EDIUS 6

Will not go into it too much but if you are looking to cut up those native AVCHD or Canon H.264 files with ease and without having to convert them to some other format to edit, then go and download the new version of EDIUS 6.

I am using an old PC still and it still does the job with ease and at full resolution, it can even output to a monitor full screen at full res.

You can even move a transparent logo around the screen or adjust the colour correction real-time as the timeline is playing lol

Throwing a heap of different video formats on the timeline is no problems too.

Does it edit .r3d files too? Constantly transcoding for FCP is really slowing down edits. It was great when working in HDV as it would handle that no problem, but now the preparation alone can take hours before you even start editing which is not so great when you're on the clock....

Can't believe that I'm actually thinking about getting a PC again....

Simon,

What cam are you using that is producing the .r3d files? I have been having no issues with transcoding taking too long and I am wondering what your problem may be. My guess is that you're in Studio 3. An alternative is that if you have FCP X, it transcodes and optimizes very quickly and then, if desired, you can simply import the optimized clips into FCP7.

Steve

Transcoding, what's that :-)

.r3D files are from a RED camera?

I am downloading a sample file to see how it cuts it up but it cannot import the raw files by the looks.

Need to run it through REDCINE-X then output to tif image sequence.

Will see if my old PC clunker can handle it.

Yeah r3d are the raw RED files. Just checking for alternatives for when my little Scarlet arrives! They are talking about FCPX being to edit it natively 'next year sometime'. How does FCPX handle H264 files from your 7D Steve? If it can handle both natively without any messing around it could be an option I'd consider again.

Cheers, Simon

OKAY red files are a pain to do.

Will try virtual Dub next as that will let me render out an AVI instead of an image sequence.

I also tried out AE 5.5 and its warp filter.

Video clip of walking through the rainforest.

The 90 second Raw Canon 60D video clip took like 20 minutes to run through AE.

Then I had to render out an Canopus HQ AVI on top of that. lol

Playing that Canopus HQ file and the raw Canon one in the NLE which I dropped a Mercalli 2.0 shake filter onto, I could not see any real difference, if anything the AE clip had some funny movements in places but so did the other.

Dropping the Mercalli 2.0 shake filter to the same raw 60D file on the timeline took about 2.5 minutes to render and away it went.

I then rendered out two DVD MPEG 2 SPEC files and played then at the same time on two of the same screens driven by the same graphics card, even pausing i could not see any quality difference.

So going by that, 2.5 minutes to wait in the timeline compared to +20 minutes messing around in AE.... I shall be uninstalling AE 5.5

Simon, Avid Media Composer 6 and Adobe CS5.5 works natively. Only problem is Media Composer 6 works only on 10.7, which for me doesn't work well enough to be my main OS.

I (and a few other editor friends) routinely use Windoze CS5.5 to render stuff. It's faster than on OSX. OSX is better as an OS but as a workstation, Windoze (once barred from the internet) is faster for most things. CS5.5 multithreading in OSX is not as broad based as Windoze.

Just checking for alternatives for when my little Scarlet arrives!

Cheers, Simon

Slipped that in again Mr Spear and for those who didn't know because of Simons on going 'Scarlet' gushing, he and his lovely lady Zoe have just had a handsome little boy, Oliver... I'm sure there will be two cots for both Simons proud new arrivals

Dean

Hey Simon,

Congrats on the new arrival....what a trade to consider...either a 'Scarlet' or 4 years worth of diapers. Hmmmm....maybe you can rename her 'Scarlet' and you can have both.

While FCP X has a lot of growing up to do, it handles the H.264 files beautifully...and quickly as well. No issues whatsoever.

Steve

Two Scarlets, I can see that working for Simon nicely.

Steve last time I was on the boat I was cutting up AVCHD, Canon Mov's and HDV with CC all on the same timeline with my little i5 laptop.

Then the 45 minute edit took about 1 hour to render out both me PAL and NTSC files for the DVD's

Can FCPX do that?

Using virtual dub, you can batch convert the RED file to Canopus HQX but its slow.

I then opened up a 4096/2304 timeline and tried editing that file, even on my old computer here it nearly plays real-time.

With a i7 Sandy Bridge CPU it would no problems.

For fun I dropped a 1920/1080 clip on the timeline too, its looks small lol

Anyhow cannot see myself with a 4K camera any time soon.

Anyhow cannot see myself with a 4K camera any time soon.

I was thinking about that as well, do I actually need one? Even if I had the money I don't think I'd get one as there is no real need, for me, to have one. I like the look of the F3 and the Canon C300 ... But then again, like me, it's just something else sat in the office just looking good

Dean

Wagsy,

I don't know anyone yet who is an expert in all things FCP X. However, for my first, as yet uncompleted project in X, I imported H.264 from the Canon, some AVCHD clips from a friends small Sony cam and HDV. It imported and optimized anything that needed it all at one time and didn't seem to me to take too long. The real reason I did this in X was to force myself to learn it. Of course, it would be much easier for me to move quicker in FC7 but as X grows, I want to be along for the ride. There is still much I have to learn and get used to with it. I do have some old files shot on one of the first Red Ones to come out, will import them and see how they're handled.

Steve

Dean, you have to spend all your toy money on your little girl now.

Hey Steve, so you are saying when it optimized it you mean transcoded it into some other codec for editing.

Like can you just dump the raw files into the bin or timeline and edit or you have to wait?

Dean, you have to spend all your toy money on your little girl now.

