Mixing formats in the edit

The sheer mix and volume of formats to deal with today can be mind-boggling. Videotape player/recorders – formerly a common denominator – are a vanishing breed. Post facilities still own and use VTRs, but operations at the local market level, especially in broadcast, are becoming increasingly tapeless. Clearly, once the current crop of installed VTRs become a maintenance headache or are no longer an important cog in the operation, they won’t be replaced with another shiny new mechanical videotape transport from Sony or Panasonic.

It all starts with the camera, so the driving influence is the move to tapeless acquisition – P2, XDCAM-HD, GFcam, AVC-HD and so on. On the bright side, it means that the integration of another format will cost no more than the purchase of an inexpensive reader, rather than a new VTR to support that format. Unfortunately this will also mean a proliferation of new formats for the editor to deal with.

The term format should be clarified with tapeless media, like P2. First, there is the codec used for the actual audio and video content (essence). That essence is defined by the compression method (like DVCPRO HD or AVC-Intra), frame size (SD or HD), pixel aspect ratio and frame rate. The essence is encapsulated into a file wrapper (MXF), which holds the essence and metadata (information about the essence). Lastly, in the P2 example, the files are written to a physical transport medium (the P2 card itself), using a specific folder and file hierarchy. Maintaining this folder structure is critical in order that an NLE can natively recognize the media, once it’s copied from the card to a hard drive.

Nonlinear editing systems have been built around a specific media structure. Avid Media Composer uses OMF and MXF. Apple Final Cut Pro is based on QuickTime. In theory, each can ingest a wide range of tapeless file formats, but the truth is that they only work well with a much narrower range of optimized media. For instance, DVCPRO HD is handled well by most NLEs, but H.264 is not. You can toss a mix of formats onto a common timeline, but the system is internally operating with specific settings (codec, frame size and frame rate) for that timeline.

These settings are established when you first create a new project or a new sequence, depending on the application. Any media on the timeline that deviates from these settings must either be scaled and decompressed on-the-fly by the real-time effects engine of the application – or must be rendered – in order to see full-quality playback.  Most systems are optimized for NTSC, PAL, 720p and 1080i frame sizes. Even Final Cut Pro – touted as resolution independent – works best at these sizes and effectively tops out at 2K film sizes. All the desktop NLEs freely allow you to mix SD and HD content on a timeline, but the rub has been a mix of differing frame rates. FCP could do it, but Media Composer wouldn’t. That barrier disappeared with Avid’s introduction of the Mix & Match feature in the Media Composer 4.0 software. Now, if you edit a native 23.98p clip into a 29.97i timeline, all of the leading editing applications will add a pulldown cadence to the 23.98p clip for proper 29.97i playback.

When editing a project that has a mix of SD and HD sources and formats, it is best to select a timeline or project setting that matches the predominant format. For instance, if 75% of your media was shot using a Panasonic VariCam at 720p/59.94, then you’d want to use a matching timeline preset, so that the 720p footage wouldn’t require any rendering,  except for effects. In this example, if the other 25% was NTSC legacy footage from Betacam-SP, you’d need to have a system equipped with a capture card capable of ingesting analog footage. The Beta-SP footage could be upconverted to HD during the capture using the hardware conversion power of a capture card. Alternately,  it could be captured as standard definition video, edited onto the timeline and then scaled to fill the HD frame. Betacam-SP clips captured as standard definition video would ultimately be rendered to match the 720p/59.94 settings of the timeline.

Until recently, Avid systems transcoded incoming media into an Avid codec wrapped as an MXF file. This creates media files that are optimized for the best performance. Final Cut would let you drag and drop any QuickTime file into the FCP browser without a transcode, but non-QuickTime files had to be converted or rewrapped as QuickTime MOV files. These frontrunners were upstaged by applications like Grass Valley EDIUS and Sony Vegas Pro, which have been able to accept a much wider range of media types in their original form. The trend now is to handle native camera codecs without any conversion. Apple added the Log and Transfer module to Final Cut and Avid added its Avid Media Access (AMA). Both are plug-in architectures designed for native camera media and form a foundation for the use of these files inside each NLE.

Final Cut’s Log and Transfer is recommended for importing P2, RED, XDCAM and other media, but it still doesn’t provide direct editing support. Even natively-supported codecs, like REDCODE and AVC-Intra must first be wrapped as QuickTime files. When clips are ingested via Log and transfer, the files are copied to a target media drive and in the process rewrapped as QuickTime MOV file containers. It’s Apple’s position that this intermediate transcode step is a safer way to handle camera media without the potential of unrecoverable file corruption that can occur if you work directly with the original media.

If you want true native support – meaning the ability to mount the hard drive or card containing your raw media and start editing at full resolution – then the Avid Media Composer family, Grass Valley EDIUS and Adobe Premiere Pro provide the broadcaster with the strongest desktop solutions. All three recognize the file structure of certain camera formats (like P2), natively read the camera codec and let you use the media as an edit source without the need to transcode or copy the file first. These APIs are evolving and are dependent on proper media drivers written by the camera manufacturers. Not all applications handle every format equally well, so select a system that’s appropriate for you. For example, P2 using the DVCPRO HD or AVC-Intra codec is becoming widely supported, but Panasonic’s AVCCAM has less support. Sony hit snags with XDCAM-EX support for Final Cut Pro when Apple upgraded the Mac OS to 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”). Fortunately these issues are short-lived. In the future it will be easier than ever to mix taped and tapeless camera media of nearly any format with little negative impact.

Written for NewBay Media and TV Technology magazine

©2009 Oliver Peters

Color Grading Effects Demystified

Color correction – or color grading – has taken on more importance these days, with new tools like Apple Color and digital cinematography cameras like the RED One. It is both the objective task of matching shots and evening out differences between them – and the subjective task of creating an artful “look”. Some facilities have dubbed their rooms as “color perfection suites” – and rightfully so.

