Rough Cut Editor for Final Cut Server

Hi everyone,
we are working on a Rough Cut Editor for Final Cut Server.
I'd like to know what you think about it and put a short video about its usage on my site at
http://www.andre-aulich.de/en/perm/consol-rough-cut-editor-video
Any feedback would be very much appreciated!
Regards,
André

Hi guys,
in addition to getting in touch with you personally, I'd like to answer some questions in public:
LAN vs WAN
==========
The RCE in its current form is primarily built to be used in a LAN.
This is because you need both the Final Cut Server client as well
as the RCE client to connect to a central server using the ports
3000, 80, 8821, and 8891.
In addition, we currently suppose the Edit Proxy folder to be an
edit-in-place device, so you need to open port 548 if you use AFP
for that. We might change that, but you still need the FCSvr client
to connect to your server.
That said, we currently consider the RCE to be run in a local network.
FEATURES
======
We are not planning to build a server ingest app, as there are other guys
building these kinds of apps.
A standalone version of the RCE without Final Cut Server connectivity would
be easy to write, yet, we like to use FCSvr's proxies for preview, as this way
low bandwidth (meaning non-Fibre Channel) to the viewing stations is
sufficient.
So today there's the RCE in its current form...
AVAILABILITY
===========
We are doing our final testing and hope to release the app within
the next two weeks.
As we need to install some tools on a server and have a look at its
environment, we would currently install the RCE ourselves, usually
through a remote connection.
Yet, we already consider having selected partners to implement the
RCE as well.
Currently there's no beta program being planned, as we do our
testing at a customer site, where we hope to evaluate the app
quite comprehensively.
I hope that answers some questions.
For more questions, please feel free to get in touch with me.
André

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Does a QMaster Cluster really make sense for Final Cut Server?

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I often am, but my understanding of the difference between setting up a "Cluster" and just using "This Machine" is the cluster allows multiple jobs to be processed simultaneously, while an unmanaged system will only do one job at a time. However, when it does that one job, it uses all the system's processors.
Yesterday I created a cluster consisting of two Quad Core Intel systems, and started Final Cut Server cataloging about a half a TB of data. I noticed that Server submits the Proxy render jobs one at a time, and that the jobs were being submitted to only one processor core, in a rotating fashion. Is there a way to make FCServer submit jobs in "parallel," or am I better off with using just the local system for transcoding?

The default proxy transcode setting seems to be specifically tuned to work at a small scale, which makes sense if you are asking a box to host the database, serve the app, and do all the proxy transcodes. I observed the same phenomenon, so I made my own transcode setting for proxies and I chose to lower the bitrate a bit to help with file size and transfer time. The upside is the floodgates are wide open when my 32 core Xeon cluster (four 8-cores) goes to town on a proxy encoding job.
Your other observation is also right, that only one item is encoded at a time across the cluster rather than working on all of them at once across the cluster. So what you get with a fast cluster is shorter encode time, not parallel encodings that all finish at the same time.
If you have the spare machines to dedicate to cluster work, I strongly endorse setting up that way. I would not recommend Quick Clusters for Final Cut Server encoding duty. Either set up a dedicated Managed Cluster that FCSvr can use or none at all.

IMovie08 as a rough cut editor for FCE4?

