Re-conforming a project at HDV res - what went wrong??
by Francoise
on
Nov 28, 2007 at 1:53:32 pm
Hi there,
I am currently working on a project which involved a multicamera HDV 1080i50 shoot. I offlined using FCP6 at DV PAL resolution in order to multi-cam without totally zapping my RAM.
The problem has occured whilst I have been trying to re-conform at HDV resolution. I created a new project from the offline version, collapsed my multi-clip, changed my AV settings to the correct HDV ones. I initially tried to re-conform by making all the clips offline and trying to re-capture them, but I kept getting error messages along the lines of "Unable to locate timecode" - and this was on tapes with no TC breaks.
We then went to Plan B and made an EDL which we imported and started batch capturing. And this is where the real craziness started...some of the clips captured fine. Other clips didnt capture at all. The EDL seemed to have invented random TC for some clips that not only didnt match the tape, but TC that was not even on the tape. It randomly placed clips in parts of the program where they were not supposed to be. And (this one has really stumped me) - refused to capture some clips from a reel where other clips were successfully captured. All the reel numbers were fine - it wasnt the problem of wrong tapes being loaded.
I just dont understand what went so wrong...any ideas??
Re: Re-conforming a project at HDV res - what went wrong?? by Wayne Carey on Nov 28, 2007 at 7:47:17 pm
You've just encountered the HDV blues...
This is the issue with Long GOP and HDV. Being able to hit the same timecodes is spotty at best when using HDV and editing HDV. DV and all other video formats use what's called I-Frames, meaning, that every single frame of video is a frame of video. In Long GOP, you have one I-Frame and somewhere between 7 to 14 frames of interpolated video. Great for one time playback but could cause troubles when recapturing an offline program, such as yours.
The problem I see here is that you captured everything to DV. Well, I'm sure sure that you know that HDV takes the same space as DV when it comes to file sizes, so offlining HDV is a moot point.
_______________________________
Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
www.schazamproductions.com
http://blogs.creativecow.net/waynecarey
Re: Re-conforming a project at HDV res - what went wrong?? by Michael G on Nov 28, 2007 at 10:50:18 pm
Use Media Manager on the original DV project to create offline. Change the compressor to 1080 50i HDV. Do not include master clips outside selection and delete unused media with handles (a seccond or two will be enough if this is a reconform to online)
Recapture the HDV with at least a five second preroll. Recapturing long slabs with short pre rolls is hopeless in HDV. As I sit and type this I am recapturing a 74 minute show in HDV with a similar work flow. Some clips have been tricky. Also don't due huge batch recaptures. Do up to 20 events then close batch capture & save. I have had FCP 601 crash three times in two days and lost captured files. HDV is tricky but unlike sceptics, I have found recapture frame accuracy to be very good - except when editors try and capture whole rolls and IGNORE genuine code breaks.
Yes I know that phantom code breaks happen with HDV but riding roughshod over them only makes problem for people like me later. I have had many jobs without and sync issues. Every time I have had a sync issue, it turns out to be operator error.
