FCP 7 - need advice for faster exports with timecode burn in

Hey everybody.

I have an FCP7 timeline roughly 30 minutes long, and all the media is prores422 HQ (1920x1080 23.98). Every couple days I have to make minor changes, then export it with timecode burn in. I need some advice on how to speed up the export process:

step 1: nest my sequence and add the timecode reader filter
step 2: hit apple-E to export as a quicktime with no format conversion (this export takes about 1-2 hours)
step 3: bring my quicktime into MPEG streamclip, where I then covert it to h264.

The whole process takes about 3-4 hours. I'm using a Mac Pro 2x2.8ghz xeon, with 8GB ram. All the footage is stored on an internal RAID.

My only ideas for speeding up the exports are
A: try exporting to an external firewire 800 drive, instead of exporting to the same internal RAID that stores the raw media
B: try adding the timecode burnin with apple compressor instead of with FCP7
C: try changing the render settings of my sequence from YUV 10bit to 8 bit.

Is there anything else I should try? My other FCP friends say the big bottleneck is that all my footage is prores 422HQ.

One suggestion would be to export it without the TC burn-in from FCP.
Use the timecode burn-in function in Compressor to make it a H.264 with burn-in in one pass.

If you don't want to use compressor you can use QTSync to make a ref file with burn-in of the clean prores and then drop that into MPEGstreamclip.

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

yes, definitely what Andrew says.

to make it even faster, i would suggest exporting as NON self-contained.
render your timeline first, if it isn't already.
render throughout the day in down time
then when you are ready to export it'll be just a few minutes rendering, and your non self-contained reference movie will be done in a flash.

then add the burn in as you compress to H264 in Compressor

make a preset in compressor, or create a droplet to make it even quicker.
once you have a preset in compressor, you can use FCP's share function to not even have to do the export.

the compressor BITC is not as pretty or as adjustable as it is in FCP, but it is worth it.


nick