Hi All,
(I know there was a reference by Euisung Lee on this topic but no replies are currently allowed hence this new post...)
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5317430
I'm interested in the experience of anyone using iMovie08 as a rough cut editor for FCE4.
Why do I want to do this?
* I love the sheer speed of putting together videos, even lengthy ones, in iM08.
* Also the integration with the iApps
* Love having an accessible skimmable library of all my DV
What I can't really live with in iM08...
* The poor titling facilities
* I've been trying the titling workaround noted in Karsten Shluter's website (ie. import a semi transparent TIFF or PNG from Photoshop and drag it onto clips). This works great except for one of my key projects where iM08 accepts the image file as normal, but doesn't display any overlayed image in the viewer.
* Also concerned about the loss in quality on export (for DV files)
So...I'm thinking about the following workflow...
a) import DV to iM08 (no loss in quality)
b) within iM08, perform rough cut video selections, and intersperse with image files from iPhoto (gives a documentary feel with video + stills)
c) export XML to FCE4
...I understand in this step that audio, transitions, KBE, adjustments, titles etc is lost in this process, but I'm assuming that the cuts and also the interspersed photos are retained
d) so then in FCE4 perform the titling, KBE on the photos, edit the audio and do any effects such as slowmo etc...
I'm hoping this is a 'best of both worlds' solution in that I keep the speed factor in pulling together the backbones of the project, but also gain the functionality of FCE4 for the other components.
My questions
1. Does this work effectively - has anyone tried it? Any traps which would make it more cumbersome than I'm anticipating?
2. Does FCE4 need to re-import or convert the original DV clips referenced by the iM08 XML. Does this duplicate the source files? Is there any loss of quality in the files then used in FCE4.
3. Following from #2, will the export quality from FCE4 be superior to what I'm currently getting in iM08? (Noting that the majority of my output needs to end up as a DVD...not yet living in Steve J's DVD-less world yet)
4. Has anyone run into the same titling/image overlay problems as I'm having with iM08.
A big thanks to the regulars who provide a huge source of great info here for us all...

Hi Joey,
thanks for appreciating my post ..
.. do you think using iM08 as a rough cut editor in this way could work?
I guess, that is a way..
when iM08 araised, in one of my posts, I said, skimming would be on my wishlist for FCE4 .. skimming is, imho, excellence in UI design.. a 'switchable' timelne in FCE (skimming mode/timeline mode) would really speed up editing.. (if speed is an issue )
.. it appears that this workflow would also get me around the iM08 export quality issue.
as far as I understand the process, there's no loss in quality in this process.. the xml is just 'in-/out data' (like Midi in audio processing) and you transfer/clone the raw imports from iMEvents to FCEproject... I'm not indepth will this workflow, I guess, you double the data = hdd space issues.. but, +you never have enough space while doing video+ ...
.. It sounds like putting KBEs into photos is harder in FCE than iM08
I'd like to phrase 'different' ..
less intuitive, but with much more options (e.g. rotation, transparencies, multi pic, drop shadows ...) and with more control (e.g. no automatic 'smoothing'/acceleration as in KB/iM, creating 'paths' of movement .. .)
with some craftmanship, you could create a slideshow looking like those 'Themes' in iMHD6/iDVD ...
fo sure harder, but imho .. better ...
.. _I assume_ that FCE4 would operate in the same way as FCE3.5
me too, vers3.5. here, no hands-on on vers4 ...

How to publish Motion 5 templates with another editor's Final Cut Pro x

How to publish Motion 5 templates with another editor's Final Cut Pro x

That's also simpel,
Let the Motion 5 designer deliver the map that he made. For example he made a title effect with the title "We Are Awesome Company Title" than you get that map after the head "Effects" map. So he must send that map with all the stuff in it to an editor and the editor place that map in Motion Templates -> Effects.
Restart Final Cut Pro X and there you go.

Character Generator Editor in Final Cut Pro

At work I spent a good 30 minutes trying to find the Character Generator Editor in Final Cut Pro and could not find it. I would like for someone on here to help me to find it and list the steps in order to put text on video. On time I saw somebody using it but I could not help someone in knowing where it is.

In the VIEWER, you'll see an "A" in a film strip below the picture area. That is a drop down menu. In there is where you'll find the text generators. The built in one called TEXT stinks. Don't use it. You want to go to the BORIS menu and choose TITLE 3D.
Shane

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I'm a newbie so forgive my ignorance.
I have a mid 2010 iMac and I would like to hook it to my HD insignia TV to view playback for Final Cut content.
I just need to know which method is the best (VGA, Mini DV, Hdmi, etc)
What cords & adapters do I need?
I'm running OS X mountain Lion with Final Cut Pro X.
Insignia 32inch HD TV model # NS-32LB451A11 (rev A)
Thanks!

