LAFCPUG: Importing FAQs

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Revision as of 03:32, 12 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 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.

Photoshop layers not importing

Q. Sometimes when I import Photoshop documents they come in with the layers intact, but sometimes they are flattened. Why is this?

From Jude Cotter

In most instances an imported .psd, when double clicked in the browser or timeline, will open as a sequence displaying all the layers. If your imported .psd does not open, there are a couple of possible reasons.

• 1. The document was saved incorrectly and the layers were flattened when output from Photoshop. To check for this, open the file from the browser in Photoshop and see if the layers are intact or there is only one layer. Re-export from you original if need be, making sure to choose to keep the layers.

• 2. The file is not 8 bit. If your .psd is 16 bit, it will not import with layers into FCP. To fix this, open the original in Photoshop, got to Image > Mode > and select 8 bits/channel. Export with layers and re-import into FCP. You should now be able to access the layers.

This workaround has been tested on PS CS, CS2 and CS3.

From Tom Wolsky

The third cause is that the file was created and saved on a PC. The Windows version of Photoshop uses a different file structure for layers that FCP does not interpret properly. You have to open the file in Photoshop on the Mac and save it to allow FCP to see the layers.

How do I handle .AVI files?

Q. A client supplied me with a 3D animation in the form of an .avi file.
It plays fine on my PC with Windows Media Player, but on my Mac it's just a bunch of pixel chaos. Any ideas on how I can somehow convert this thing so it plays OK on my Mac.

A. From Andy Field

You need to convert the AVI to a QuickTime file using this utility

AVI free converter for Mac

You can also play AVI files with this

VLC player

From Tim:

There's also MPEG Streamclip