I am going to revisit the topic of color grading inside Final Cut Pro. Although Color is a great tool, it’s not right in all situations and can be very challenging on many machines. Quite frankly, an awful lot of color grading is done right inside the NLE timeline. I am writing this from the point-of-view of Final Cut, but the processes can be utilized with any editing or compositing tool that can apply a stack of filters to each clip. My comments are valid for such apps as Premiere Pro, After Effects, EDIUS and others. This even applies to Avid Media Composer, although that has a very healthy color correction mode, so I’m not sure why you’d want to; except in the case of special looks requiring other filters.

Many inexperienced editors think that all you need for good color grading is a copy of Red Giant Software’s Magic Bullet Looks. Apply a preset effect and bingo, you’re done. Of course, it’s never that easy and quite frankly they are, in effect, looking for a “magic bullet” solution. Now, I do like Looks, but there’s no reason you can’t do great work without it and that’s what this post is about. FCP comes with many useful built-in effects filters located in the Color Correction, Image Control and Stylize filter palette branches. Plus, you have timeline Composite (“blend”) modes that can also be used to affect the look of a clip. There are plenty of filters you can purchase or pick up for free to augment the included tools. Just check out the Ecosystem page for links.

Image 1

Click on the images to enlarge

A while back I wrote about using Looks with RED footage and I linked to this ShootWithRed blog post. For this article, I decided to snag the same image. The starting point is a very flat looking image of an actress shot with a RED One camera. Flat images are great for color grading because you can push the image pretty far for drastically different looks. For the sake of composing my frame grabs, I’ve flopped the image to bring the woman and the filter tab closer together. So all of these examples have a horizontal “flop” at the top of the stack. FCP uses a top-down order, so the first filter applied will be at the top of the list and the last will be at the bottom. In many cases, changing the filter order will change your color grading results.

Image 2

On this image, I have applied the basic FCP 3-way Color Corrector for a pleasing image and relatively standard grade.

Image 3

The first step in color grading is usually adjusting brightness and contrast levels. Changing the luminance curve is a way to make an image more “filmic”. CoreMelt makes some nice filters in their Pigment package, complete with a custom UI and “heads up” curves display.

Image 4

This is the same image as above, but with Magic Bullet Colorista applied after the CoreMelt filter. I’ve used Colorista to change the overall exposure and saturation of the image.

Image 5

Now I’m back to the built-in FCP controls from the Image Control tools. Equalize and Saturate let me do much the same as above – adjust tonal and saturation qualities.

Image 6

Joe Maller sells a  whole slew of useful effects filters under the Joe’s Filters banner. I’ve added one of Joe’s Soft filters to the previous image for a diffused vignette around the actress. This filter uses blend modes, so this is the look with the filter set to “normal”.

Image 7

The image is the same as above, but with the Soft filter in “multiply”.

Image 8

CHV develops plug-ins to sell, but includes a couple of freebees. Here is Silk and Fog. The key is that it comes with five very different settings: silk, fog, shadows, borders and flatten. In this image, I’ve applied a basic FCP Color Corrector and then the Silk and Fog filter in the Borders setting.

Image 9

CHV Silk and Fog using the Shadows setting.

Image 10

CHV Silk and Fog using the Silk setting.

Image 11

Colorista is a deceptively powerful color grading tool that is available as a plug-in for many different applications. You can use it for masks that work like DaVinci’s Power Windows or secondary vignettes in Apple Color. Colorista can be applied to the whole image, but can also be applied inside or outside of elliptical and rectangular masks. In this next series of images, I’ll build up a look by applying a series of Colorista filters to one clip. This is the first instance of the filter, used to apply a base look to the whole shot.

Image 12

When applying a Colorista mask, using the “red overlay” setting allows you to see the mask as you position it.

Image 13

Now with the correction applied within the mask area. I have used this to increase color saturation on the shoulders and face.

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Here is a third instance of Colorista, using an inverted mask for the rest of the shot. I have desaturated the area around the woman and shifted it to a more blue tone.

Image 15

Two freebee filters I use a lot are the Haiku plug-ins called Face Light and Vignette. You can do much of the same as you would with Colorista masks. Face Light brightens and/or blurs an area inside of a mask and Vignette will darken an area outside of one. Essentially like “dodge” and “burn” in Photoshop. Here I’m using both on top of the FCP Color Corrector.

Image 16

Bleach Bypass is one of those trendy grading effects. Nattress makes a nice one, but the general principle behind most variations of this effect is to decrease saturation and increase contrast.

Image 17

In a second step, I have applied Nattress’ Temperature to the Bleach Bypass filter. The Temperature filter is shifted to the warmer setting, resulting is a somewhat monochromatic, but reddish tone to the whole image.

Image 18

Color or chromatic glow effects are popular to bloom highlights in an image. In this one, I’ve combined Colorista with Joe’s Color Glow to get the booming effect off of the actress’ shoulder.

Image 19

One new entry to color grading is DVShade, a Noise Industries development partner. Here’s an example of their EasyLooks filter. It is applied as a single plug-in effect, but actually combines within it, many different functions and presets.

Image 20

I mentioned earlier that you can use FCP’s timeline Composite mode for color grading. In this example, I’ve stacked two of the same image onto V1 and V2. The top clip is set to “overlay”. FCP’s Color Corrector is applied on V1 and adjusted to taste, while an FCP Glow filter is applied to the clip on V2. The result is more contrast with glowing highlights on the actress.

Image 21

These next two images use another blend mode effect. This is the V1 clip with a Color Corrector and Prism effect.

