5D mark ii workflow in FCPX (proxy editing?)

I am hoping for some advice about workflow using a 5D mark ii and FCPX I have just made the jump from FCP7 to FCPX and I am about to start editing 1.5TB of 5D H.264 footage and an old macbook pro.
As far as I understand the recommended workflow would be
1. On import create prores 422 (optimised media) and proxy media (prores proxy)
2. Edit using the proxy media
3. Finish the project and export using the prores 422 (optimised media)
The problem is, this will use an obscene amount of hard drive space and take about 30 years on my old laptop. most of the material will not make the edit of the final film and it seems like a shame to have a hard drive full of unused prores files.
My question is, would it be possible to go thru the process without creating the prores 422 (optimised media) files until the end and then only transcode the exact media i need? for example as below?
1. Create prores proxy media from my H.264 files.
2. Edit using the proxy files until project is finished.
3. Create prores 422 (optimised media) files of only the exact media in the finished project.
4. do the last colour corrections ect and export a high quality project.
Or are there any other suggestions for the best way to save time and hard drive space whilst still having a smooth editing experience and getting a good quality export.

Greg Buick wrote:
1. On import create prores 422 (optimised media) and proxy media (prores proxy)
2. Edit using the proxy media
3. Finish the project and export using the prores 422 (optimised media)
Don't try to edit the native h.264 material - it's very highly compressed and not designed for editing or colour correcting. Create Proxy media from the camera media, then edit and colour correct with that.
As you select Original or Optimised playback in Preferences BEFORE you export, the export will be at full 'quality'.
This is my pet simple explanation of ProRes 422.
(I was confused by it for years, but a Ripple Training tutorial on MultiCam Editing finally cleared it up for me).
Most video cameras use very high compression to store media on cards or tape. If the native camera files you are working with play back and edit well with FCP X, strictly speaking, you don't need to transcode to ProRes (but it helps - especially if you have multiple camera angles and effects, titles etc - and with colour correction).
If your playback is problematic, it's best to transcode the material. You can do this at any time. ProRes 422 is not so highly compressed as native camera footage, so it's far easier for your Mac to play it back (not so much unpacking to do). The downside of the footage being lightly compressed is that it takes a lot more disk space.
If disk space is at a premium, use Proxy. Native 1920 x 1080 footage becomes 960 x 540 when converted to ProRes Proxy, so it this takes a fraction of the disk space but is much lower quality. This is absolutely fine for editing - but you must remember to choose 'Optimised or Original Footage' in FCP X Preferences before you export otherwise you'll export 960 x 540.
I use some XDCAM EX footage from a couple of Sony EX1 Rs and some H.264 from a Canon 5D mk2. Until recently, I edited the XDCAM footage natively but I transcode the H.264. Now I'm using Proxy more - especially for multicam editing.
I sincerely hope your Projects, Events and Media are on a fast (Firewire 800) external HD (Formatted OS Extended). Keeping them on your system drive makes it difficult for your Mac to operate. It's also a very good idea to hide Audio Waveforms in your Timeline when you don't need them. They waste a lot of processor power.
Andy

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Workflow: AVCHD to Proxy editing (no optimizing), Export from original media. Any disadvantages?

I've been reading AVCHD threads for FCP 7 and now FCP-X for a year or two. I understand the concepts. Now with FCP-X, I don't see any advantages to optimizing media to Apple Pro Res 422 on import. I'd be using the Pro Res Proxy and then ultimately exporting out with the original source files. The Proxy files will make editing fast, the export from source files removes any chance of generation loss, and not optimizing to Pro Res 422 at import will save a ton of backup space over the years. I realize the final export may take a bit longer from the raw AVCHD files vs. from Pro Res 422 media (how long I don't know yet).
Based on this scenario, any good reasons as to why I should be also creating the Apple Pro Res 422 files? Am I missing anything?
Thanks,
Dave
Hardware: Brand New 2011 MacBook Pro i7 17" with external eSata drives.

