Automated audio & video conversion for FCP

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Level 1

0 points

Automated audio & video conversion for FCP

I have the following problem

A user of FCP opens an already existing project. This is user is a good editor but has little knowledge about encoding parameters and video compression. At a certain point this user needs to add new footage to the project. The source of this footage can be a phone, a consumer camera, a professional camera, actually it can be anything. The new footage needs to be converted to the same format as is used on the project's timeline. Is there an easy way for this user to do this other than coming to me and saying: "Here is some new footage, i don't know anything about it but please convert i so that i can use it in my project of which i know no technical details either". I was hoping for something like connecting Compressor to FCP so that Compressor knows what the project settings are and then do the conversion automatically without user instructions. Or i could write some software around FFmpeg - but for that i need to all the details of the audio & video format on FCP's timeline. Exporting the project to XML does not seem to give enough detail for a conversion with FFmpeg.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Sven

Final Cut Pro 7

Posted on Jul 4, 2012 3:43 AM

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Answer 1

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Jul 4, 2012 5:10 AM in response to SvenVRT

Buy them a copy of Final Cut X.

Really.

x

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Answer 2

SvenVRT Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 4, 2012 6:09 AM in response to Studio X

Thanks for the advice Studio X but...

... the story above is actually a simplified version a real problem at my company. We are trying to bring all kind of video assets to our FCP workstations in an automated manner. The idea is to store all incoming audio & video content "as is" (without conversion) on our servers. Then upon request from an editing room serve the content in the appropriate format for the project at hand (we don't have a standard setting for all our projects). Ideally the conversion should be done in the server room because this will free up the CPU in the edting room and the valuable time of our editors and directors.

Sven

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Answer 3

Jul 4, 2012 6:31 AM in response to SvenVRT

Studio's reply still stands I'd say. FCP X never requires you transcode footage first.

Jerry

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Answer 4

Jul 7, 2012 10:44 AM in response to SvenVRT

Why don't you try FLIP FACTORY? That aside, you can easily find your sequence and clip settings from within FCP and manually convert media in MPEG STREAMCLIP. Dealing with formats and transcoding is part of the editing I'm afraid. FCP will cope with many formats and you can mix frame sizes on the timeline. if you drop unknown media into a sequence and it doesn't provke a red render line you're good to go. If you do get a red line, back off and convert.

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Answer 5

Jul 7, 2012 11:21 AM in response to SvenVRT

easy enuf to customize a compressor preset and/or droplet to match specific sequence settings and then just apply this preset to the source files. Automating the process, no.

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Answer 6

Shane Ross

Level 8

43,110 points

Jul 7, 2012 3:42 PM in response to Michael Grenadier

Teach the editors to be more tech savvy...as FCP is great because it is open, but requires that editors pay attention to what the settings are, and what they are doing. They can't just be creative only...unless:

Hire assistant editors to do all of the proper conversions and project management. This is done all over on many large shows, because the editors there are creative only and are not technical.

So either teach the editors to do this, and HOW to do it...or hire an assistant or two that will do this for them. Or get editing software that doesn't require transcoding.

There is no easy button app for FCP 7 for this. THere is for audio, but not video:

http://www.digital-heaven.co.uk/loader/

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