Image 22

Now I have edited the same clip onto V2 and applied the Color Corrector filter and made adjustments to taste. The V2 clip is in “overlay”, which lets some of the normal image show back through. The result is that the fringing of the Prism filter becomes more subtle.

Image 23

Compound Blur is another useful built-in FCP filter. When used at a very light setting, it adds image diffusion and can be used to soften rough skin complexion.

Image 24

This next set of images utilizes three built-in filters: Levels, Saturate and Gradient Colorize. The last one is a bit wacky and I’ve honestly never used it; however, it does seem that you can get some very cool looks with it.

Image 25

A different gradient setting.

Image 26

A third gradient setting.

Image 27

Same as above, but with the addition of the CHV Silk and Fog filter in the Flatten setting.

Image 28

The acid trip’s over! Now we are back to a “standard” look. This image combines Colorista and the FCP 3-way. I’ve used Colorista for the base grade. Next, I’ve applied the 3-way, but turned on the limit controls. In doing so, I’ve isolated the general range of her skin tones. This creates a mask (which I have inverted), used to control the application of the 3-way. In this case, to darken and desaturate the rest of the image – i.e. the luma/sat/hue range outside of her skin tones.

Image 29

This is another example of a lot of tweaking to “relight” an image. I’ve used several instances of Colorista to grade the image and enhance certain masked areas. For example, to change the grade on her face, back and the background area to the right. Lastly, I’ve added film grain using the Magic Bullet Looks MisFire filter.

Image 30

This is a combination of the built-in HSV Adjust filter and CoreMelt’s Filmic Look.

Image 31

This image stacks a series of Joe’s Filters: Levels, Saturate and Soft Gradients. The latter is used to diffuse the right hand side of the frame. This creates a bit of the “swing-and-tilt” lens look.

Image 32

My final image combines two layers for a composite. The V2 clip is in the “additive” blend mode. The clip on V1 has a Light Rays effect, while the blend with V2 makes the effect more subtle. Both have FCP Color Correctors applied to them, which are adjusted to taste.

© 2009 Oliver Peters

11 More Final Cut Pro Tips

During the years with Final Cut, I’ve accumulated a number of workflow steps to eliminate some of the “gotchas” and bottlenecks. I’ll share a few in this post and hope you find them to be helpful.

1. Gamma setting

A couple of versions ago, FCP added a gamma settings preference (User Preferences / Editing). This lets you compensate for gamma differences in graphics created on other platforms. Ever since FCP7, I have found that the best setting to use is 2.2 (the native gamma of PCs). “Source” and other options don’t seem to yield the best results. As such, I now set all systems I use to 2.2 gamma.

This gamma preference applies to imported QuickTime movies as well, if they were created with an RGB codec, like Animation. Bring them in as “source” instead of 2.2 gamma and the level will be wrong. Like all other such settings, changes made to this setting only affect files imported after the change was made.

While we are looking at this tab, note the Still/Freeze Duration time. Crank this baby up. You aren’t creating any more media by doing so. If you have it set to 4 minutes, then that means you can have a still or a freeze last up to 4 minutes long as a single clip on the timeline.

2. Graphic Converter

I started a big project at the launch of FCP7 and ran into all sorts of new level problems with customer-supplied PNG files. This format is a lossless compressed format that stores images at high quality with a small file size. Unfortunately, the color syncing system used by the Mac OS looks for various color profile flags to get the levels right, which also affects what happens to such files in QuickTime. In my case, this caused unacceptable gamma shifts in FCP7. Most likely the culprit was either an incorrect color profile or an incorrect “assumption” by QuickTime. The solution for me was Lemke Soft’s Graphic Converter. This app has been a graphics conversion staple that I’ve used for two decades. It used to be bundled by Apple and in fact, the version I’m using under Snow Leopard was still the one I migrated over from a PowerBook G4!

I use Graphic Converter mainly for its batch conversion functions. In this example, I “washed” all the PNG files through Graphic Converter and turned them into uncompressed BMP files. Viola – no gamma shift – and proper levels! I have also run into cases where Photoshop-generated JPEGs had issues on a Mac. Here again Graphic Converter saved the day, by stripping out the Photoshop color profile info and rewriting a clean JPEG file.

3. Gaussian blur on stills

FCP is frequently slammed for the quality of moves on high-res photos using the DVE functions of the motion tab. Typically the offense is that detail in the image tends to scintillate or that diagonal lines look aliased. This really isn’t the fault of FCP, but rather the fact that these stills have a lot more detail and resolution than can be properly displayed when reduced to that size. As far as I know, FCP has no subpixel filtering, so the texture or detail in an image falls on one scan line or another without any smoothing in between. Other apps don’t necessarily create better results, but are actually softening, blurring or filtering the image in ways that look better in a video display format.

The secret for FCP users is to do the same thing. In other words, add blur to the image yourself. This can either be achieved in a graphics program like Photoshop or within FCP by adding a filter. If you use Photoshop, then prep the image by adding a slight Gaussian blur. Experiment with the right setting, but typically a value that looks a bit soft in Photoshop will ultimately look good on a TV screen. If you decide to just add an FCP filter, then use either the Gaussian blur or the Flicker filter. Again, play around with settings to taste, but I find that a Gaussian blur value of between .5 and 2 is generally right.

4. Audio as 48kHz

Repeat after me: Always work with uncompressed audio at a sample rate of 48kHz inside Final Cut. Yes, you can import MP3s and yes, you can work with 44.1kHz audio on the timeline, but in the end, it will bite you. Typically these files seem to be OK if left unrendered – leaving FCP to do all conversions on-the-fly. However, once they are rendered, forcing a sample rate conversion, you run into nastiness. For example, I’ve made music edits and found that the music at the edit points shifted. Or that levels didn’t react properly when I was trying to mix the audio.

