Down converting in FCP

[Minnesotan]

I've heard a number of ways to down convert in FCP. I've tried it and it didn't look too good. Like the frame rate was off or something.

I shot XDCam HD 60i and needed to down convert it to standard DV25. I exported the project as a FCP Movie in XDCam settings, then imported it onto a DV timeline and rendered. I also tried compressor and it was pretty much the same. The shift fields was checked and +1.

So, what's the best way to go from XDCam HD to DV in FCP?? How do you get it to look "Normal"?

I should also mention we're using FCP 5.1.4

 

[Canonman]

In those circumstances, I would let the camera do the down convert for me. Of course, that requires going to AV/C mode from FAM mode, but shuttling through to mark in/outs isn't that bad. Optionally, you could create a clip list with the camera/deck and then feed that as one big clip using capture now. The beauty of this method is that you get the option to crop the 16:9 to 4:3 right from the camera/deck if necessary for the final project.

cm

 

[Minnesotan]

I should add that the project is going into another project.

 

[Douglas]

I think you're making it harder than it needs to be.

I shoot all my XDCAM HD HQ footage in 24P or 30P and then drop it into a standard DV NTSC 48Khz sequence - either 4x3 or DV anamorphic depending on the project. Then I turn the Field Dominance to NONE.

Then just edit and render as normal. No big deal at all. Plus you have the big advantage of being able to zoom and scan & pan within the high resolution HD clip on the SD timeline. That's an often overlooked advantage of shooting HD even if you are editing an SD production.

I always shoot progressive and output to DVD so I can't say for sure if shooting Interlaced and outputting to something else would make a difference , but this works for me.

Doug
www.VortexMedia.com

 

[Minnesotan]

I think you're making it harder than it needs to be.

I shoot all my XDCAM HD HQ footage in 24P or 30P and then drop it into a standard DV NTSC 48Khz sequence - either 4x3 or DV anamorphic depending on the project. Then I turn the Field Dominance to NONE.

Then just edit and render as normal. No big deal at all. Plus you have the big advantage of being able to zoom and scan & pan within the high resolution HD clip on the SD timeline. That's an often overlooked advantage of shooting HD even if you are editing an SD production.

I always shoot progressive and output to DVD so I can't say for sure if shooting Interlaced and outputting to something else would make a difference , but this works for me.

Doug
www.VortexMedia.com

So should I skip the exporting as a FCP Movie in the XDCam settings and just edit the HD clips on the SD timeline?

We have a playback server that plays back DV25.

I edit stories that gets mixed into other parts of a half hour show. I edit the stories separately, then export them as a FCP Movie then import it into a different timeline that the rest of the show is being edited on. I hope that makes sense.....

I've still been shooting DVCam 16x9 because the output is DVCam and it takes away the hassle of the down-converting. Plus since we're still using FCP 5.1.4 and all of our studio shoots are on DVCPro.

 

[Douglas]

So should I skip the exporting as a FCP Movie in the XDCam settings and just edit the HD clips on the SD timeline?

We have a playback server that plays back DV25.

I edit stories that gets mixed into other parts of a half hour show. I edit the stories separately, then export them as a FCP Movie then import it into a different timeline that the rest of the show is being edited on. I hope that makes sense.....

I've still been shooting DVCam 16x9 because the output is DVCam and it takes away the hassle of the down-converting. Plus since we're still using FCP 5.1.4 and all of our studio shoots are on DVCPro.

No matter what your raw footage is, I suggest using FCP Sequence settings that are exactly what your final output will need to be. It sounds like your stories should probably be edited with the exact same sequence settings as the final show's sequence settings.

I would not suggest editing a story sepearately, exporting as a movie, and then bringing it back into another timeline. You're compressing and recompressing things for no purpose and it's a waste of time. Suppose you catch a problem within the story just before the show is finished, you'd have to re-render the whole story again.

There's nothing wrong with editing a story (or chapter) separately in it's own sequence, but when you're done, select all the tracks in the timeline and copy and paste them into the fianl show's timeline. That will move the entire sequence, with all editing intact, over to the other timeline.

However, if the story is edited on computer A, and you need to move all the story's media files over to computer B where the rest of the show is being edited, then use FCP's Media Manager tool to collect all the files that you used in the story and put them into one folder so you can easily transport them over to computer B. Then relink the clips.

It's all very easy. Experiment.

Doug
www.VortexMedia.com