h264 potential nightmare

Hello,
I inherited a project where the footage was already cut using the h264 codec. Apparently the shooter imported everything and married the picture to the audio, without using the log and capture tool. I am working in final cut pro 7.03.

It is a mixed media nightmare with every possible codec and size known to man. For the sake of trying to streamline everything I decided to keep on building it using the 1920x1080 h264 codec as a compressor. Any footage I would grab from youtube, a dvd, or render out of after effects I would convert first to this codec. It's been working pretty flawlessly. I really haven't had a problem with it, but I am editing it at 12% picture size.

My final output will be on a dvd or an online video, so I am not terribly concerned about loss in quality. I am very concerned about the stuttering and potential interlacing issues. Does anybody have any advice on how I should continue to proceed?

Should I finish in this codec? Or export it out to prores 422 (LT). Then bring it back in to fcp?

Don't edit with H.264, not on Final Cut Pro 7. Convert it to ProRes.


www.derekmok.com

So are you suggesting that I put all of the original footage into compressor and convert it to pro-res 422. Then create a duplicate project and trick the project to relink to the converted media.

Why would Apple make h264 an option in sequence settings if you can't edit with it?

What a nightmare. What would happen if I finished the project as is?

Just uploaded a 10 second test to vimeo, you're right. It's totally f-ed up.

> Then create a duplicate project and trick the project to relink to the converted media.

If they edited with H.264 media, there's a good chance they also didn't do proper file management. You could be looking at a manual re-conform of all the edits. H.264 media doesn't have timecode, so even if every converted ProRes clip maintains the old file name, the edits still may not reconnect properly. Painful and excruciatingly slow, but it's the only fix.

Export a self-contained movie file of the current edit, preferably with timeline timecode burn, before you do anything.


www.derekmok.com

depends how far into the project you are.

you say "I really haven't had a problem with it"
good!


"I am editing it at 12% picture size"
canvas size should have no effect on playback, surely?

"I am very concerned about the stuttering and potential interlacing issues."

are you seeing them now?


"Just uploaded a 10 second test to vimeo, you're right. It's totally f-ed up."

in what way?
take vimeo out of the equation.
how does the export play?


if you can make a clean export, then that's all you need, surely?

Nick & Derek, thank you for your input.

First off, I am not some noob here. I have been cutting for over 20 years, exclusively in FCP for 14 years. I have seen and done it all. Just want to get some more professional opinions before I conduct major surgery on a project.

This is a mixed media nightmare project. I decided to stick with the h264 codec, because a majority of the work was already done using it. I figured if it was a codec that apple would list as a compressor in the sequence settings it may be okay. Was I wrong in that assumption?

Only time I see the stuttering is if I adjust the canvas window size. I assumed this was caused by the fact that I am working off of an imac, and expected it not to keep up with hd video.

No stuttering issues in the output, export was fine. When it went to vimeo sync started to delay. Picture quality was fine.

Sequence plays fine on timeline. A lot of work has already been done on this project. I am trying to avoid a major structural change to the whole thing.

Has anyone here edited a project with the h264 codec as the compressor in the sequence settings and what do I need to be on the look out for?

> I figured if it was a codec that apple would list as a compressor in the sequence settings it may be okay. Was I wrong in that assumption?

Unfortunately, yes. Just because the software is capable of using a codec doesn't make it sound for actual work.

> When it went to vimeo sync started to delay.

That has almost certainly nothing to do with the H.264 codec being used in editing. That is more likely due to a slow internet speed, or you attempted to upload far too large or complex a file for Vimeo to handle. I would also argue that Vimeo probably has the most stutter-prone, erratic playback of any video website I've ever used.

> Sequence plays fine on timeline. A lot of work has already been done on this project. I am trying to avoid a major
> structural change to the whole thing.

That shortcut may come back to haunt you in a fatal way. H.264 media has a habit of shifting automatically in FCP projects without warning, and unlike most other forms of project corruption, project backups, Autosave and undos cannot rescue this issue, because this has to do with the media files themselves (rather than just editing decisions within the project file itself).

Don't skip this step. Fix the problem. Or you could find yourself hours away from a deadline only to see your clips literally transform into something else, such as completely jumbled In-Out points.


www.derekmok.com