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Staff BlogsJon Chappell
How to keep your job as an editor Black framesWe've all done it - you've got the timeline zoomed out, you drag a clip and think it snapped to the end of another clip but really it snapped to a marker or overlapping bit of audio right next to it. Consequently there'll be a gap and a flash of black when the clip is played back - which producers and audiences never fail to notice.  Before you output, put the playhead at the start of the timeline and press Shift-G. This will jump the playhead to the next gap in the timeline. If you encounter a gap, press Ctrl-G to close it. If no more gaps can be found, the playhead will jump to the end of the timeline. Unsafe luma levelsMaximum white is higher on a computer than it is on a TV. Consequently, it is possible to set white levels beyond maximum levels for NTSC broadcast. If this happens, overmodulation can occur which means that the signal can leak to radio frequencies other than the ones assigned to the TV channel, resulting in the TV company getting into big trouble with the FCC. Not surprisingly, this trouble would come your way very quickly (that's a worst-case scenario by the way).  When I am color correcting, I always switch on the luma indication in Final Cut Pro (View > Range Check > Excess Luma). This will tell you with a warning triangle and red "zebra" lines which areas are above the recommended limit. You can then use a 3-way Color Corrector to bring down the highlights until the triangle changes into a green tick.  Then, just before my project is ready for output, I create a new sequence in Final Cut Pro and nest the old sequence inside it by dragging it from the Browser into my new timeline. I then go to Effects > Video Filters > Color Correction > Broadcast Safe to make the entire nested sequence broadcast safe. Why do I perform this step when I already made it safe earlier? Because you can't be too careful. Maybe I thought I'd corrected each one but I'd actually missed one out by mistake. Maybe I added a last-minute clip that I forgot to correct. And if you're wondering why I nest it instead of just selecting all the clips and applying the filter to all of them, that's because I might be asked to make a last-minute change right before it goes out (in the world of broadcast TV anything is possible at the last minute). Nesting the sequence ensures that everything inside that sequence will be broadcast safe, no matter what I change later on. It's also worth mentioning that the default settings for the Broadcast Safe filter work for the vast majority of cases. It's rare to have to modify them. Peaking audioLike luma levels, audio levels have a maximum limit as well. If they exceed 0 dBFS on Final Cut Pro's audio meters, they will produce an audible "crunch" noise that is very ugly to hear and will instantly distract any engaged viewers. For broadcast work, it is recommended to have your dialogue around -12 dBFS (but not lower than -18 dBFS), with very loud sounds not exceeding -6 dBFS. Film post production tends to work with a higher dynamic range so the dialogue is normally around -18 dBFS. The most important thing, however, is that your audio doesn't exceed 0 dBFS. To ensure this, after you've completed your mix, drag the sequence from the Browser to the Viewer, then go to Mark > Audio Peaks > Mark. This will put markers in your timeline at every point where the audio exceeds 0 dBFS. This is another of those situations where even though you've already mixed it, it's so quick and easy to check for peaks that there's no reason not to do it.  To remove the markers again, go to Mark > Audio Peaks > Clear or Mark > Markers > Delete All. Incorrect field dominanceHere's one you probably won't spot unless you are using a broadcast monitor. This is why it's important to use a broadcast monitor or at worst, a regular TV, to view your work before output. Interlaced video uses fields to display the image. There is a field for odd-numbered lines and a field for even-numbered lines, and they are displayed one after the other for every frame. But which one should be displayed first? NTSC video uses the Lower (Even) field dominance, meaning it shows the even-numbered lines first. If you add a clip to your timeline that has Upper (Odd) field dominance, its fields will be reversed and the motion between those fields will be reversed, so moving objects will tend to judder as they move forwards and then backwards. PAL and HD video use the Upper (Odd) field dominance, with the exception of DV-PAL, which uses Lower (Even). This is generally not a problem with footage acquired from an NTSC or PAL camera, as it will already have been shot with the correct field dominance. The problem usually occurs with motion graphics and visual effects sequences because they have been created in software that can create both types of footage and has to be manually told which dominance it should use. If you have been given footage that has the wrong field dominance, first try to obtain correct