will have to render down the timecode to generate a rasterized quicktime movie so that it plays reliably. There will always be some form of processing required whenever you do something to the image. The "no rendering" advertisement is hogwash. Even if you generate timecode from a deck, there is processing involved. Just that it happens real time through hardware. Do it in software and you need a render at some stage to create a rasterized image with your overlay. QT sync generates a text track and creates a reference quicktime movie to merge the two together.


>I just wanted to see if the TCR could work in a RED camera environment.

There is no reason why it won't work. When you work off a properly generated quicktime file, a timecode track is often created. The TCR filter uses data from that timecode track.



www.strypesinpost.com

My 2 cents.

As Nick said there is no reason to nest the sequence rather than you have a finished edit.
Take any generator and "mask it out" or take an empty text generator on the top of video tracks where any of those kind of generator covers the whole sequence in time.
If do a change to clips make sure that the sequence I/O is set to that part of the sequence where you do that changes. This way you only have to render a part of the complete sequence.

Andreas