When I work with audio in FCP, I will almost always convert the files to 48kHz, 16-bit AIFF files first. This can be done in two easy ways. I use QuickTime Pro (make sure to use QuickTime 7 if you are on Snow Leopard) to convert the files before importing. If you’d rather have this be automatic, simply purchase and install Digital Heaven’s Loader. It runs resident with FCP. Audio files that are imported into FCP by dragging them to the Loader tab will automatically be copied and converted during the import process.

5. Audio files running at the right speed

One of the quirks with FCP is handling audio synchronization. This is mainly a factor in film projects using double-system sound or music videos shot to a playback track. FCP determines speed based on audio samples and not timecode. Unfortunately it’s not as simple as making sure your audio setting matches the project. That’s because FCP apparently does some hidden things under the hood.

For example, I’ve seen issues where a project was started with one frame rate setting, but later changed. I hit this on a PAL music video job. When I imported the final mixed track and matched it against the client’s rough cut, nothing I could do would eliminate the drift between the final mix and the temp track. Even though everything appeared to be correct, imported audio would not line up as anticipated. The only culprit appeared to be the settings used when the project was initially created. Sometimes you have no control over this, because you’ve inherited the project already in progress.

It appears that this is an issue that affects audio files – AIFF and WAVE. One workaround is to convert the audio to QuickTime movies, which forces timecode onto the clip. This isn’t a silver bullet, though, and I have found it to work at times and not at others. If it doesn’t work, you may be forced to alter the audio speed in order to maintain sync. This becomes a big issue if you happen to record double-system sound when shooting with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II at 30fps. You can post in a true 30fps project and maintain sync or you can post at 29.97 and be video-friendly. In the latter case, it’s easy to change the video 30fps frame rate to 29.97fps using Cinema Tools, but the audio will have to be speed-adjusted by .999 to maintain sync.

6. Compressor and interlaced video

Compressor 3.5 (part of the “new” Final Cut Studio) changed the way the Inspector tab works. Now it includes an A/V Attributes tab that will actually “read” the format of the source file. This will also affect what an encoding preset does to that file. If you click on the source file in the Job panel, the Inspector will identify among other things the field order of the file. Unfortunately, it randomly gets it wrong. Files that are top field first are identified as progressive or bottom field first and the other way around.

If you are using Compressor to convert an interlaced camera file or a stock footage file into ProRes for use in FCP, for example, it is important that the field order be correct. If the field order is misidentified, the file will either be improperly converted or the field order will be incorrectly flagged. For example, HD files are supposed to be top field first. If this is identified as bottom first and converted to top, the field order will be swapped and the result on an FCP HD timeline will look wrong.

In other cases, the files won’t necessarily be converted incorrectly, but will only be flagged incorrectly. The file will actually be top field first, but it will show up inside FCP as bottom field first. When this happens a Field Shift filter is automatically applied by FCP onto the clip in the timeline. The file is actually the correct field order, but the filter makes it wrong, which again, yields the wrong results. Unfortunately, you won’t see this issue unless you are monitoring the video though a hardware i/o card or device to a broadcast display or CRT.

When you work in Compressor 3.5, it is important to check each source file for field order. If the file is misidentified, you must change the setting manually in the Inspector pane. This will generally fix the problem. In addition, check the Field Dominance column in the FCP Browser. If a file is incorrectly identified, this can be changed in that column. Once it is properly set, this will prevent a Field Shift filter from being automatically applied when it isn’t needed.

7. Better slomos

FCP7 has improved the variable speed workflow, but not the actual quality of the video. Video fields and/or frames are blended, which doesn’t result in the smoothest rendering of motion. This is especially true of “24p-over-30i” content. Other NLEs, like Avid Media Composer, employ more advanced technology, offering several options for motion rendering. The best looking Avid choice is FluidMotion Timewarp. Like other retiming technologies, this creates new “in-between” frames derived from actual surrounding frames when motion is slowed or sped up. A similar quality improvement can be achieved if you opt to use either Compressor or Motion instead of FCP.

In Compressor, apply a conversion preset and use Frame Controls to achieve a speed change. Select Best for Rate Conversion. Click Duration and set a percentage or a time value consistent with the speed you are trying to achieve. Inverse telecine can also be applied, but remember that this method only works for constant speeds and not speed ramps.

Motion is your other option. Speed changes can be achieved by either changing Properties for the clip or adding a Retiming behavior. To alter the image quality, reveal the Timing controls in the Properties tab. Set the speed and then select the type of Frame Blending in the drop-down menu. Optical flow yields the best result, although it will also on occasion introduce unwanted motion artifacts.

8. Controlling filter selections in Final Cut Pro

Ever wonder why some filter choices are listed twice in the FCP effects palette? That’s usually because you are seeing both the native FCP and the native Motion filters in the same pulldown menu. This is controlled by the Effects / Effects Availability setting. For example, when you select All Effects, you’ll see two Gaussian Blur and two Zoom Blur filters in the Blur category. Look in the Effects Class column of the FCP Browser and you’ll see that one of these is listed as an FxPlug filter. That’s the native Motion version of this filter. Change the setting to Only Recommended Effects and the FxPlug version of those two disappears, leaving you with only the native Final Cut version (not FxPlug). In most cases, either version can be used without issue.

Lastly, if you’ve installed a lot of plug-ins and would like to reduce the clutter of effects palette, then use the selection, Only My Preferred Effects. When this is selected, filters will only show up if you have placed a check in the Preferred column of the Browser.

9. Preparing stills for Final Cut

Final Cut Pro is resolution independent, but this doesn’t mean “resolution infinite”! Working with large, high-resolution files is almost always an issue when incorporating digital still photos into an FCP timeline. Although you can throw a lot at the software, some things work better than others. The exact point that you’ll choke FCP depends on factors like the software version, processing power, amount of RAM and the installed graphics card.