Harmonica_Lessons wrote:
Questions:
1. When you are ready to export, you MUST switch the playback to Original Material so FCP-X knows not to export with the Proxy files? I've seen posts implying this might be true and also that FCP-X will know to export using the source files and not Proxies.
No. You don't have to do this. Playback is just that, playback. When exporting, FCP X will not use transcoded media as the source. You do of course need to have the original source available/on line for FCP X to access. However, switching back and forth is a simple and quick operation so even if you did have to,
2. Once I set up a new Event and point it to the original source files and create the Proxy files, can I assume that since the Proxies are created, FCP-X won't need to reference the source files again until export time? If this is the case, I can easily work on my laptop's internal drive without lugging around an external drive until I'm finally ready to export.
Yes, this is true. You can either do the method you described (copying the event to/from external to internal drives), or have the event on your laptop with the original source media on the external drive. Proxy media would be generated and stored in the Event folder (on your internal drive) while source media remains on the external drive. Just don't select 'copy into event folder' when importing the source media.

How can I "proxy edit:" a high-definition project?

This is an undocumented process, created by the always amazing Robert Johnston, and a good solution if you find that editing HDV and AVCHD video natively puts too much stress on your system's resources.
Proxy editing temporarily substitutes a sort of preview video for the native files, usually one of lower resolution so that you can work with it more easily. Then, when you output your project, the editing and effects applied to the proxy video are applied to the actual footage, creating a high-definition output.<br /><br />Here is Robert's solution:
I have a custom project preset for 1080i that has an editing mode of 360x270. Anything you render as a preview is only 360x270 "MPEG-2 I-Frame Only." You can create your own and see if it helps with editing.
To create your own, you first pick a project preset by clicking "Setup" on the startup screen displayed by Premiere Elements 4. Select the 1080i 30 or the 1080i 25 project preset from the HDV tree inside the NTSC or PAL nodes. Click the "New Preset" button, then click the "Save" button, then give the custom preset a name and description of your choice. Click "Save as Default." Exit out of Premiere Elements.
Now open up your custom preset with WordPad. The custom preset file will be in the following folder:<br /><br />C:\documents and settings\[login id]\application data\adobe\premiere elements\4.0\settings\custom\
Once you've opened it in WordPad, scroll down past the gibberish until you get to the line with ObjectID="6" and change the PixelAspectRatio from 1920,1080 to 480,360 and change the FrameSize from 1440,1080 to 360,270. Then save the file.
<VideoSettings ObjectID="6" ClassID="58474264-30c4-43a2-bba5-dc0812df8a3a" Version="8">
<MaximumBitDepth>false</MaximumBitDepth>
<PixelAspectRatio>480,360</PixelAspectRatio>
<FrameSize>0,0,360,270</FrameSize>
After saving the file, you can start up PE and create a new project based on that custom preset. Clips you drag to the timeline will look normal sized, but if you render a preview of it, it will only be 360x270. It will look best when magnification is set to "Fit" or 50%.
Add titles, effects, transitions. Then render a preview.
You may not think that this would export correctly, but so far it has worked for me. The only thing that I haven't tried is burning a Blu-ray disc
Titles won't come out correctly if you change framesizes in some of the other ObjectIDs of the custom preset file. Just change the one that I specified.
Hopefully that gives you the idea so you can change the frameszie to something else if you don't like 360x270."

Paul_LS
Thanks for the reply.
I am with you about editng preview file (proxy) instead of the original AVCHD HD1080i or HDV HD 1080i. But, I went off course with your comment:
"Using the proxy you can view the video/effect without rendering" since you do not see the preview file until after you have rendered your edit of the Timeline.
Perhaps my understanding of that will answer the question that I asked about the benefits of using the proxy procedure if the workflow is just import, no edit, export.
ATR

How to use FCPX to edit from multiple cameras and keep audio in sync?

I apologize if this is obvious. I thought I saw a discussion about it in this list already but I cannot find it for the life of me. And I am a relative newbie to video editing. Here's my question/problem.
I film live musical performances using a three-camera setup. Using Final Cut Express, I typically bring the clips into a multi-track timeline and sync the clips to the master audio. Then to create the edit of the performance, I go through the performance and essentially select a camera angle by cutting it out of it's track and dragging it up to a fourth video track. Utlimately, this fourth track (with suitable transitions) becomes the final product.
The point being that it's critical that all three cameras be kept in sync so I can choose whatever angle works best without having to do additional audio sync of any kind.
The question is, is this approach to a synchronized multi-camera edit possible/practical in FCPX? Or is there a different approach/workflow that FCPX encourages that will get the same effect? Otherwise, I cannot see how FCPX will work for any kind of multi-camera project where there is a fixed timeline imposed by the audio track...
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Proxy Editing

Is there any way to set up a proxy file automatically like you can in FCP7 or Edius? I know you can change the playback to 1/4 resolution, but that's just not as nice as playing back a fast, non-high bit rate file... not to mention it's easier to hand off to a long distance editor.