 

Hey Steve, so you are saying when it optimized it you mean transcoded it into some other codec for editing.

Like can you just dump the raw files into the bin or timeline and edit or you have to wait?

Wagsy

You can dump it in the timeline and whatever transcoding (if you choose to "optimize" imports) is done in the background. So you can start correcting and editing. I have used mixed timelines with Canon 5D Mark II footage and HDV footage. Also started playing with ACHDV now. Not saying it is perfect, but easier than Final Cut 7 in that respect. Also I prefer using an external eSata Drive or another internal SATA drive. On the laptop internal drive (just started playing) not quite as effective, but have not fully put it through the paces.

Hi Drew

Right so if you turn off background transcoding can it edit the files as is then?

Transcoding them into another codec (ProRes) means massive more space taken up and then you end up having two files of everything.

Plus it's using up your CPU while you are trying to edit.

Also I suppose your preview window would not really be full res then if it's transcoding that clip in the background right and you are trying to CC it or something.

Yes editing on the system drive is not very good, external USB 3 works well.

Sorry just curious as to how it works.

Hi Drew

 

Right so if you turn off background transcoding can it edit the files as is then?

Transcoding them into another codec (ProRes) means massive more space taken up and then you end up having two files of everything.

Plus it's using up your CPU while you are trying to edit.

Also I suppose your preview window would not really be full res then if it's transcoding that clip in the background right and you are trying to CC it or something.

Yes editing on the system drive is not very good, external USB 3 works well.

 

Sorry just curious as to how it works.

It is sort of somewhere in between. For those of us used to Final Cut in the old way (like Mr. Douglas, for example, I have been using it since like version 1) there are some shifts in the new version. I watched people complain and moan and went into it with an open mind knowing the warts. Some of the things people were screaming about I did not need as much and some things (like multi cam) may not be quite as important as some may like to scream about. I have done a lot of multi cam, but when doing UW video, for instance, to me multi cam is not as important. And working with an interview, for instance, where you have 2-4 cameras, it is still quick enough. But I often edit items where I know cameras are grabbing shots from certain angles and maybe a floater or two. I shot a couple of 3-4 multi cam things and cut in X to put it through the paces to see how it went. I had a couple of set cameras and had a general idea of the other cameras. The key strokes actually cut things quickly and it was actually more fun to do it in X.

Anyway, you can set transcoding on or off as needed, and yes it can make bigger files. Also I think some things are automatically transcoded. But I have a ton of storage and do not mind doing that. In terms of speed, I have found it quick enough to start getting edits in place, tweaking, getting the rough (even CC) as it renders in the background and being able to make changes quicker (in terms of seeing results and not having to wait for "official" renders to complete) that the workflow has a lot of pluses compared to the older version. Transcoding will pause if what you are doing needs CPU then will continue.

And some of the hiding/unhiding and other things really can work nicely. The caveat is that after so long with the old versions, I am always going to compare, or will at least continue to compare, until this one is a bit more ingrained. There are a couple of things I do miss right off, and some of it because maybe I have not learned all of it enough [which includes other aspects of workflow], but it is not bad. If I could add a couple of things to the color corrector (selecting white and black points) and getting used to some other things, I could like this even more.

For straight editing it really is okay. Marking and using clips is fairly easy and so on.

Right now do not have my main system handy, but will go back and run some formal tests in terms of using the various settings (transcode etc.). But for general story telling and things like putting UW clips together, it is definitely interesting. Not gonna blow smoke up.. well you know..and say it is perfect. And everyone has their own workflow. Right now if I could tweak a couple of things with it, I would be happy with it. And if I learn how to use it, would probably be even happier

Dean, you have to spend all your toy money on your little girl now.

Oh definitely

Dean

No NLE is perfect. Avid's new MC6 is nice , but you can't edit H.264 from DSLR native with AMA. However, most guys who rely on ingrained memory to edit fast love it

And that's the point of the big reaction, professional editors rely on memory and things not changing too much. I'm very sure a pro editor would dance circles round me with an older interface like CS5.5 or MC6 than if I were trying the same things in FCX, no matter how much I practice. Sure FCP 1.0 grew a lot in 7 generations but that's the point. You can't change the rules after 7 generations and expect everyone to be happy about it, especially when people have bought FC Server, XSAN and other products and looking for integration.

MC6 is designed to fit right where FCP7 left... just like CS5.5. All 3rd party hardware work without issue right after installation. That's what professionals want.

Sure FCP 1.0 grew a lot in 7 generations but that's the point. You can't change the rules after 7 generations and expect everyone to be happy about it, especially when people have bought FC Server, XSAN and other products and looking for integration.

It will be interesting to see, Apple has done this many times before and often turned out right, changing the game despite the howling. I remember the howling when OSX came out and replaced 9, and Apple moved to Intel. Hell I remember when someone told me Apples Macintosh GUI would never replace the Windows command line structure. The iPad was going to be an underpowered failure said many. Everyone howled when Jobs refused to support Flash - well it looks like Adobe have thrown in the towel there as well. There have been very few Apple products in recent years that within an iteration or two, were not hugely successful. But admittedly, they have also failed.

Having read Jobs' biography one can really understand the mindset; he did not believe in market research, rather anticipating what the public did not know they wanted yet. So time will tell if Apple knew what the pros wanted before they did.

Well I'm now seriously looking at leaving the 'crowd' and going back to Windows ... Wags insistent promo of Edius has me wondering, that and saving a cool £1K on a better spec Laptop is too good to ignore.

Once again it's about actual needs

Dean