any compression solution for footage shot at night? looks good on original... (FCP7 FCPX)

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Level 1

4 points

any compression solution for footage shot at night? looks good on original... (FCP7 FCPX)

hello!

I am exporting-compressing from FCP 7 to FCPX using (as recommended) prores422 1920x1080 25p 16bit, everything ok (i shot in HDV1080i), but I have some volcano eruption footage shot at NIGHT and although they look perfect on the monitors, once I compress them they become grainy! and not looking so good. Please recommend a compress setting for these shots, they look amazing in the original footage...

thank you for your help!

cheers,

maria p.

from sydney

Final Cut Pro X, Quicktime

Posted on Nov 5, 2012 7:48 PM

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Answer 1

andynick

Level 5

4,955 points

Nov 6, 2012 1:55 AM in response to toti54

Going from interlaced to progressive footage won't help. An awful lot of conversion takes place.

I suggest you use a little app callec 7toX (very inexpensive) to convert your FCP7 project to for use in FCP X. That will avoid the conversion.

Andy

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Answer 2

toti54 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 6, 2012 5:54 PM in response to andynick

hi andy,

I just realized I am using FCP 6

Please can you CONFIRM if I am capturing right?

I shot in HDV 1080i Panasonic HDVX

The capture compression settings are set to HDV 1080i50 25fps

and I have been exporting using 1920 x 1080 25p 16 bit. Pro Res to then import to FCPX (it was working fine! until I saw some night sequences were grainy...etc)

Please help this is an important documentary project.

I would really appreciate your opinions on this.

Kind regards

maria

sydney

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Answer 3

andynick

Level 5

4,955 points

Nov 7, 2012 12:53 AM in response to toti54

You seem to keep asking the same question over and over, but moving the goal posts.

If you would state the facts (about your footage and FCP application) it would save a lot of time and frustration. The pople who anwer questions here are not Apple employees, they are video editors, doing it in their own time, and for no money.

When you CAPTURE the footage from the camera, the FCP settings should be EXACTLY the same as the footage you are capturing from the camera. This way, there is no compression - the compression was done in the camera. You want to avoid further compression if you can.

When you drop the footage onto a timeline, the timeline settings should be exactly as the footage was shot in-camera.

When you then move the project to FCP X, you use the 7toX application to convert the Final Cut Pro PROJECT for use in FCP X.

You do NOT convert the actual media files (in any way) they will be referenced by FCP X in the same way that FCP6 did. 7toX can be used for FCP 6 projects but there may be issues if you have any speed changes:

Only when you output your final movie, should you consider conversion - and if you have grainy night-time stuff, conversion is best avoided if possible.

Certainly avoid (what you repeatedly say you are doing) going from 1080i (interlaced) to 1080p (progressive).

Andy

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Answer 4

toti54 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 7, 2012 1:47 AM in response to andynick

hi Andy,

Thank you for your time! I appreciate your help. I apologize for being repetitive.

I am capturing with the same settings I shot with: 1080i HDV SONY

so that is good.

Sequence preset: 1080i50

(question: what does the 50 stand for?) it says: "use this preset when editing with 1080i HDV 25 fps material with audio set to 48khz for HDV". So that is why its set there.

I shot 1080i HDV so everything okay. Now, I will try the FCP6(7) to FCPX

app you suggest.

so, when printing to tape from FCP6 what should de settings be on the output deck?

they should be kept 1080i50? the print to tape is disabled for some reason!

I have edited a lot before using the AVIDexpress system and now I am changing to apple.

kind regards,

maria

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Answer 5

andynick

Level 5

4,955 points

Nov 7, 2012 2:48 AM in response to toti54

toti54 wrote:

what does the 50 stand for?

It means the footage is shot at 50 cycles per second. It's not my favorite topic and too complex to go into now, but it basically means interlaced footage is made up of two 'half images', whereas progressive footage is one complete image (but it's more complex than that, too).

when printing to tape from FCP6 what should de settings be on the output deck?

they should be kept 1080i50? the print to tape is disabled for some reason!

Why do you want to print to tape? Far better all round to archive the project on HD (in my opinion).

For details of printing to tape (not available in FCP X) you should go to the Final Cut Studio Forum.

Andy

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Answer 6

toti54 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 7, 2012 5:38 PM in response to andynick

Hi Andy,

Thank you for your help.

I read the article. I got the App 7toX and installed it on the desktop computer where I have FCP6 and where I am editing the main sequences or pre-edits.

So, the original FCP6 media files as such, are in the back up folder of my external hardrive, and I have the XML converted sequences on the desktop..

Test

I convert a sequence and then save it to the desktop and then?

I am using two different computers (desktop w FCP6 and Laptop with FCPX....so,do I need to install the app again in my laptop>? I just need to convert some sequences, not all the bins. I need to convert the sequences/projects into FCP X as events! that would be lovely.

I installed the application on the FCP 6 computer, converted the sequence to XML file and.... the media files are all in my external memory. How do I make them dialogue etc....

Do I right click on the XML file (now on my desktop or in my ext hardrive) and 'open with.....FCPX'.?... but the fcp6 files are on my external hardrive.... would FCP X be able to do this automatically? without having to copy the full folder on my desktop (that would be too much memory usage!) your recommendations will be very useful. I have seen it imports the file from the source automatically (which is cool).

I will give it a try.

THANK YOU

maria

ps I understand the XML is not the media file as such.😉

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Answer 7

toti54 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 7, 2012 11:27 PM in response to toti54

Ignore the latest post, it worked.

but it takes too long! do I always need to relink the media, look for the files, etc.

what do I have to do First?

open the external hd,

create an event and

import and

then relink?

why did it take 2 hours?!

thank you for your answer.

kind regards

maria

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