Oh. I also have a Cakewalk US-25 EX 24bit 96 kHz sound card too.

Mac Pro for Final Cut Studio -- The Buying Guide

I am starting to think about upgrading my "old" Power Mac G5 Quad system to a Mac Pro system. As you might expect, this raises several issues.
What I do: I edit DV and HDV on FCS2. My specs are below. I am looking for the best speed (especially for rendering), stability and video quality I can afford (between $5,000 and $6,000).
Question 1: Is it true that Snow Leopard and FCP 7 are about a year away? If so, please assume for the following questions that I would be working with the full complement of FCS2 applications on the Leopard OS. (How worth waiting for do you think these are?)
Question 2: Without directing me to the various benchmark and testing sites (which I’ve already looked at), can you suggest the actual performance differences I would see (again, using the whole range of FCS2 apps) in the following:
Two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors
Two 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors
Question 3: I have heard that (with the exception of Compressor) FCS can only use a maximum of 4GB of RAM, and that the 6GB that the Mac Pro ships with are already more than it can use. Is this true? Is it true that Snow Leopard would allow FCS to make greater use of more RAM? And would this show up in the programs’ performance?
Question 4: To get the best video performance with my various FCS2 applications, is there a significant quality improvement in moving up from the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB to one of the other video cards? How would I notice a difference in the quality?
Question 5: Are there any other purchasing considerations I should think about when configuring a new Mac Pro?
Thanks a lot.
Giraut

Well, well, well, you make me think more about my last upgrade of an ATI Radeon 2600 to the latest ATI Radeon HD 4870!
I was looking on the Final Cut Pro thread to find one answer and look what I found, your questions!
Since yesterday night I was seeking the Apple Support threads just for fun and I now have doubts.
I am a Mac Pro (earlier 2008) owner. I upgraded it to 4 x 1.5 Tb Seagate hard drives and 10G of RAM from OWC (Other Word Computing). First let me tell you NOT to buy from Apple Store for your hard drive and/or memory upgrade. They are totally out of price list. I got my Mac Pro first with one 500 Gb Seagate drive. Then I added 2 x 500 Gb hard drives from Apple. I payed them 199,00 $ each
Last September, I upgraded the drive bays with 4 x 1.5 Tb from OWC. I paid them 229.00 $ each!
199,00 $ for 500 Gb or 229,00 $ for 1.5 Tb (that"s 3 times 500 Gb) which one would you take? And we are talking about two models from Seagate running at 7200 RPM, with 32 Mb of buffer.
I mean... What is that?!!?
And the memory! Don't even think about it.
I got first 4GB Matched Set (2 x 2GB) for 147,99 $ in September from OWC and my second order was 4GB Matched Set (2 x 2GB) for 132,79 $ in October.
I payed a total of 280,78 $ for 8GB of RAM while the price for this upgrade on Apple Store woul have cost me 1998,00 $
*+Source Apple Store :+*
*+Apple Memory Module 4GB 800MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM ECC 2x2GB $999.00+*
Multiply that by 2!
Now how much memory would you need?
I am not a Final Cut Pro user, but I use Final Cut Express a lot, with animation QuickTime movies exported from my Astronomy software Starry Night Pro Plus.
Yesterday I posted this into a thread to answer a user :
+Every morning I have my preferred applications started: Mail, Safari, iTune, Aperture and Final Cut Express. I just did a test for you. I started Mail, Safari, Aperture, Final Cut Express, Starry Night Pro Plus (OpenGL Astronomy Software), Terminal, Quicktime, TextEdit and NeoOffice.+
+With all these apps running, I still have 6.48G of Free RAM out from the 10G installed!+
+It's when I start hungry applications like VMWare Fusion running Windows XP, or Quicktime with a lot of movies opened that I could see the memory level going low!+
+Your bottle neck in video editing will probably be the video card, after the disk speed. Be sure to use 7200 RPM disk and eSATA for your video plans if possible. Firewire 800 will works fine on external drive but it could giggle. I had an ATI Radeon HD 2600 that I recently upgraded to an ATI Radeon HD 4870. the drivers aren't ready yet from Apple. We are all waiting for the next OS X release 10.5.7 for the drivers! For now, I am running on Beta drivers.+
+It's hard to say by now if I have better performance into Final Cut Express because the movie I was working on was an animation movie using plans exported from Starry Night Pro Plus via Quicktime and "animation" codec without any compression. As soon as I make a modification, I still have to render the output for smooth playing.+
Now, after some test with Starry Night Pro Plus this morning, I can safety say that Starry Night Pro Plus with Open GL does use my video card extra speed and that my experience navigating into the Universe is much better and smooth.
But honestly, even if I have to admit that I am using the Beta drivers for the HD 4870, I must say that I have very big doubt that Final Cut Express does use the extra power of the HD 4870 compare to the HD 2600!
In fact, I am searching the support thread for this answer.
Does anyone can say if Final Cut Express or Final Cut Pro does make use of the extra hardware feature of the ATI Radeon HD 4870 or not?