footage from the person who originally supplied it. If this is not possible, go to Effects > Video Filters > Video > Shift Fields to swap the fields around. In some cases, Final Cut Pro can get confused and think that a file with the correct dominance is incorrect, so it automatically adds a Shift Fields filter when you import it. If you suspect that the file is actually correct, first check the clip for automatically-assigned filters and remove them. Finally, it's worth mentioning that when you drag the first clip to a new sequence, Final Cut Pro 6 will ask you to change the sequence settings to match the clip if they differ. A lot of people click Yes without thinking, but taking a moment to check whether the clip in question does actually have the correct settings will save a lot of head-scratching later on. I hope this article has given you ideas on how to avoid these problems because in a lot of cases, mistakes aren't made through ignorance but instead lack of time, lapses in concentration, tiredness, etc. That's why most of the steps in this article are very quick and easy ways of double-checking after you've already implemented corrections. These are important aspects to keep under control so it helps to have a range of defensive measures in place. When your job could potentially be on the line, you can't double-check often enough. Categories: Industry, Final Cut Pro, Analysis 11-16-08 - New AppleCare articles Final Cut Pro / Express Final Cut Pro: Choosing a Hard Disk - The disk that contains your computer’s operating system is called the startup disk or boot disk. In addition to the operating system, the startup disk also stores your applications (such as Final Cut Pro), your application preferences, system settings, and documents. Because the files on the startup disk are your most critical data, maintaining the startup disk is vital. Because digital media (especially high data rate video) makes your disks work harder, you should use dedicated disks for capturing and playing back your digital video and other media files. Consider your media disks as storage units that work long, hard hours, while your startup disk keeps your system properly organized. If a disk is going to malfunction, it’s better if your critical data is separate from your replaceable media files. Depending on what kind of computer you are using, you may be able to use internal and external hard disks to store your media files. Each has benefits and drawbacks. This is a very detailed article with a lot of useful technical information about the required minimum seek times, spindle speeds, etc for Final Cut Pro. Well worth checking out. Final Cut Express 2: How to Delete the Preference Files - Learn how to resolve issues caused by unusable preference files in Final Cut Express 2. Final Cut Express HD 3.0: Configuration error when using with iMac G5 (iSight) and Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) - If you open Final Cut Express HD 3.0 on certain computers, you'll get a "Configuration Error" message that indicates that your computer is missing certain hardware or software, or possibly an AGP graphics card. Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express: Convert MP3 and AAC audio files for compatibility before importing - This document explains how to import MP3 and AAC-encoded audio files into Final Cut Pro 3, Final Cut Pro 4, and Final Cut Express. Final Cut Express HD requires a Quartz Extreme AGP graphics card - To use Final Cut Express HD, you need a computer with an AGP graphics card that is capable of handling Quartz Extreme. Final Cut Server Final Cut Server: Unable to launch the specified application - In some cases the Final Cut Server client application may not open when you double-click the Final Cut Server.jnlp icon or Final Cut Server.app icon. This may happen after switching user accounts or restarting your computer from a volume other than the one you used to download the Java Web Start Final Cut Server client. Soundtrack Pro Soundtrack: How to Configure Digidesign Audio Devices - Learn how to use Digidesign audio devices with Apple's Soundtrack music application. I guess they're talking about Soundtrack Pro here, not Soundtrack, as the original Soundtrack was discontinued 5 years ago. Qmaster Apple Qmaster: Optimizing cluster storage capacity - By default, the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system saves temporary process files in the /var/spool/qmaster directory on the cluster controller's startup disk. Computers in the cluster will access this location as needed. If you are processing large source media files that exceed the available storage space on the startup disk, you may run out of storage space on that disk. Logic Pro / Express Logic 8: How overlapping recordings are assigned to take folders - The Takes feature in Logic Pro/Express 8 is a powerful way to organize multiple recordings of a part in your projects. Here are some tips and explanations of what it will do in various situations. Logic Express 8: Troubleshooting Basics - If Logic