Mixing Formats

Hi Everyone,

I'm still prepping for the documentary on the 50th Memorial Day Anniversary celebration. Thank for for the organizing tips.

Now I have another question:

They used three different cameras for this shoot so I'm now working with different sizes as well as different frame rates.

Camera 1 - Canon XF300, format: 1920 x 1080i, 29.97, 16 bit (I used log and transfer and Final Cut converted to Pro Res 422 files) My sequence settings are set to this camera.

Camera 2 - Go Pro - format: 1920 x 1080i, 29.97, 16 bit (The native format is MP4 but I used MPEG Streamclip to convert to Apple Pro Res 422 with the native setting so everything matches fine mixing this with the XF300 footage in my timeline.

Camera 3 - Sony Xacti - Format: 1280 x 720, 59.94, 32 bit. There are over 300 of these clips so I wanted to do an experiment on one to see how it would play in the timeline with the other two formats. I didn't use MPEG Streamclip because I can't do big batch conversions in that program so I used batch converter in Compressor with Apple Pro Res 422 codec. When I drop the converted clip into the timeline I still get the red render bar.

Please tell me how to convert all these Xacti MP4 files so that it will not need to be rendered in my project and be compatible with the other two formats.

Or is is even possible since they shot this one with a different size and frame rate?

I would like to be sure I'm going to be able to use these clips and have them look good if I'm going to spend several hours converting them. Since FC doesn't like MP4's, if I used the native files, I would spend hours rendering each clip that goes into the timeline.

Please advise on the best way to make the Xacti footage FC friendly.

I hope I gave you enough info to point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance,

Shelley

Shelley
MacBoo Pro 2015
16 GB Ram
OS X 10.13
Premiere Pro CC

[Format: 1280 x 720, 59.94, 32 bit.]

Is that 32 bit image or 32K audio? Even if you properly upscaled to 1920 X 1080 to join the other two formats, you might get a render line.

Also, where's the final delivery to? HDCAM for broadcast? Web? BLuRay disc?

- Loren

Today's FCP 7 keytip:
Advance to next/previous keyframes in a clip with Shift/Option-K !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack
with FCP7 KeyGuide --
now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

I think you want the Sanyo Xacti footage converted from 1280x720p 59.94 to 1920x1080i 29.97 for intercutting with your other footage. Compressor can do this, but you have to play it right. Do it in two steps:

First convert the 1280x720p 59.94 to 1920x1080p 59.94.
For this rescaling, in the Geometry pane set Frame Size to 1920x1080. In the Frame Controls pane set Resize Filter to Best.

Second convert progressive 59.94 to interlaced 59.94. For this you must go into Inspector Video Settings and in Frame Rate select 29.97 and in Compressor check Interlaced (Top Field First). In Frame Controls make Output Fields Top First.

Doing this in a single Compressor step yields a crappy result.

If you're concerned about the recompression, then use uncompressed codec for the first step.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

===>I didn't use MPEG Streamclip because I can't do big batch conversions in that program

Not as a recommendation, but as a note, MPeg Streamclip does have a batch function. Look under the "list" menu.