Final Cut Pro performs best with stills that are RGB-mode JPEG, TIFF or BMP files under 4,000 x 4,000 pixels. Many print-resolution files or digital still photos from high-megapixel cameras like the Canon 5D will exceed these sizes. Merely clicking on a 6,000 x 6,000 pixel TIFF file that’s CMYK and not RGB in the FCP Browser will often crash the app. Poof! Straight to Jail – do not pass GO, do not collect $200! My recommendation is always to review and prepare your graphics and stills prior to using them inside FCP.

The best applications for organizing, preparing and adjusting stills include Photoshop, Graphic Converter, Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom. Files should always be 8-bit/channel RGB. Remove any alpha channels unless you intend to use the file for keying. Some folks will argue that FCP does better with uncompressed files, like TIFFs, as this reduces the decoding overhead of other files. That may be true, but I’ve always used JPEGs with good results. I’ll export the files in the JPEG format at the highest quality setting (12 in Photoshop) and reduce the frame size if it’s an extremely large file. Typically I’ll resize the frame to a maximum horizontal or vertical dimension of 2,500 pixels for SD and 3,500 for HD. This will usually give me plenty of space for a camera-style move on the image and still stay below 100% of the actual frame size.

10. Changing alpha setting

An ongoing dilemma with NLEs is how alpha channels are treated. Once imported into FCP you have the option of changing the alpha setting – None/Ignore, Straight, Black or White. The default is typically fine, but in some cases, a glow or a soft shadow will not have the proper transparency. For example, a white glow against a white background may result in a darker halo at the edge of the glow instead of seamlessly blending into the background. This can be corrected in FCP by opening the Format setting for that clip and changing the alpha setting to one of the other options. Change the master clip in the FCP Browser so it’s correct every time it is used, or correct it only in the timeline if it just needs to be fixed for one instance.

11. Positioning text and graphics

When you move a graphic or line of generated text using the FCP motion tab’s positioning controls, the result will often be soft or blurry. I believe this is related to FCP’s lack of subpixel filtering. Two rules I generally apply in these situations. First, whenever a generator (like Boris 3D or the Text generator) has a Control tab, I use the X,Y positioner in that tab and not the motion tab to reposition the text. This aligns the graphic without adding an additional modifying layer.

Second, any time I change scale or position parameters, I try to stay with even and whole number values. In order words, a scale value of 32, not 33; or a Y position value of 202, not 201.33. Try this for yourself and I think you’ll quickly see that the quality of anything with definite lines and detail, like text or a logo, will look much sharper at these even values. On rare occasions the opposite will be true. For example, it might look crisper if you nudge the text up to an odd number setting. In either case, experiment and see what looks best to you. Remember to only judge this when your Canvas is at a view setting of exactly 100%.

If these were helpful, check out Ten Tips For A Better Final Cut Pro Experience and 12 Tips for Better Film Editing.

© 2009 Oliver Peters

Final Cut vs. Avid Redux

People like competition for its own sake, so the NLE argument – just like other platform wars – never dies. In the past year, Apple and Avid have broken new ground with very solid updates to their flagship editor applications. Apple with its introduction of the “new” Final Cut Studio, featuring Final Cut Pro 7 – and Avid, first with Media Composer 3.5 and now 4.0. Although Final Cut is today my first choice when picking an NLE to use, I have years of experience with both systems. In this post, I’m trying to present a balanced (non-”fanboy”) look at the two.

A market share tally

Apple claims 1.3 million licensed Final Cut users, however, this figure includes all Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express and Final Cut Studio licenses since day one, excluding upgrades. One research study pointed to 47% market share for Apple and 22% for Avid a couple of years ago. Recently Apple execs indicated to me that FCP has now passed the 50% mark for all new NLE sales. If the figure of 1.3M licensed users represents nearly 50% of the total market, then this means that Avid must have between 400,000 and 600,000 systems (all products) out in the field worldwide.

Although this would seem to give Apple the lead in the NLE wars, one must understand that the Final Cut world is heavily skewed with a wide range of amateur users – students, hobbyists and non-editing video professionals who occasionally do some of their own “hands on” cutting. I think that it’s fair to say that a greater percentage of Avid users are professional editors. It’s my observation that broadcast news and traditional (major studio) film and television show post is dominated by Avid NLEs. In contrast, the boutique editing world of small and medium markets has shifted in favor of Apple’s Final Cut. In all likelihood, the number of users who make a living with either Final Cut or Avid (Media Composer/NewsCutter/Symphony plus Avid DS) is probably fairly even.

Many perceptions of Apple’s and Avid’s products are based on outdated information. Both are robust enough to meet deadline-driven demands. Each comes with pros and cons, however, the choice often comes down to preference and background. Avid reacted late to market forces that have brought better hardware and lower cost, but they are by no means out of the game. Final Cut is no longer the young upstart. It still benefits from Apple’s “coolness” halo, but there’s no longer the “pirate radio” attitude among users that spawned the fledgling FCP user groups at the beginning. Lots of indie films and reality TV shows can be counted in the FCP camp, but the number of major broadcasters and feature film editors who continue to stay loyal to Avid hasn’t significantly changed. In spite of such notable editors as Walter Murch, the Coens, Angus Wall and Billy Fox being vocal proponents of Final Cut, the numbers really haven’t shifted since the release of Cold Mountain. Nevertheless, by every assessment, it seems clear that Apple’s Final Cut Pro market share is still growing in all sectors, while Avid’s isn’t – even in Hollywood.

Let’s take a look at how these two newest versions stack up against each other.

