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MPEG Streamclip to FCP

I am obtaining some found footage from the internet to edit in FCP 7. I need to put it through MPEG Streamclip after I download it off the net to convert it so I can use it in FCP. My query is, should I convert the clip to Quicktime (.mov) file OR DV file?

Final Cut Pro 7

Posted on Feb 20, 2013 8:33 AM

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12 replies

Feb 21, 2013 5:29 AM in response to Detlef Kretschmer

there are just too many people posting disinformation. Although you may not have experienced problems with .dv footage, many people have (just as many people don't experience problems with h264 quicitimes). Do some searching here. If you depend on fcp for your livelihood, you need it to be stable as possible, and when problems arise, you need to be able to keep troubleshooting to as few issues as possible. To blithely recommend that people use dv streams (particularly when the dv quicktime option is available in the program under discussion) is irresponsible.

Feb 21, 2013 6:01 AM in response to Detlef Kretschmer

you can say the same thing about h264 files, but they are the source of many problems.


Here's Shane Ross' take on this question. Found this with just a quick search with google on Creatve Cow


#20 Using iMovie to Capture for FCP edit

Shane's Stock Answer #20: Using iMovie to Capture for use in FCP.

iMovie handles the media differently from FCP, specifically where audio is concerned. So it is not a recommended workflow. Here's why...

iMovie captures using DV Stream (.dv) standard which does not use timecode. That is a big disadvantage over the way that FCP captures in that you can't go back and recapture the material at a later date if you need to revisit a project.

The DV/NTSC specification (the one FCP uses) also calls for seperate tracks for audio and video, even if you capture it as one clip. iMovie' DV stream format is muxed audio and video, which means that they are tied together (I can't get into specifics because I ain't no engineer or programmer). FCP is a bit more demanding and captures the seperate audio/video tracks, either in a single media file or as seperate video and audio files. With FCP you could capture video only or audio only because each is defined by the DV specs. while with iMovie you can't.

Also, if you drop the iMovie footage into the timeline, your will get the RED render bar forcing you to render the footage in order to see it. You can use either QT Pro or Compressor to convert the .dv footage into DV/NTSC in order for FCP to work with it without needing to render.

Shane

Feb 21, 2013 6:59 AM in response to Michael Grenadier

Also, if you drop the iMovie footage into the timeline, your will get the RED render bar forcing you to render the footage in order to see it. You can use either QT Pro or Compressor to convert the .dv footage into DV/NTSC in order for FCP to work with it without needing to render.


This shows how much professionals tend to get into a rut. Only the audio needs rendering, which is a matter of a few seconds. So you would go to compressor and wait hours in order to save a few seconds. 😁

Feb 21, 2013 9:32 AM in response to Detlef Kretschmer

>"I was responding to the claim that .dv doesn't work - just correcting wrong information."


We like to inform people how to make media that works right in FCP, without any issues.


If you need to render anything on the timeline, then something isn't right. That's clue #1 that a setting is wrong. Why convert the footage to .dv and then need to render it before you work with it, and whenever you make any changes to it, rather than encoding it right in the first place...to something like DV/NTSC (what FCP works with in terms of DV) or ProRes?


Yes, it works. But it doesn't work flawlessly, and can lead to issues later on. This is why we tell people to avoid doing that...by saying it won't work. Sure, I guess we should say "it's far from ideal, you will be doing a few more steps than needed to get it to work, and you will constantly be rendering...but if you do it this way, you won't need to do any of that."


And yes, we "get in a rut" when explaining how to do things properly...because we want to help you do things to be right, properly. Let's compare this to building a house. Yes, you can use one kind of wood over another, and no, you don't need to measure exactly in order to get the studs in place. Will it work...yes. Will it be stable and last? Questionable.


There are right ways of doing things. If you choose to ignore our advice on what the proper ways of doing things are...fine. That isn't going to stop us from saying that certain ways of doing things is wrong and won't work....because they are wrong. FCP isn't designed to work with .DV files...that's the realm of iMovie. FCP prefers DV/NTSC...and since you are converting footage to be used in FCP...why not do it right to begin with? Instead of wrong and then doing extra things to allow it to work "OK?"

Feb 21, 2013 12:50 PM in response to Nick Holmes

Well thank-you to everyone who contributed and I am sorry that I have caused such conflict!


I have decided to convert to .mov files (they are all MPEG4 at the moment which I HAVE had problems with in the past). However, I did ask a technician from my institution today about using .dv files in FCP and he said he had never experienced problems, the only problem would be if I used .dv and .mov simultanously. Tamato tomato.

Feb 22, 2013 5:32 AM in response to Hannah320

No blood was spilled so not a big deal. Generally speaking, people are fairly low key here compared to other places on the internet.


Never heard that mixing .dv and dv quicktimes could be a problem. If you have the chance, ask your technician if he's personally experienced this or how he found out about this problem and report back.


Just goes to show that there's a lot of information and misinformation out there. Not always easy to figure out which is which.

MPEG Streamclip to FCP

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