Clean install Leopard or Tiger for Final Cut 2 on my g5?

Hi, I currently have the previous final cut on my g5, on a Tiger operating system. I just got the new Final Cut 2, and I'm going to do a clean install of the OS to have everything running as smooth as possible. Will Leopard speed things up (or slow things down) for Final Cut 2, or should I just reinstall Tiger with Final Cut 2?
Thanks

My biggest concern isn't rendering, it's overall playback performance in final cut pro.
Also, I'm curious as to how much slower motion 3 will be then motion 2 will be, and if motion 3 would run faster or the same in leopard and tiger. If I'm not mistaken I believe motion performance is quite dependent on the graphics card. I have an ATI 256 meg card that ran motion 2 acceptably in tiger, though I'm wondering how motion 3 in leopard will be in comparison (with the same video card and g5)
Thanks

My HD died on my iMac. I replaced it and lost everything that was on it. I found my source disks from my original purchase for Final Cut Express HD 3.5. I now have Maverick ISO and it will not let me load my software so I can continue my film work. ???

My HD died on my iMac. I replaced it and lost everything that was on it. I found my source disks from my original purchase for Final Cut Express HD 3.5. I now have Maverick ISO and it will not let me load my software so I can continue my film work. How do I get it too recover it without paying for it again since I paid for it already and have projects in progress that need to be completed?

1) Partition your hard drive or add an external drive and install Snow Leopard (with the Optional Rosetta) into it and then you can dual-boot (System Preferences:Startup Disk) into Snow Leopard and run FCE 3.5 there.
2) Use one of the following methods to install FCE 3.5 into Mavericks:
a) Pacifist: http://www.charlessoft.com/
b) Jeremy Johnstone's Terminal method: http://www.jeremyjohnstone.com/blog/2012-03-11-installing-final-cut-pro-studio-2 -0-on-mac-os-x-10-7-lion.html
Reports on this forum seem to confirm that Final Cut Studio 2 will continue to operate in Mavericks once it is functionally installed, albeit some plug-ins may fail to function. FCE 3.5 is the same generation as FCS2, and presumably will continue to operate in Mavericks, as well.

Where can I find a full manual for final cut pro 6?

I'm trying to learn final cut because I haver an amature film making contest I'd like to enter and that would give me quite an edge, considering most of the intries will be using movie Could someone help me find a full manual or something that would assist in this indevor? I do only have final cut 6 because I am using my schools imac and that is ther vertion they have. so, can anyone help?

You should ask your question in the Final Cut Studio forum.
This forum is for Final Cut Pro X.

WHAT IS THE BEST VIDEO CARD FOR FINAL CUT PRO and MOTION?

