Converting FC Project sequence to a JPEG 2000 file
by Brad Elliott
on
Sep 9, 2009 at 8:36:16 pm
I have a request to deliver a JPEG 2000 file of video that was edited in Final Cut.
It is my understanding that the JPGEG 2000 file will be to used to make a digital file format used by AMC theater projectors in AMC theaters.
It seems to me that this needs to be done outside of the Final Cut suite. Do anyone have any experience with this or have any suggestions on how to go about this?
Re: Converting FC Project sequence to a JPEG 2000 file by Dave LaRonde on Sep 9, 2009 at 9:18:33 pm
JPEG 2000 is one heck of a nice codec... supports alpha channels and everything. Grass Valley HD cameras record in it. Grass Valley NLEs love it. It looks great, it has universal acceptance like the Animation codec, and it's even included with Quicktime. How 'bout THAT?
It's just not widely used in Apple-land, that's all... and who ever said the Folks in Cupertino had a stranglehold on The Best, Brightest and Purest Of Everything, anyway? Not me, that's for sure. It seems that Apple would rather design a raft of codecs for which you need to buy their application software rather than use something available to everybody. How thoughtful of them.
I don't know if Compressor has a JPEG 2000 preset, but you could certainly make your own to do the encoding.
Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: Converting FC Project sequence to a JPEG 2000 file by Brad Elliott on Sep 9, 2009 at 9:56:50 pm
Dave,
Thanks for your response.
I have played with QT and compressor and have tweaked it to what I consider to be the best for SD. In both instances QT has a hard time playing the high motion footage back without stuttering or interlacing issues.
I presume this codec is similar to animation or uncompressed but I am surprised that that a dual-core Intel G5 isn't able to play back a 12 second clip. Have you had any or similar experiences with this?
Re: Converting FC Project sequence to a JPEG 2000 file by Dave LaRonde on Sep 9, 2009 at 10:11:07 pm
[Brad Elliott]"I presume this codec is similar to animation or uncompressed..."
I've only seen JPEG 2000 used on Grass Valley NLEs during demos, but it worked just fine. I even shot some of the video used in the demo, so I know it was JPEG 2000.
I use After Effects a lot, and when I have to pass something on in the Animation codec -- which just won't play in FCP in real time AT ALL -- I also make a second version in another codec just to reassure myself the motion and timing are okay. You could do something similar.
And like the Animation codec, JPEG 2000 can also be thought of as an INTERMEDIATE codec -- great quality to pass from application to application, may not play in real time, but that's okay because the application that finally uses it will convert it to what it wants. That may be the case with this theater. It wouldn't hurt to double-check -- you'll look like you're going the extra mile to get things right the first time. As long as you've convinced yourself it's a good file and you've followed the delivery specs, life should be good.
Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: Converting FC Project sequence to a JPEG 2000 file by Arnie Schlissel on Sep 10, 2009 at 2:12:35 am
[Brad Elliott]"It is my understanding that the JPGEG 2000 file will be to used to make a digital file format used by AMC theater projectors in AMC theaters."
Are they looking for a Digital Cinema Package? If so you won't be able to do this in FCP. You would need to use a hardware encoder that makes a DCI compliant JP2k MXF stream with surround sound.
Get your delivery spec and find out if it ask for a DCP or mentions the DCI or a DCM. If that's the case, you'll need to find a vendor who can make the delivery package for you.
For more information on all this stuff, you can visit the DCI homepage & download the spec.
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
http://www.arniepix.com/