Express 8 isn't starting up properly or performing normally, try these basic troubleshooting steps to remedy the situation. Please note that these steps aren't exhaustive, and are not intended to cover any specific issue. They are fundamental, basic steps that are most effective in getting Logic Express 8 into good working order, and are the steps most often suggested by AppleCare Technical Support. Categories: Apple, Software, Final Cut Pro FCS Remover 2.0.2 released  Firstly, the Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Server presets now select Shared Files by default - some users were reporting Software Update listing Pro Application Updates after they'd uninstalled Final Cut Studio but this is because they had not also selected Shared Files. If you do want to maintain compatibility with existing ProApps on your system such as Logic and Shake, use the Maximum Compatibility preset. We added a new preset for Compressor and Qmaster, as these are quite commonly reinstalled. There were also some minor interface tweaks. Finally, some of you have been experiencing errors when you try to update using the automatic updater. That has been fixed in the latest version but if you have the updater problem you will need to update your old version manually here. Categories: DR News, Front Page News, Utilities Using Compressor with multiple cores Welcome to the world of Final Cut Studio 2, which is completely unaware of multiple cores in your system. Hopefully this will change in FCS 3 but in the meantime, here is a trick to using those cores in Compressor. 1. Go to System Preferences and open the Apple Qmaster section.  2. In the Setup tab, click Stop Sharing if Qmaster is already activated.  2. Select QuickCluster if it is not already selected. 3. Under Services, select the service marked Compressor and select the checkboxes for Share and Managed. 3. Then click Options for Selected Service. 4. Select half of the number of cores in your machine i.e. 2 for a 4-core and 4 for an 8-core (this particular machine has only 2) and click Ok.  5. If you are using Shake. Maya or have any other command-line renderer set up with Qmaster, select the Rendering item in the list and click Options for Selected Service. 6. Click the + button and add half as many Local machines as you have cores i.e. 2 for a 4-core and 4 for an 8-core, then click Ok.  7. Under the QuickCluster section, type a name for your new virtual cluster. 7. Click Start Sharing and close System Preferences. 8. In Final Cut Pro, export your sequence as a QuickTime movie. This is important. Do not choose File > Export > Compressor, as this will fail. 9. In Compressor, import the movie, set up your batch and click Submit. 10. Instead of "This machine", select the name of your new cluster in the Cluster list and click Submit. The movie clip will be processed by multiple cores in your machine.  This is called Virtual Clustering, and it is achieved by launching a new version of Compressor for every core. This is much easier from the perspective of Compressor's programmers but it takes up more memory and is less efficient than if they were to implement true multi-core capabilities into the application. So be aware that using this method will require considerably more memory than rendering on a single core. Apple recommends in most cases one process for every two cores, although it all depends on the type of media you are working with and how much memory you have. If you set too many cores and don't have enough memory, your machine would slow down (or worse, crash) thus undoing the whole point of setting up the virtual clusters in the first place. Apple recommends 1 GB RAM per service but again, this depends on the media you are transcoding to. Categories: Apple, Software, Final Cut Pro Why release a 28K camera? Once the excitement of such a large number had worn away, I started to wonder what their strategy was. In a world where the biggest display available (IMAX) maxes out at around 9-10K, what is the purpose of releasing a camera that shoots nearly three times this resolution? The answer can be found by looking back at the RED One. Now here was a camera that bucked the trend in all areas, but particularly the area of workflow. The unique workflow resembled photography more than film, and a lot of its features were designed so that you could be very flexible and change things in post that would normally be baked into the footage of a regular camera. It seems that RED is putting large sensors in its video cameras for the same reason that SLR camera manufacturers are putting ever-larger sensors in their cameras. For a start, it's good for marketing, but more importantly, it offers you increased flexibility. For a long time, still photographers have been taking large photographs and cropping them down to frame the areas they want in the image, without having to make that decision on location. So with RED's 28K camera, you could just sit the camera on a tripod shooting a static wide of the whole scene, add close-ups, zooms and pans in post, and then