Hello folks,
I have found a lot of posts regarding all kinds of troubles with ATI READEON X1900 video card.
When I talked to people from Apple, trying to decide which videocard to install in new MAC PRO, Ati Radeon X1900 was the one they did recommand for FCP and Motion. So are there any other cards which would actually suite better for Final Cut Studio2, or is Ati Radeon X1900 really the one to go with?
Thanks for any suggestions,
Kootenay

Techreport has some more information on the new 55nm Radeon (X3000) which should be another "mid November" releases, as well as an updated 8800 GT that still is under wraps.
So seems Intel and everyone else is trying to get new products out before the end of the year, if possible.
Drivers for graphics controllers may or may not need the work that sometimes seems to plague companies.

Can I add a secondary location for Final Cut Pro Documents?

Hi Guys,
I'm working on a large project which has taken up most of my 2tb hard drive which I use for my final cut pro documents (capture scratch, render files etc). Is it possible if I plug in another hard drive to use that as a secondary location for final cut pro documents as I have other (smaller) projects which I could be uploading and working on in the mean time? If so, how is this achieved and what are the pros / cons?

Sure -- go to Final Cut Pro menu on your menu bar and select System Settings.
The first tab is SCRATCH DISKS -- that's the term too -- not secondary folder for FCP Documents.
Change it there.
Drawbacks...
It has been a while since I've had to deal with this, but FCP used to not remember (feature or bug??) a project's original scratch disk location and if you change it for ONE project it will be changed for ALL future AND past projects... until you change it back.
Now, that in itself isn't a BAD thing. All that that means is that if you continue to capture material into that old project it will now put it over here instead of over there. Also, other things like render files and such which won't really matter much unless they do... and now you've got stuff spread over a coupla drives.
FCP's projects don't care. They've already mapped where they need to go to get the video and render files it needs. Move your Scratch Disk 33 times... won't make a difference to the browser and timeline. -- UNTIL you remove one of the important drives. THEN red lines galore! Un renders, missing files... messy messy messy!
Much better to start and finish a project in scratch disk. Makes for easy cleanup. Kinda like cooking thanksgiving dinner (American??) in 5 houses at once.
Good luck,
CaptM

Canon EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro Now Available...

There's been so much talk about the 5D, 7D, 550D on this board that I'm going to point to the EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro. This is supposed to speed to transcode of Canon Camera H.264 to FCP-friendly formats and let you add more metadata along the way.
Enjoy!
Canon webpage. Under Drivers & Downloads. Once you select your OS, "Mac OS X", the download should appear near the top of the "Software" list.
Note: (from Quickstart Guide)
This plug-in software allows you to convert MOV movies shot with an EOS Digital camera into ProRes files at high speed in the (Log & Transfer) window of Apple's Final Cut Pro.
FWIW: The quick start guide says cameras involved are 7D, 5D, 1D, no mention of 550D. Sort of odd.

For users in North America to make the Canon EOS REBEL T2i work (550D for Europe):
1. Install the new Canon EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...nloadDetailAct)
2. Go to Library/Application Support/ProApps/MIO/RAD/Plugins/CanonE1.RADPLug/Contents/Resources/
2. Open up cameras.plist
3. After the 7D info add the following lines of code (keeping to the coding structure):
<key>T2i</key>
<array>
<string>Canon EOS REBEL T2i</string>
</array>
4. Save the text file. Close it. Everything should work now.
Cheerz.

Following Media Files Are Not Optimized For Final Cut Pro

I'm sure you've seen this before and I've tried to search for a thread on it here and fell asleep, so sorry if this is a repeat.
I have edited projects in Premiere Pro (on my PC) and I have tried to transfer them in FCP. It worked with the exception of two things:
1. the error message, "Following Media Files Are Not Optimized For Final Cut Pro"
2. the quality *****! watching it on the playback in FCP it looks great, but then when I burn it to Disc it's pixelated in spots and generally has a lower quality picture.
I know that it's Standard Def. and can't expect the best, but I've done it before (once or twice) and it didn't seem this bad.
Can someone suggest anything to help the quality? Should I run my AVIs through MPEG Steamclip to make it a QT file and if so what is the best format in that since there are many to choose from and most I'm not familiar with?
Thank you,
Crayton