What comes in the box

The Final Cut Studio and Avid Media Composer bundles are both collections of several companion applications. It’s obvious with Final Cut, but often forgotten with Avid.  Both software packages include dedicated applications for editing, compression, DVD authoring, Blu-ray authoring, multi-layered compositing/effects and film database management. Final Cut includes a separate DAW (Soundtrack Pro) and color grading tool (Color). Avid doesn’t have these, but does offer the Boris Continuum Complete filters. BCC6 would double the price of Final Cut Studio if you purchased these for FCP.

Software updates are a touch-and-go issue. We see that once again with Snow Leopard and I’m sure we’ll see that with Windows 7 as well. Avid tends to hang back before their products are qualified for the latest OS updates, but when they are ready, it’s a fairly simple matter of a few updates and you are done. If you live in the Final Cut world, then you’re more likely to stay on top of Apple’s latest updates. This typically involves both the OS and QuickTime. Unfortunately this comes with an uncomfortable dance to make sure all your software, plug-ins and hardware drivers are compatible. Final Cut users simply have to be more vigilant anytime an update or upgrade rolls around.

One further consideration is that Media Composer is cross-platform and FCP only runs on Macs. This isn’t a big deal for FCP users, of course, but many professional editing environments are built on Windows workstations. Using either a dongle or software activation, the same Media Composer license may be legally installed on multiple computers – both Mac or PC. The activated system (or with dongle attached) is the one that may be used at any given time. This means that Avid editors enjoy the benefit of being able to use a PC workstation at work, then activate a Mac laptop and continue editing the project at home or on the road – all with the purchase of a single license. Final Cut Studio does work with multiple installs on different computers, but technically this is a violation of Apple’s EULA. Actually it’s OK to install FCP on 2 personal machines, like a laptop and a tower. Apple intends that you only run one copy at a time and they won’t run concurrently if they are on the same network.

The media backbone

A big item in FCP7 is the addition of more codecs within the ProRes family. This brings ProRes on par with Avid’s DNxHD and in fact, ups the ante with 4:4:4:4 and 2K support. At a casual glance, FCP would seem more open, because of QuickTime – FCP’s underlying media architecture. With the right codecs, QuickTime media files can be directly dragged into FCP – ready to edit without ingest, conversion or rendering. Avid requires an import or ingest phase to convert the media into Avid-compatible OMF or MXF files. That’s the perception at least. In fact, QuickTime is a media standard controlled only by Apple and media that doesn’t match the narrow specs of FCP optimization won’t play very well. Take, for example, H.264 files or RED’s Redcode files. Neither result in a fluid editing experience compared with DV25/50/100 or ProRes.

Yes, you do have to convert some files to DNxHD within Avid, but once you’ve done that, the media plays and scrubs much more responsively in Media Composer than inside FCP. In fact, it’s my experience that even lightweight files like DV25 media are somewhat more responsive in Media Composer than in FCP. Now we are confronted with the issue of native camera formats, like P2 (DVCPRO HD and AVC-Intra) and XDCAM. Avid has embarked on its AMA structure (Avid Media Access), which lets you edit directly from the camera files (or clones of them). Apple still requires these files to be copied and rewrapped as QuickTime movies. I’m all for copying the files before editing, but in a fast-breaking news environment, AMA would seem to give Avid an edge. Copying your files is safer, but native is faster, though at times riskier. In any case, working with native camera media without ANY backup somewhere can be a recipe for disaster.

Media management

FCP is often criticized for its media management. This has become considerably better over recent versions, but it could still stand to improve. I occasionally still run into problems going from offline to online in FCP – something that’s pretty bullet-proof in Avid. Seriously, if you get better results using an EDL than the app’s own Media Manager (as I have), then something is wrong.

The rub is that media linking in FCP is based on a match of name and QuickTime parameters (mainly length and number of tracks). Avid uses reel number and timecode. In addition, both applications track other metadata, but lately Apple has chosen to hide some of that data from the user. For example, when you roundtrip a sequence through Color, your FCP project contains two sequences – before and after Color. The corresponding clips in the two timelines will both carry the same name, but each sequence is linked to a different set of media files: the originals in the before sequence and the Color-rendered media in the after. Although FCP tracks this, that information is “under the hood” and not directly available to the editor.

Avid has always based its media management on two factors: rich metadata that’s embedded into the file wrapper of the media and a database file that cross-references media clips and projects. This results in a more robust media architecture, but one that’s less conducive to drag-and-drop media imports. On balance, both approaches do work well and in spite of occasional hiccups, the FCP approach offers some added versatility for the editor. Thanks to the use of XML, the Apple method has also opened to door to many developers who have created plenty of useful companion applications that let you manipulate media via XML round-tripping.

Collaborative editing

If you’ve ever worked on a feature, TV series or a newscast in which the editors rely on shared storage, then Avid’s Unity has set the standard for concurrent editing workflows. Numerous editors can work inside the exact same project at the same time and each has access to the timelines created by others. This workflow is uniquely Avid’s, although EditShare has created their own viable solution for a similar workflow using either Avid or FCP. If you use another shared storage environment for FCP, like Apple Xsan, you still can’t attain the style of sharing that Avid editors enjoy with Unity. Even though Avid, Quantel, Grass Valley and Facilis are among the companies who have embraced FCP support on their storage, sharing is limited to media, not projects.

It’s important to understand that this does not mean you cannot collaboratively edit with FCP. Mark Raudonis of reality TV shop Bunim-Murray Productions has explained the workflow quite well in this article at Avid2FCP. The key is that Avid stores its metadata in the bins. When an Avid editor on Unity works within a bin, he or she is actually locking all other editors out of that bin. It becomes “read-only” for the others until it’s closed and updated.