still be able to release for IMAX. Directors would not be tied to any of the decisions they made on set. Now, to my mind, this would appear to take away some of the skill of filmmaking - following the general trend in which directors are increasingly directing their films in post, rather than on set. But then again, films are not judged on how they are made. If Francis Ford Coppola had made The Godfather the movie it is by sheer accident and luck, that would not change the fact that it is a masterpiece. Still photographers have been doing this for a while and they are not considered any less-skilled because of it. And although such a trend is uncomfortable for the purists like myself - if it results in better movies, this would be a good thing for the industry as a whole. Categories: Industry, Cameras, Analysis RED introduces brand new DSMC systemAt the core of RED's new offerings is the DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera) system. You select the "brain" (sensor and body) of the camera and then mix and match components based on your requirements. You need never buy another whole camera again - just upgrade components as and when they are released. In addition to the previously-announced Mysterium-X sensor capable of recording at 5K, they have developed Mysterium Monstro, which captures at up to 28K. To put things in perspective, IMAX footage is around 10K so that is almost 3x IMAX resolution! It can capture 261 megapixel (MP) still images too, which means that if you printed out an image at 300 dpi, it would cover approximately 77 square feet! Epic "brains" come in large, rugged cases whereas Scarlet ones come in smaller and lighter cases designed for traveling. The "brains" available are: Scarlet models 3K - up to 120 fps with lens * 2/3" Mysterium-X * Comes with fixed 8x lens * This is the original Scarlet announced at NAB * The original price was $3000 but price is now TBD so it could end up lower * Captures stills at 4.9 MP * Fall 2009 3K - up to 120 fps * 2/3" Mysterium-X * Mini-RED, C, B4 mounts * Basically the original Scarlet with the ability to change lenses * Captures stills at 4.9 MP * $2,500 * Summer / Fall 2009 5K - up to 30 fps * S35 Mysterium-X * RED, PL, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 13.8 MP * $7,000 * Spring/Summer 2009 6K - up to 30 fps * FF35 Mysterium Monstro * RED, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 24 MP * $12,000 * Winter 2009 Epic models 5K - up to 100 fps * S35 Mysterium-X * RED, PL, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 13.8 MP * $28,000 * Summer/Fall 2009 6K - up to 100 fps * FF35 Mysterium Monstro * RED, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 24 MP * $35,000 * Winter 2009 9K - up to 50 fps * 645 Mysterium Monstro * RED, Medium Format, Mamiya mounts * Captures stills at 65 MP * $45,000 * Spring 2010 28K - up to 25 fps * 617 Mysterium Monstro * Linhof, Alpa mounts * Captures stills at 261 MP (!) * $55,000 * Spring 2010 But what on earth do you capture that amount of data to? Well, you have a choice of internal memory, special high-speed DSMC CF or SSD modules (most likely a ton of regular CFs or SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration) or, intriguingly, wireless or ethernet transfer. I'm guessing those last two won't be an option for larger resolutions but hopefully you will be able to send out a proxy version for previewing. Oh, and you can also link two together for stereoscopic imaging which is unbelievably awesome. The image shows two Scarlets in stereoscopic configuration but it's not stated whether or not the Epics can do it too (particularly the huge 28K one). That'd be interesting to know. The idea behind the camera is that you swap parts so you could buy a Scarlet and gradually work your way up to a higher model over time without having to re-purchase any extra equipment. This is perfectly possible but it is worth mentioning that some of the models have different lens mounts, and Mysterium-X lenses will not work very well with a Monstro as they are designed for a sensor that is considerably smaller. The only downside is that Scarlet was originally scheduled for release in January 2009 (I forget when Epic was supposed to be released) so these dates have been pushed back. But I think we can all agree it will be worth it in the end. Read more at RED's site. Categories: Cameras, Indie How to reinstall Compressor and Qmaster 1. Download FCS Remover and run it. 2. Select "Compressor and Qmaster Only" as the preset.  3. Click Remove and enter your admin password.  4. Restart your machine, and when it boots up again, empty your Trash. 5. Insert your Final Cut Pro or Logic DVD (I'm using Logic here), ctrl-click on "Install Logic Studio" or "Install Final Cut Studio" and select Show Original.  6. Go into the Packages folder and run Compressor.mpkg (that's .mpkg, not .pkg).  7. When that finishes, run Qmaster.mpkg (again note the "m").  