How to import mini dv tape as one clip?

Hi,

I just imported about 20 minidv tapes using iMovie 6 HD based on recommendations of others. This version of iMovie is by far the best to import the tapes. Each imported tape imported as one single clip.

From within iMovie I would split the video into smaller clips based on content which worked perfectly before exporting.

I kept most of my clips to less then an hour to reduce file size. I noticed the largest clips would crash my Mac when transferring the file from an external drive to the hard drive. Smaller files were not a problem.

Each imported clip was exported in the highest quality and then imported into FCPx without any problems.

Hi Andy,

Thanks for following-up. I think I'm still doing a poor job describing my original dilemma. It's not a problem with them being uploaded in the order they were shot in history, it's that they aren't being uploaded in the order that they were edited.

If you took your dog training video and copied it to Master Mini DV tape and then later tried to upload it as a new project, FCPX and iMovie would both take that edited version of your video and take it out of sequence and instead put it in order of when they occured in history. You would then have to go back through and re build your finalized project. If you have any mini DV tapes with finalized projects on them (versus just raw footage) and you upload it into FCPX or iMovie you can see this problem occur. I understand why it is happening but I also think there should be an easy option to just have it uploaded as it plays off the tape and not be reorganized back to it's original timecode. Perhaps that's another way of putting it. It would be great if when you exported a finalized project back to a Master Mini DV tape if there was an option that let you erase all time codes and instead consider it as one, long, finalized clip. Because this is essentially what we create in the end, one finalized movie that we'd like to have considered as such in the future. I don't want to have to manipulate a finalized project that I've backed up to a mini DV tape ever again. Just upload and go.

iMovie HD 6 does this and I have it so my problem is solved.

Vidi is incredibly easy to use as it's very simple interface with little options. When opened it asks you to hook up your firewire camera. The second you do that a window is ready to import the tape (as it plays off the tape. no re-organizing of files, no time coding) and when you are finished importing there is a .dv file on your desktop ready to be imported into any other program. Perhaps it doesn't work for you due to differences in NTSC vs. PAL? Not sure about that but just a guess.

Nate

There isn't any way to do this with FCP import. If you dubbed the tape you would lose the date/time stamp and the tape should import as one piece. I'm curious why you want to do this.

Thanks stuckfootage.

I just downloaded and tried vidi.

It solved my problem. Only thing is that it turned a 5 minute video into a 1.3GB file. So still looking for ultimate fix but this was helpful for that one particular Master video.

Thanks

I had the same problem last year and my only solution was to capture with Final Cut Express or legacy FCP.

The early version, iMovie 6, still works on Mavericks and will do the job.

Can't you just do the capture with iMovie, then import the clip into FCX?

Thanks,

So after some experimenting, I can import my Mini DV film / tape to an old version of iMovie 6 HD as "one clip"....then save with Quicktime in dv format and import that to FCP.

Is there any loss in quality saving with Quicktime?,

Alan.

Thanks

Capturing with QuickTime X should do the job.

Al

Nope. iMovie does the exact same thing. It takes an iMovie project that was exported back to Mini DV as a Backup Master and then if you attempt to import it back into iMovie it cuts it all up by time and date.

Hmmm....can you export the iMovie clip to a completely new self-contained clip, then import that?

Do you have a friend with FCP7?

Maybe try the 30-day free Avid Media Composer trial?

No, none that you would notice.

Any luck with this scinn?

I am having the same issue.

I have several Master Mini DV tapes with completed projects on them from 10 years ago. I would like to import these tapes as one long, uninterrupted clip. Both iMovie and FCPX chop the date back up by time stamp. Seems like there should be a simple one-click option to turn this organizational feature off so that these preserved Mini DV tape backups can still be used. I would be content finding any software that could do this for me to save me hours of reorganizing clips that I already edited years ago.

I'm with Tom - why would you want one huge file?

With the individual clips, you can either mark in and out points and drop them on the timeline, or go through the clips and mark the useable parts as 'favourites' - or apply keywords.

Failing that, drop the whole lot onto the primary storyline and chop out the dross, then you have a continuous sequence.

Or am I misunderstanding?

Andy

So I've got a 60 minute master tape with edits, titles, music etc. When I import it into FCPX, either directly or using archive feature, it takes that 60 minute polished video and turns it into hundreds of clips out of sequence. To make it an entire video again I need to go through and marry up each one individually back to it's original edited neighboring clip as they are not presented in order but rather by time/date stamp. All the work was already done 10 years ago and then exported back to a mini DV tape to have a Master tape backup. So to import it now and have it come in as one long clip means that zero work is needed....which is nice, right? As it is now this will take several hours per project.

It could very well be that I'm overlooking a simple workaround here....hence my request for some talented, educated insight from fellow producers.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.