I did compress them to DV NTSC then burned it to DVD and the result was no bueno.
I thought what I would do is try compressing them again before I send them on over to DVDSPRO. Here is a simplified break down of the situation:
- I have edited the raw footage in Premiere Pro on my PC. They were recorded and captured as SD.
- I rendered them in Premiere, then transfered the rendered AVI file to FCP.
- When went to place the files in FCP, I received the warning message; "Following Media Files Are Not Optimized For Final Cut Pro" but I went forward anyways and it allowed me to do so.
- Originally I went ahead and compressed them from FCP to QT Movie as a DV NTSC, which ended up poorly.
- Therefore my question is, should I compress them using another file type (other then DV NTSC)? Which leads me to another program that I have called MPEG Streamclip, which offers tons of file types of which I am unfamiliar with most. I want the best quality of course but don't know what file type is the highest going from AVI to a format that can be accepted by FCP and ultimately DVDSPRO. Keeping in mind that I only have FCP5 and do not have Prores.
Did that make sense?
Thank you again,
Crayton

Which firewire interface for Final Cut Pro on MacPro?

I currently own a Presonus Firepod, and it seems to work pretty well, but may sell this when I upgrade from a MacMini to a MacPro. I use my Mac for Logic Pro currently.
I anticipate running Final Cut Pro in the near future, so I'm wondering about the ability to read/generate SMPTE time code that the MOTU traveller supplies?
There will be no external mixer, so this interface will connect directly to speakers & headphones. (would be nice to be able to mute speakers and control headphone mix using just the firewire interface).
I don't anticipate needing more than 2 Mic inputs - and my current mike is a Rode NT1. (As the NT1 is not a top-of-the-line mic, unsure if I should place a lot of emphasis on worrying about the pre-ams?)
I would like decent mic preamps, and ability to graphically monitor input and output levels (is this graphic monitoring necessary, or is just the single overload indicator sufficient?).
Which interfaces in $600-$1500 range would work best with Final Cut Pro - and Logic Pro?

I saw the Traveller ads in Videography mentioning
time code, so I presumed it had an advantage over
other interfaces.
I found this in some ad copy:
"""The Travler provides on-board SMPTE time code synchronization features that allow you to slave your Traveler system to SMPTE time code without a synchronizer. The Traveler provides a DSP-driven phase-lock engine with sophisticated filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub-frame accuracy. The included MOTU SMPTE Console software provides a complete set of tools to generate SMPTE for striping, regenerating or slaving other devices to the computer."""
So it likely uses an audio port for timecode I/O. However, unless you have external equipment that you want to slave to Logic Pro, (or have Logic slave to) e.g. a timecode DAT, then this really is not necessary. FCP would not see the Travaller as a "controllable" device.
For Final Cut Pro use, I'd probably shoot in HDV.
When shooting a green screen near my computer (or
maybe even on-site), I wondered if there would be an
advantage to recording the audio thru an interface
like the traveller.
The advantage is that you could capture additional mics and audio tracks with your mac while the cameras shoot. Just slate your takes and sync up later.
Do I actually need an interface that provides time
code, or is that only needed for movie work?
I have SMPTE I/O on my Unitor8, directly accessable in Logic Pro. In 8 years I've probably used it twice to capture audio from some modular digital multitracks. So, unless you have some specific need.....
Maybe it is simpler just to connect to the mic
directly to the camera's input?
Indeed. You should always have camera audio available. Anything else is supplemental. Alternatively, you could use the Travaller or RME, etc. as a "live to camera" mixer in a studio situation. Plug your mics into the interface, create a submix and send it to the camera while simultaneously capturing each mic to an individual track in Logic Pro. There are many possibilities.
G5 QuadPPC2.5, Ram:12.5g, Magma PCIe-PCI expansion Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2X Hammerfall DSP Digiface+Multiface, Digi 002r, 4X UAD-1

Rough Cut Editor for Final Cut Server

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