Converting ProRes to DVDVCPro

Hello,

I've been dealing with a problem for a couple of days and want to double check if my solution is ok.

I've been hired to re-edit a short film from 10 years ago from footage on BetaSP (transferred from 16mm and mini-dv). Unfortunatly, I'm still working on FCP 5. The dub house made a mistake and gave me ProRes files, which I cant' use in FCP 5 (I can import them they need to be rendered). So, I'm converting the QT files, using QT Export (not FCP or Compressor), to DV/DVCPRO-NTSC. Is this OK or do I need to re-transfer the master tapes, or convert using another program? I've done a test and it seems to work OK. Don't know if this will be the best quality.

Cheers,

Alfredo

What you need to check is that the original ProRes files have proper timecode and reel information, and that your offline versions have identical information to allow you to reconnect. Best way to do this is to test. Take 20 clips, convert them, edit (try things like speed change as well), then reconnect to the online clips at an updated FCP7 station and see if any edits get messed up.

But FCP5 can see and edit ProRes as long as you have the QuickTime component to play it back. I know this for a fact because I did it on my FCP5 station just last year. Use Apple Intermediate Codec as the timeline codec and edit the actual ProRes clips in 1920x1080. In that case you don't even need to online -- just send the FCP5 project file to an FCP7 station, change the Sequence Setting to ProRes after editing and re-render.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks, Derek. Why do I need to go back to the ProRes files? Can't I just stay on the new converted DV/DVCPro files for the rest of the workflow?

Alf

> Can't I just stay on the new converted DV/DVCPro files for the rest of the workflow?

You're willing to stay on DV for your final master?
You edit with the offline clips. But you need to test what happens when you try to online at the other end. Otherwise you could end up having to manually conform every single edit.

It's been a while since I've had to deal with an ancient analog format like Betacam SP, but since your footage originated on Betacam SP, not DV, capturing in DV codec will probably make it look worse. ProRes would do a better job representing the analog image. Theoretically speaking you should be redoing the telecine from 16mm to a better tape format (HDCam SR, for example), but I assume that's not something you're willing to consider. Since the post house already captured in ProRes, converting that to DV for the final master is yet another level of heavy compression, and unnecessary.

You also need to be careful about your frame rates and interlacing issue. Your workflow is already compromised because you had true 24fps footage (16mm) mixed with NTSC interlaced footage (DV), all of which ended up on 29.97fps NTSC tape interlaced (Betacam SP). Are you trying to stay at 29.97fps? Or are you trying to get a 24p master, in which case you need to reverse telecine the footage?


www.derekmok.com

We'll probably stay at 29.97 and not to 24p. The original footage includes 16mm and mini-DV. I did not retransfer from 16mm because the negatives were lost. So, Beta SP is all we have for the 16mm. I only became involved with this project a couple of weeks ago. So I will offline with the DV/DVCPro I converted. When finished editing, I'll bring it into a FCP 7 system, reconnect to the original ProRes transfers for best results and then output to a format to be determined. The plan is to do festivals, and decide what format to transfer to depending on what they want. That keeps changing. Not sure what they're asking for these days, probably HDCAM, or digibeta.

Thanks,

alfredo

DV is quite a crummy codec. I used to use it for offlines, although now I'm working with ProRes Proxy. It's great for offline, but the picture quality isn't fantastic. As Derek mentioned, you're better off onlining it in ProRes (re-connect or re-ingest from the source as ProRes).



www.strypesinpost.com