There are other reasons to want proxy editing in a distributed workflow (such as the ability to cut with dailies issued by another department, which happens all the time in CGI). Multicam in Premiere is a particular issue that I acknowledge the MPE cannot cope with as well as customers expect it should - even on the machines that currently top the PPBM tables you won't be multicamming 8 shots of 4K RAW.
Going back a couple of years I would agree with your proposition that a 'pro' user will have the funds to invest in both the software and the hardware, but you have to remember that the customer landscape has changed completely with CC. We now have a vast community of users whose total outlay for CS6 is a few dollars for a monthly subscription, and the capital investment in an editing workstation and RAID array is often beyond their means. Some CC customers might only use Premiere a few times a year, and even with budgets available there's no commercial justification for them to buy Harm's Monster.
Does that imply that for some people, Adobe's decision to include 'pro' applications in a 'prosumer' rental service was a road to nowhere? Yes. Does it mean that those customers who would like to use CC on high-end but consumer-spec machines should be told they're wishing for the impossible? No - so this thread needs to steer away from any implications that customers are second-class. I'm not saying we will get proxies in the next release, but asking for them is perfectly OK and sensible.
joe bloe premiere wrote:
Proxy editing is a practice only required if an editing system is
incapable of a fluid editing experience with demanding media types.
As a long time professional doing 'real work', one thing I accept
is that I will need to constantly upgrade hardware... including the
expectation of completely replacing my primary editing system
every 24 to 36 months.
Saying "buy a better computer' is the reality of professional work if
one intends to maintain pace with constantly advancing capabilities.

Proxy editing in Adobe Premiere Pro CS3?

Hey all.
I understand proxy editing is a method by which the user does all of his/her editing with lower quality footage, and then all of the edits/effects/transitions/etc are applied to higher quality footage when the project is rendered. Does Premiere Pro CS3 support this feature? If so, how do I use it?

Perhaps, but not in my case. I'm doing my editing on the following rig:
Alienware Area-51 m5790:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 (2.16 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 4 MB L2)
ATI Mobility Radeon X1900 (400 MHz Core / 470 MHz Memory, 256 MB, PCIe)
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I just read the great post on how to proxy edit with version 7 at http://forums.adobe.com/thread/390600?tstart=0, but I cannot find a way to save a preset with Premiere Elements 10 so I could then modify it to display previews in low-res and output in full HD. The online help from the program mentions "creating" presets, but then only describes how to slelect existing presets. Can anyone tell me how to make a new project preset, or better yet, if there is a built-in way to proxy edit with 10? Thanks!

jjenkinsnm
For reasons that I have not figured out, your last message arrived as an email notification of an Adobe post, but it is not posted in your thread yet. In that post you wrote:
The properties for the clips shows:
Type: MPEG Movie
Image Size: 1920x1080
Frame Rate: 23.976
The Interpret Footage settings show under Frame Rate the radio button for Use frame rate from file: 23.9750 is selected, and under Pixel Aspect Ratio the radio button for use pixel aspect ration from file is selected.
I never received a message to change the project preset.
As a test, I imported a clip that was shot at 1920x1080 30fps and added it to the timeline. I did not receive an error message, but this clip also has a red line above it on the timeline (as do the 24 fps clips).
Thanks for the help AT and SG.
Based on the information supplied, I cannot see a reason why your video should be displaying with a red line over its content
IF
a. Your project preset = NTSC DLSR 1080p DLSR 1080p30 @ 23.97
b. You are dragging the import (1080p @ 23.7 progressive frames per second) from Media to Timeline as the first video to be placed on that Timeline
Please review these criteria and let us know if you spot anything that you have as not consistent with a and b.
Keep in mind, when you bring in a file that is 1080p30 into this project set for 1080p24, you would expect to get a red line over the 1080p30 content since there is a mismatch between file and the project settings.
Another important matter that I am not clear on...is your problem only in previewing? Or does the problem go to previewing as well as exported product?
Thanks.
ATR
Add On: After I submitted this post, I saw that your post which I found missing previously is now displaying in your thread.

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Tom does it make any difference if I'm Color Correcting and Rendering final video with AVCHD as opposed to ProRes. I'm looking into using a Proxy wrkflow in order to save space on drives.
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A

That is great thanks
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5D mark ii workflow in FCPX (proxy editing?)

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