LAFCPUG: Importing FAQs

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Revision as of 17:12, 11 June 2008

How do I import Flex or ALE files?

How do I import Flex or ALE files into FCP?

From Jude Cotter

• Open the Cinema Tools application that came with your FCP install. Press 'cancel' if prompted to open an existing database.

• Select Database > New Database and change the settings in the prompt box to suit your project. Save the database.

• Then go to File > Import > Telecine Log. Navigate to your ALE files and select the ones you want to import.

• Then export a batch capture list for FCP. Import this into FCP, and you're good to go.

From Nick Meyers

• This is now much improved in FCP 5.1 / CT3
  
• You can import the Flex, or ALE directly into FCP.
  

NOTE: This is not written up in the main Cinema Tools manual, you will find it instead in the "What's New" pdf, accessible from the Cinema Tools "Help" menu

Try this:

NOTE: if you need feet & frames info in your database, then the ale format is recommended.

• In FCP create a new bin and open it
  
• Choose File Menu > Import >Cinema Tools Telecine Log.
  
• (or control click in the bin and choose Import >Cinema Tools Telecine Log).
  
• An "import telecine log" window opens.
  
• NOTE: When you import the ale into FCP, the data will simultaneously be added to a Cinema Tools database.
  
• So before you import the Flex or ALE you have to nominate a CinemaTools database to import into.
  
• Options for this are at the bottom of the import telecine log window.
  
• You can create a new CT database, or import into an existing one.
  
• Creating a new database for each new flex or ale file is recommended.
  
• You can then merge the CT databases later.
  

Once you have established a Cinema Tools database to import into, navigate to your ale file, and choose it.

The Cinema Tools database will be created first.
Hit ok on the dialogue box that opens, then the clips will come into FCP with all their accompanying film info.

How do I get my DVD into FCP?

Q. How do I get footage from a video DVD to use in Final Cut?

From Jude Cotter
A. Copyright disclaimer. It is illegal to use other people’s work without their express permission and, in many cases, payment.

Yes, but I DO have permission. Really!

OK. Just letting you know.

OTHER most likely answer
A. There are a number of third party applications that can convert the files on a DVD to FCP editable footage. Some favourites are :

• MPEG Streamclip

• DVDxDV

• Cinematize II

Other things that could help:
• In some cases you can also connect a DVD player to your deck and capture straight into FCP via the ‘non-controllable device’ setting.

But what about the copyright protection? I really, really, really do have permission.

Still more things that could help:
• Mac The Ripper

How do I import P2 footage?

How do I import footage from a Panasonic P2 card into FCP?

There's an excellent tutorial here by Shane Ross:

Importing P2 into FCP

Also download this PDF from Apple titled:

Workflow for Final Cut Pro and the Panasonic AG-HVX200 HD Camera

Also helpful are these blog entries from Shane Ross:

• P2 workflow Pt 1

• P2 workflow Pt 2

• P2 workflow Pt 3

Lots of stills make FCP slow

Q. I've got a lot of stills I imported into FCP and now everything is really slow.

From Loren Miller

Symptom:
Even when you import correctly formatted photos (24-bit RGB and not Indexed Color, Greyscale or Bitmap; in TIFF, PSD format or less recommended, JPEG) you may see the SBBOD (Spinning Beach Ball of Death) when you attempt playback, or a Dropped Frame warning, and almost always, a render line. Performance hit will vary, getting better with faster machines.

Most likely answer A:
Your imported stills are oversize relative to your sequence frame size, and challenging the CPU to deal with resolving the excess data as you play the timeline. While you could scale the photo down in the Canvas, you're not really removing excess data from the import file and the symptoms will remain.

Solutions:

• 1) Pre-prep either scanned or digital photos in your favorite image editor and down-sample, resize the photo width to your sequence frame size, such as 720 pixels for NTSC-DV.

• 2) Export your stills series as an FCP native QuickTime and reimport that-- voila! No more rendering! Remove the original still clips from the timeline, store them in a named Bin or even offine, out of the project.

• Good tutorial about photo prep here:

Sizing and Scanning Photographs in PS for import into FCP

Most likely asnwer B:
If you need your photos oversize to support zoom-in animation, try to determine the closest you'll ned to go and calculate the optimal oversize width of the photo import to support that-- before importing.

