Need help getting a batch of mp4's with different compression/frame rates into an editable format

Question

Level 1

0 points

Need help getting a batch of mp4's with different compression/frame rates into an editable format

I am well used to editing with FCP 7 and X with footage I film myself, but I am having a serious issue getting different kinds of mp4's to work with each other.

I know that you shouldn't use mp4s in FCP 7, but all the footage I want to use is that format and I compression could take all night since it's about 45 minutes of clips. With that said, i have no idea what I would convert them too as everything I try seems to give ridicules file sizes.

I'm making a highlight reel for a sport and all the footage is 720p mp4s. I have 20 clips, all of which contain 3 - 5 minutes of footage. I screencaped 5 of them, then converted to mp4 in quicktime to match the other 15 mp4 rips that I downloaded directly.

The issue I'm having is that despite all the files being mp4s, they dont match up when they need to be rendered. Certain clips leave me with the famous blue line render problem on the timeline. Then, when exported, the footage is laced with artefacts. Even when playing back, sometimes the clip jumps to the first frame of that clips source for one frame even though it could be minutes away from what is currently being displayed.

Basically, is there a way that I can take all these files of what appear to be varrying frame rates and compression, and convert them to an editable format that isnt going to be over a gig for every clip? Or alternatively, is there a way I can keep doing what I'm doing with the mp4s and use some form of work around to get them rendering properly.

Any help would be great.

All the best,
Des

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 27" 3.4GHz 12GB RAM

Posted on Dec 14, 2011 1:52 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Russ H

Level 7

22,432 points

Dec 14, 2011 3:09 PM in response to Des182

I would use MPEG STreamclip…create a batch list and convert them all to Pro Res, in a common size and frame rate.

If the size of the Pro Res files is an issue, delete them after you've delivered your finished highlight reel.

Russ

Reply

Answer 2

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Dec 14, 2011 3:10 PM in response to Des182

MP4...never use in FCP. And sorry, but the editable format to convert to is ProRes, and that will make larger files. That's the tradeoff for converting footage into an editable format. MP4 is so highly compressed it makes editing VERY difficult, because of that compression.

For smaller sizes, try ProRes LT...or Proxy if you think that quality is fine for you (and it might be). Or DVCPRO HD if you want.

And... in the future, if this will something that you constantly have to deal with, you might consider getting the NLE that can handle these files natively, without converting. Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5. But the only way it does this smoothly is if you have a beefy mac (processors!), gobs of RAM (at least 12GB) and an NVidia card that is CUDA capable to enable the Mercury Engine. Because those files, as I said, are very complex and processor intensive.

Reply

Answer 3

Des182 Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 14, 2011 3:18 PM in response to Des182

Thanks guys, I'll take that on board.

I use MPEG Streamclip every now and then but never used the batch list function. Appreciate the tips, I'll try get them into a ProRes format. 🙂

Reply

Answer 4

Nick Holmes

Level 7

30,018 points

Dec 14, 2011 3:43 PM in response to Des182

Read my MPEG Streamclip tutorial on Batching: http://www.secondchairvideo.com/?p=694

Reply

Answer 5

Dec 17, 2011 8:07 AM in response to Des182

Yes, there's an app for that and it's called compressor and it comes with fcp. The big advantage of compressor over mpegstreamclip is that you can create a "cluster" to distribute the workload across the multiprocessors of your computer. You can also customize a preset and save it. I use mpegstreamclip all the time for files that don't work in compressor, but for those that do...

Reply