HDCAM offline capture - what capture preset?
by flashelk
on
Oct 3, 2007 at 6:50:31 pm
Good Afternoon.
I am new to offline editing and will be working with some HDCAM footage soon.
I am unclear as to how I should capture the tapes to work offline. The FCP manual suggests using OfflineRT, but elsewhere I'm being told to use DVCPRO HD.
What are the deciding factors in choosing how to capture HD footage for low-quality offfline editing?
Re: HDCAM offline capture - what capture preset? by Mads Nybo Jorgensen on Oct 3, 2007 at 7:06:10 pm
Hey Flashelk.
A Frame-rate would help in order to suggest a work-flow for you to use. Also some kind of idea about what type of programme it is + how it is going to be on-lined...
All the Best
Mads
London, UK
Mac Million Ltd. - HD Production & Editing
Blog: http://blog.myspace.com/bigflopproductions
Re: HDCAM offline capture - what capture preset? by flashelk on Oct 3, 2007 at 7:18:04 pm
How do I deternine the frame rate that a HDCAM cassette utilizes? There is no accompanying documentation with or on the tapes. We do not even know the camera used. I know - not an ideal situation.
This is a 3 minute short that will be played in the theater at a film festival. I expect both offline and online to be done on the same Final Cut sytem. The final delivery format will either be A) back to HDCAM, or B) 35mm film.
Re: HDCAM offline capture - what capture preset? by Mads Nybo Jorgensen on Oct 3, 2007 at 7:55:38 pm
Hey Flashelk.
[flashelk]"How do I deternine the frame rate that a HDCAM cassette utilizes? There is no accompanying documentation with or on the tapes. We do not even know the camera used. I know - not an ideal situation."
Until you know what frame rate it is, there will be no point in starting the off-line. One way is to stuff a tape in the VTR and see what lights up on the display. The other is to call the DOP/Camera Operator - but your (line)producer/director should really be on top of this! Do you have a log? And is there any suggestions on that?
BTW: How many tapes do you have? And do you have enough storage to go straight for doing everything in OnLine quality? (At this point, it would be good to know what HD-SDI board and general setup your fcp is using?)
All the Best
Mads
London, UK
Mac Million Ltd. - HD Production & Editing
Blog: http://blog.myspace.com/bigflopproductions
Re: HDCAM offline capture - what capture preset? by flashelk on Oct 3, 2007 at 9:01:32 pm
Since I don't have a HDCAM deck yet, I will assume that whatever frame rate the tapes were shot at will be fine but, as you said, will definately need to determine that BEFORE capture.
Since this is only a three minute video it only involves a few tapes. Not a lot of footage.
Storage is not a huge issue since I will using our 1 TB RAID via fiber optic network.
I will be capturing from an HDCAM deck via a Kona 2 card, using a dual 2.7 Power Mac running FCP 5.2
Having said all that, how do I decide if can go straight to doing it all in Online quality, skippng the low-res offline capture? If storage is not an issue, is it still dependant on the processing power of my Mac? Other factors?
Also, this will likely be delivered on 35mm film, or back to HDCAM. Not sure which one yet. Will either of these dictate my workflow in any way?
Re: HDCAM offline capture - what capture preset? by Mads Nybo Jorgensen on Oct 3, 2007 at 9:30:49 pm
Hey Flashelk.
I don't know FCP/Kona that well. However, if you have the drives and the data through-put then there should be nothing stopping you going straight to either a 8 Bit or 10 Bit 4:2:2 HD Codec - anything above that, is likely to be an overkill that will add time to your On-Line.
By skipping the "off-line" quality edit and not having to do an auto-conform, your life becomes much easier - again, provided that your system can deal with the data.
All the Best
Mads
London, UK
Mac Million Ltd. - HD Production & Editing
Blog: http://blog.myspace.com/bigflopproductions
Re: HDCAM offline capture - what capture preset? by Scott Juergens on Oct 16, 2007 at 4:41:47 pm
shoot 23.98 HDCAM_ Cut at 8bit Uncompressed if you have the speed or DVCPROHD 1080p as an alternative_ Viewing on a HDSDI montior both codecs will look incredible. Considering your going out to film the most important thing is your frame rate_ You don't want to get into a 29.97 to 23.98 scenario via Cinema Tools--- keep it simple. The Kona 2 is a good card and will handle anything you throw at it