FCP stores metadata at the project level. Through careful management, it is possible for FCP editors to enjoy a similar workflow as Avid editors do. Since multiple FCP projects can be open at once, editors can work on local copies of a project. In effect, projects in FCP are treated like bins in an Avid Unity workflow. Nevertheless, the key point is that Avid’s approach automatically takes care of some of the project organization issues. FCP is far more freeform and requires the editors to impose a structured approach of their own, in order to avoid trouble. I personally do some TV station work with both shared Avid+Unity and shared FCP+Xsan systems (in separate departments). I can attest that the “Avid is better because of Unity” argument is a bit of a red herring. Once you get used to the best workflow, both systems get the job done in a collaborative environment.

Tailor your system

An area in which Apple’s Final Cut Studio clearly has an edge is in the sheer number of vendors supplying hardware and software options to enhance the editing environment. I covered this in my “platform” blog post, but one glance at the two ecosystem pages at the top makes it clear that if you want options, FCP is clearly the path for you. In fact, there are a couple of hundred partner-developers who are tied into Apple’s Final Cut Studio structure, many of whom have elements that are integrated right into the FCP UI.

Having a variety of fancy plug-in filters is cool, but the true difference is the availability of third party hardware. This includes audio/video capture and output cards and units (AJA, Blackmagic Design, Matrox, MOTU, Telestream), audio interfaces (Apogee, Focusrite, Presonus) and control surfaces (JL Cooper, Tangent Devices, Euphonix, Mackie, Frontier Designs). If you are an Avid editor, then you are limited to primarily using Avid products.

You do get more choice in the Final Cut world, but at a cost of optimization and performance. AJA, Blackmagic Design and Matrox manufacture great hardware for Final Cut, but I feel that Avid’s hardware delivers more fluid playback, more robust performance and more real-time layers. Nevertheless, third party hardware does a pretty good job of giving this to Final Cut. You might not have quite as much performance, but it won’t cost you as much either. In addition, you may also gain many more options for built-in format/aspect conversions and other valuable features. The choice of third party hardware is one of the key reasons that editors and owners are turning to Final Cut over Avid solutions. That same choice is also high on the wish list of many Avid editors.

This shift toward Final Cut has not been lost on the broadcast server manufacturers, like Omneon, Grass Valley, Quantel and yes, even Avid. All have promoted the fact that you can integrate Final Cut Pro editing clients into their server environment. Media Composer isn’t automatically excluded, but obviously they see the value of promoting this feature to potential Final Cut users. Many broadcasters now work with mixed environments: Avid for hard news and Final Cut for creative services (spots, promos, specials).

Unique features

It’s hard to decide how unique features stack up when comparing Media Composer 4 to Final Cut Pro 7. Both companies are cognizant that their users have to make a living with these products and have been careful not to break things with new features. As much as I like FCP, I have to say that Apple at times tends to be a “refiner” rather than an innovator, when it comes to their Pro Apps software. Many of the products were acquired, although the very innovative Aperture, Motion and Soundtrack Pro are exceptions. More often than not, FCP has introduced new features that had been in Media Composer or other NLEs for quite some time. Apple frequently refines these features, making them easier to use and more efficient; but, the real talent is in their marketing. Apple creates the atmosphere that such “bells and whistles” were first introduced in Final Cut, when in fact they weren’t. Of course, all NLEs copy each other to some extent. Both companies integrate innovations first found in Premiere Pro or EDIUS or Quantel, as well as the other way around.

We have reached a time when NLE tools are pretty mature. It’s very hard to come up with new, earth-shattering tools that set one product apart from another. Still, I don’t want to take away from the advances in FCP 7. The new speed tools, Sharing, Blu-ray support and general editing refinements, like sequence markers that ripple, go a long way towards addressing the needs of working editors. Apple is big on the user experience and I personally find their approach in FCP makes for faster editing. Obviously, others are going to vehemently disagree. I value the in-context, in-timeline editing tools and find that my style on Media Composer has also changed based on how I now edit in FCP. In short, it’s made me a faster editor on both systems.

However, these are refinements and not truly unique items that aren’t offered directly or indirectly by other NLEs. My main beef with the FCP approach is that Apple chooses to add true finesse outside of the main editing application. If you want tracking, a 2.5D or 3D DVE, cleaner slomos and better text, you have to go into Motion. If you want elaborate color grading tools, you have to go to Color. While there are valid reasons for this, I dislike the fact that it’s one or more additional project types that I have to keep track of.

When you compare the same technologies in Media Composer to Final Cut Pro, the advantage is often with Avid. For instance, the FluidMotion and TimeWarp technologies (used for variable speed, tracking and stabilization) yield cleaner results than similar FCP functions. I say cleaner, because FCP blends fields and frames during variable speed functions. Avid’s FluidMotion creates new in-between frames based on motion vector analysis. When you compare individual frames between FCP and Media Composer, the difference is quite distinct. You get a very good chromakeyer in SpectraMatte and if you factor in 3D Warp, Marquee and Avid FX (Boris Red), then Media Composer offers a wealth of compositing, DVE and titling tools right inside the NLE.

Don’t get me wrong. It don’t see it as all rosy on the Media Composer side. The compositing model needs a serious overhaul and there are tons of limitations, but my point is that Media Composer offers the Avid editor some unique features that just aren’t directly inside FCP.

Now let’s look at really unique technologies, where Avid has led the way. Principally, this includes AMA, 3D Stereoscopic video and ScriptSync. I’ve already mentioned AMA, so no need to rehash; however, it can be argued that AMA is really just copying of FCP’s Log & Transfer. Avid wasn’t the first to incorporate 3D tools, but it’s the first NLE used in creative editing (the rough cut) to add Stereoscopic features. ScriptSync is another Avid-only tool. It’s both a feature and a workflow, because it allows film and documentary editors to work strictly with bins and media clips that are organized around a written script. I don’t use either of these two features in my work, but for those editors who do, Avid is the only option. Of course, the real question, is whether enough editors use these features to warrant the R&D investment. Avid tends to do this in-house, while Apple often leaves these niche fields open to 3rd party developers. For instance, Tim Dashwood’s 3D plug-in for FCP (via Noise Industries’ FxFactory).

