"EASY SET-UP?! EASY MY AR-.." (Final Cut Pro 7, Easy Set-Up for logging and capturing
I know this seems like an obvious one, but it's only really obvious if you know it, if that makes any sense..
If you've shot your footage in standard definition (DV - "digital video") and you're capturing footage that was shot in the UK, on a UK camera that you intend to play back on devices in the UK then you want to use PAL ("Phase Alternating Line".. don't worry, there won't be a test at the end..). So, as I'm sure you've worked out by the subtle use of bold, you're going to select DV PAL.
If you shot your footage in high definition (HD .. makes a bit more sense than DV, doesn't it?) and it was on a full HD camera*, you'd be using either 1080i (1080 means that in 16:9** the image is 1080 pixels tall) or 1080p (i is "interlaced scan" and p is "progressive scan", that bit's really geeky but there's links at the end). The frame resolution (e.g. 1080) and the scan type (i/p) is usually written on your camera somewhere and on a lot of cameras it will also show it on screen when playing footage back.
So in short, check on the camera or on screen to see if it's 1080i, or 1080p.
Finally, you need to know your field rate (measured in Hz). Typically it'll be 60Hz, but if 60 doesn't work, give 50 a go. But if you've got the paperwork, check it, it might be written in there, RTFM***.
SO, You know it'll be in HD and if it's in full HD it'll be either 1080i or 1080p and the field rate will either be 60Hz or 50hz.
So, if you were say, at Bedford College using one of our full HD cameras*, you'd be shooting at 1080, it's interlaced and has a field rate of 60Hz. You'd want HD 1080i60.
Now to select it in FCP7 is easy, hence "Easy Setup".
1) Presuming you've got FCP open already, go to the top left where it says "Final Cut Pro", click on it and go down to "Easy Setup"
2) You can either use the first drop down ("Format") to filter your options or just use the second drop down ("Use") to just select your settings. Look above for examples of what each part means. If you've shot on a UK camera in standard def' then you're looking at DV PAL (in America it's DV NTSC) or if you've shot it in HD it'd be a variation on HD 1080i60 (at Bedford College, it is exactly that).
3) Click "Set-up" and then you're good to log and capture.
There you have it, remember to set-up your scratch disks before you capture though!
Links and asterisks belowww..
*A full HD camera will shoot at 1080, which is 1920 pixels wide by 1080 tall.
A camera shooting at 720 (1280 pixels x 720 pixels) is also considered a HD camera, but obviously, with less pixels, the resolution is a lot lower than it's 1080 counterparts and therefore doesn't look as crisp.
**16:9 is an aspect ratio, it's infact the most common aspect ratio. And basically all it means is that the proportions of the image will be 16:9.. so if you had a display that was 32 inches wide, it'd be 18 inches tall.
*** http://tinyurl.com/7zq93nm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080i
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16:9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_rate
Consider yourself completely over-geeked about the situation.
andulkaphoto
blakekathryn
prguitarman
turnnoffyourmind
yousharknotpass
jacobvanloon
dailybridgerton
ellievsbear
pixelskylines
