HD Workstation/Workflow questions...

Okay so I have done my research on here and think I have the best workflow designed for an upcoming feature I will be editing, but before I spend $15k on the system, I was hoping you all could confirm the setup and process for me and possibly add some pointers along the way. Hopefully this can be a resource for other users stepping up to HD also.

So here is the proposed workstation setup:

FCP Studio 5.1
3.0 Ghz Dual Core Mac Pro
4GB RAM
ATI X1900 Graphics Card
Dual Channel 4Gb ATTO HBS
G-Tech G-Speed 3TB RAID
Blackmagic MultiBridge Pro
2x Dell 24" LCD's
Sony consumer 46" 1080p LCD for director monitor (via HDMI out from MultiBridge)

My proposed workflow:

Shooting Sony F900 HDCAM
Capturing over HD-SDI from Sony JH3 HDCAM Player
Encoding (during capture) footage into DVCPRO HD codec
Editing/monitoring in native 23.98 HD
When completed batch capturing Uncompressed HDCAM footage one reel at a time.

Questions:

- Is the hardware setup sufficient for my workflow? Keep in mind, color will be done elsewhere and the consumer monitor is just so we have a big monitor to watch as we are looking at versions of the cut.

- When capturing/encoding the footage should I keep the resolution at 1080p or downconvert to 720p to keep file sizes smaller? I estimate about 35 hours of footage (my calcs came out to about 1.5TB of total data?)

- I'm most nervous about the 'batch capture' at the end, as onlining is not something I've done before (myself). Everyone I've talked to said in FCP it is really simple process, but I wanted to get your opinions... I read the Larry Jordan tutorial (HERE) but since it was written in 2004 I was wondering if there was any better reference to go to?

Many thanks for replies and comments. I am a big fan of this user group!!

FCP 6 is about to be released, if you can wait for that.
i guess a .0 release may be a risky proposition.

G-Speed is supposed to handle HD, so i guess it's fine.
no personal experience, tho.

capture as 720p. it's fine for screenings, etc
and you will get more RT (you may have multiclips, so you don't want to bog the system down with 1080)

with 720P 35Hrs will be around 700G


FCP's Media Manager and the offline/online process haven't changed substantially (if at all) since 2004.
if anything MM has been slightly improved, and is supposed to be able to deal with slo-mos better.

you'll have to blow away some DVCPro HD to make room for the HD,
so remember to make a reference export of your DVCPro HD to confirm the HD has captured correctly.
(if you capture as 720P you may have enough room for everything.)


cheers,
nick

Thanks Nick!

I would love to wait for Studio 2 but we start shooting on the 15th so I don't think the software is going to make it in time, sadly.

I read somewhere that DVCPRO HD is 100Mbps whether in 720 or 1080... is this only for the tape or is this the same with the Apple codec as well?

Todd

I read somewhere that DVCPRO HD is 100Mbps whether in 720 or 1080... is this only for the tape or is this the same with the Apple codec as well?

Same with the Apple codec as well. Just FYI, 720p 23.98 is about 5.6MB/s...while DV/NTSC is 3.6. So the data rate is really small. The G-Speed would be serious overkill....unless you plan on capturing the footage at full uncompressed HD resolution. You also forgot the ATTO fibre controller card for the SPEED...that adds another chunk of change. You can, however, save a lot of money if you use a SATA Raid like the CalDigit S2VR Duo or the Sonnet 500P. MUCH cheaper....and fine for DVCPRO HD (I use the Caldigit Duo).


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Thanks Shane, I'm a little confused by that... would you mind clarifying: you said that the 100Mb/s figure is correct for DVCPro HD but then list the data rate as 5.6MB/s for 720p 23.98. Wouldnt 100Mb/s=12.5MB/s?

Also, being able to do the online back to uncompressed 1080p HD in house is the reason for the G-Speed RAID.

23.98 is 5.6 MB/s. 720p at 59.94 is 12.5MB/s SO if you shot 720p60 then you'd hit that...but that is VERY video looking. Shoot 720p24 at 23.98 for the film look.

G-Speed...OK...Just make sure that you account for the cost of the ATTO card to control it.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Many thanks for all of your responses!

Does true, raw 23.98 frames per second play out to an HDTV? Or does it need to be captured into the TV kind of 24p thats really 29.97 because of the added 3-2 pulldown?

- Christopher S. Johnson

I believe that HD Televisions can handle some framerates other than 29.97 NTSC. I'm not fully aware of what those are, but I do know that the BlackMagic MultiBridge takes care of whatever conversions need to be made before sending the signal out through HDMI....

Wish I had a better answer for you Christopher. I'm going to do some research on it and throw it back up here.