Good tutorials on Scanning and Animating photos here:

• How to Do a Pan and Scan in FCP

• Photo Scanning with ScanGuide Pro

I must add one further strategy for slower machines with less RAM: treat each photo animation as a "factory clip." When animated to taste, export the section as a native QuickTime. Remport that and cut it in. Drag the factory clip to a special storage bin in case you need to tweak it internally later. Remove it from the timeline.

For a look at photo animation tools other than FCP:

• PhotoToMovie review

• MovingPicture review

16:9 Motion files import as 4:3.

Q. When I bring in a motion clip from Motion that is 16x9 Anamorphic into a 16x9 Anamorphic timeline in FCP it comes in at 4x3. How do I fix it?

From Dean Cleary via Apple

Anamorphic Motion projects aren't displayed correctly when edited into an anamorphic Final Cut Pro sequence

You can export Final Cut Pro clips and sequences as Motion projects using the Export to Motion Project command. You can also import Motion project files into Final Cut Pro and treat them like video clips. However, if you edit a widescreen anamorphic Motion project into an Anamorphic Final Cut Pro sequence, the image may appear "squeezed" into a 4:3 aspect ratio.

To display the Motion project in the correct 16:9 aspect ratio:
In the Final Cut Pro Browser window, select the Motion project, then click the space next to it in the Anamorphic column to place a check mark, which assigns the Anamorphic property to it.

How do I import PowerPoint projects?

Q. Is there a way I can import and work with Microsoft PowerPoint presentations in FCP?

From Jude Cotter

All you need to do is to export a Quicktime movie (.mov) out of PowerPoint. This will be fully functional when imported into FCP.

Open the presentation in PowerPoint and select File > Make Movie. If required, you can adjust the settings here to better match your FCP project size and quality settings. Save this.

Then open FCP and go to File > Import and navigate to the .mov you made. The imported movie should function just like any other imported video clip.

However...

Some versions of Powerpoint are buggy and will not export movies of complicated slideshows, especially those with heavy animation. If this is the case, you can work around it by purchasing screen capture software such as

• iShow U
  

or

• Snapz Pro

To make the movie, simply set up the screen capture software, start capturing, then run the presentation. This will result in a video file in the format of your choice, which can then be imported into FCP.

How do I digitize 24p/24pA?

Q. My DV footage was shot 24p. How should it be digitized?

From Justin Barham

Somewhat confusingly, there are actually two types of 24p; they are 24p "Normal," and 24pA "Advanced." So the first thing you need to do is find out what type of 24p footage you have, because they are digitized and edited in different ways.

If your footage was shot as 24p Normal, it needs to be digitized just like any other NTSC footage. Use the Easy Setup "DV-NTSC." The footage will now be treated just like any other 29.97 DV footage.

24pA needs to be digitized in a different fashion. It should be brought in using the Easy Setup "NTSC-DV 24p (23.98) Advanced Pulldown Removal." Pulldown (duplicated fields) will be removed during capture, leaving one with 23.98 progressive footage, to be edited in 23.98 sequences.

What's the difference between 24p, and 24p Advanced?

All NTSC DV recorded to tape runs at 27.97 frames per second. The secret to creating 24p within this framework is what is called "pulldown." Pulldown involves duplicating specific fields in a predictable cadence, of which there are two common flavors:

- 24p Normal (aka 2:3:2:3.) Anyone who has ever watched a film-based program on an NTSC TV set has experienced this pulldown cadence. Today, many DV, DVCPro, and even HDV cameras (in DV mode) capture 24p to give a "film look" to 29.97i video.

If you've shot 24p Normal but wish to end up with "real" 24p footage, there is a way. Since 24p Normal footage has a predictable pulldown pattern, it can also be reversed back to 23.98 progressive video using Cinema Tools. This isn't ideal for two reasons. First, it takes extra time after capture to reverse all the pulldown. More importantly, since reversing 24p Normal footage requires first decompressing and then re-compressing, image quality may suffer. Especially if it's Super-White. Of course, this doesn't matter if you're using DV as an offline format.

- 24pA Advanced (aka 2:3:3:2.) Unlike 24p Normal, this cadence is not meant to be viewed before it's extraneous fields are removed. It's strictly meant to be edited at 23.98p. This is a great way to go if you're ending up on film. 24p DVDs can also be created, saving bit space that can be allocated to better image quality. This 23.98 footage can be viewed over Firewire on a normal NTSC monitor because FCP version 4.0 forward will add realtime 2:3:2:3 pulldown, with a slight CPU overhead.

For more detailed information on 24p, check out these articles by Graeme Nattress and Adam Wilt.