That's it! (Note: I've seen other people recommend Pacifist as a way of installing the files again once they've been removed. Pacifist is a great piece of software but if you make a mistake, it's possible to seriously screw things up unless you know what you're doing. I think this method is a lot safer and less susceptible to user error). Categories: Apple, Software, Final Cut Pro Compressor Repair 1.0.1For the unaware, Compressor Repair is an application that is designed to fix the dreaded "unable to submit batch" error a lot of people have been getting with Apple's Compressor application. It can also fix "stuck" batches that won't progress and can also fix Compressor startup problems if you select the "Trash Preferences" checkbox. We've been receiving a lot of feedback about this application - it's great to hear that it's been useful for a large number of people. Keep the feedback - good and bad - coming in as we always appreciate it. Compressor Repair is completely free and is available here. Click here to see our other applications. Categories: DR News, Front Page News, Utilities Introducing Compressor Repair 1.0.0Basically, if you're unable to submit batches, it's almost certain that qmasterd isn't running. And if it isn't running, that's probably because it's not in your StartupItems folder or it's exiting upon startup due to an error. And most people manage to fix their problems by reinstalling Compressor and Qmaster so that indicates that the problem is due to either missing files or files with incorrect permissions. So Compressor Repair checks for missing files and modifies their permissions if they do not have read access (and write access where necessary). It trashes your Qmaster spool folder, which can be the cause of "stuck" batches, resets Qmaster and launches qmasterd. It can also optionally trash Compressor preferences, which can be the cause of Compressor refusing to load. It is designed for Compressor 3 and both OS X Leopard and Tiger. It is completely free and is available here. As always, we are trying to make the best products we possibly can so we appreciate all feedback you can give. You can email us, report a bug, suggest a feature or use the feedback link at the bottom of every page. Categories: DR News, Front Page News, Utilities 11-5-08: New AppleCare articlesFinal Cut Studio: Switch to higher performance graphics with MacBook Pro (Late 2008) - Learn how to configure the MacBook Pro (Late 2008) for better graphics performance with Final Cut Studio. Motion: QuickTime proxies from RED sometimes import with no audio - Sometimes there may seem to be no audio when you import QuickTime proxies generated by RED cameras or by REDAlert into Motion. This may happen if you import the movie by using the Import button in the File Browser, drag the movie from the File Browser to the Canvas, or drag the movie from the Finder to the Canvas. Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express: Unexpected quit during AVCHD ingest - Final Cut Pro 6 or Final Cut Express 4 may sometimes quit unexpectedly when you attempt to transfer AVCHD media, if the third-party Perian QuickTime component is installed. Final Cut Pro: "AE Effects Error: Unable to find plug-in" warning when opening some projects - You may see the warning dialog "AE Effects Error: Unable to find plug-in..." when you open certain projects in Final Cut Pro. Motion: Higher performance graphics mode may remain active if Compressor is used to transcode Motion projects on MacBook Pro (Late 2008) - When you transcode a Motion project in Compressor on a MacBook Pro (Late 2008), your computer may stay in "Higher performance" graphics mode after the project has been transcoded. This can happen even after you change the graphics setting in the Energy Saver pane in System Preferences to "Better battery life," log out, and then log back in. The Energy Saver pane in System Preferences may report the graphics mode is "Better battery life," but it will still be in "Higher performance" mode. DVD Studio Pro: Authoring a DVD that plays automatically without a menu - Most DVDs are created with at least one menu from which the user can select tracks, other menus, special features, and so forth. In some cases, you may wish to create a DVD that just plays its content without the need for user interaction. Logic Pro: Using DSP powered plug-ins with systems that include nodes - Logic Pro 8 allows you to utilize the processing power of additional computers (nodes) on a Gigabit ethernet network. Most of the plug-ins native to Logic, and many third party Audio Unit plug-ins, can be processed by node computers. Learn more about using DSP powered plug-ins (plug-ins that run from a card or externally connected device, rather than directly from the CPU) and nodes. Pro Application Replacement Serial Numbers - A new serial number can be generated in the event that yours is missing or invalid. Apple requires a valid proof of purchase to request a replacement serial number submitted via fax or email. The following guidelines will help you to determine what is best for you. Categories: Apple, Final Cut Pro
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