I chided Apple as being less of an innovator when it comes to FCP, but I have to say that Avid isn’t immune to playing catch-up as well. This is especially true for Media Composer 4’s new Mix-and-Match feature. FCP has been able to mix media of different sizes and frame rates on the same timeline for several years now. Previous versions of Media Composer could mix 480i and 1080i, but you had to stick with compatible frame rates and scan systems. That barrier is now dropped, so in MC 4, feel free to mix NTSC with PAL, 720p with 1080i, 24fps media in a 29.97 timeline and so on. The initial feedback from early users seems to indicate that Avid does this a bit better and with less rendering than FCP does. Clearly its an update that has Avid editors cheering.

People like to argue about platform wars, but this is more silly than productive. The reality is that NLEs are a mature product and nearly every company that offers editing tools has introduced many of the same features. Competition between companies makes for better and more cost-effective products. There’s a loyal user base for each of these systems or they wouldn’t be on the market. Apple and Avid will continue to run in a dead heat among professional film and video editors. Use the tool that meets your needs and your budget and I’m sure you – and your clients – will be happy with result.

(Updated 12/7/09)

© 2009 Oliver Peters

The new Final Cut Studio

With little fanfare, Apple simply announced the new Final Cut Studio on their website, ending months of speculation in the online communities. Apple had prepped for this moment, however, with ready-made, free Ripple Training and Lynda.com tutorials, online documentation (no more paper manuals) and a number of extra downloads.

The new Final Cut Studio (not version 3 or the 2009 edition) contains Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color, Compressor, DVD Studio Pro, Cinema Tools and Qmaster. Noticeably absent is LiveType, which didn’t make the cut., because Apple is shifting its text animation efforts totally to Motion. If you prefer LiveType, upgrading a previous version of Final Cut Studio won’t overwrite LiveType and you can continue to use it.

The macro view

The big highlights of this release are Blu-ray support and expanding the ProRes codec family. Blu-ray support is handled through a new Share function in Final Cut Pro 7 or the Job Action window in Compressor 3.5. These are both essentially the same thing. Blu-ray is just one of the choices, along with DVD, MobileMe, YouTube and others.

If you have a Blu-ray burner, then you can use a simple template in Share or Job Action to create a Blu-ray disc consisting of a single track with chapters. Apple took the bare minimum approach – enough for one-offs to show the client, but not enough to author a disc with several tracks and menus. Adobe Encore is still a better tool for that. In fact, DVD Studio Pro, which would have been the logical choice, was hardly touched and still doesn’t support Blu-ray, even at this small level. It’s received so little attention that I have to question its future.

I tested Compressor’s Job Action feature with my MobileMe account and was pleasantly surprised. I used the presets, let it handle the upload and after a short while, my video was online. The quality was excellent and playback was far smoother than most of the video at popular sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Apple is finally adding professional value to MobileMe. I also burned an AVCHD disc. This is essentially the same thing as a simple Blu-ray, except using standard red laser DVD-R media. Many Blu-ray players, like my Samsung, will play these discs, so it makes one wonder why Blu-ray won in the first place.

The ProRes family gained three new codecs: ProRes 422 (Proxy) – a lightweight offline editing resolution; ProRes 422 (LT) – a broadcast-quality, reduced bandwidth codec; and ProRes 4444 – a high-end codec for compositing, which also supports an alpha channel. By rounding out these options, Apple has clearly made ProRes their editing codec of choice in much the same way as Avid has with DNxHD. This gives the Pro Apps team a codec they can control independent of the rest of  the myriad of QuickTime codecs.

The micro view – Final Cut Pro 7

Final Cut Pro 7 received the most new features and by itself, makes the upgrade worthwhile. I’ve been running it for a few weeks on real projects without any major issues. It is Intel-only (bye-bye G5s), but you will see very little initial difference between it and the previous version. Stability is worth a lot, of course, so it’s also important to note that this version is ready for Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6). Initial anecdotal information from others who have made that jump, is that it’s fine, but with a few issues, like XDCAM SxS card support and so on. It’s important to note, however, that FCP7 doesn’t appear to be specifically optimized for Snow Leopard. That will happen down the road.

It’s best to check out the Ripple and Lynda tutorials for more in-depth details of the new features, but the best one for me is the new speed change tools. This finally makes variable speed ramps functional within FCP. You can access this by clicking on the keyframe button at the bottom of the timeline to reveal the speed tick marks. Select a clip and right-mouse-click the keyframe track to open the contextual menu, which includes the change speed option. Once selected, a new menu opens to reveal a number of related parameters, such as speed and velocity interpolation at the beginning and end of the effect.

NLE manufacturers have been chasing camera manufacturers and this release is no exception. Final Cut adds native support for Panasonic’s AVC-Intra. Bring in your clips through the Log and Transfer module and Final Cut will ingest the footage. It copies the file, rewraps it with a QuickTime wrapper, but does not transcode the codec. Both the 50Mbps and 100Mbps flavors of AVC-I support real-time, multi-stream effects through FCP’s RT Extreme engine.

Other Final Cut Pro 7 improvements might seem minor, but are huge for many editors. The big one for me is that timeline markers finally ripple as you insert or delete clips. This feature can be toggled on and off based on your needs. There are also a few that were previously available from plug-in suppliers, but not from Apple. For instance, you now have a large Avid-style Timecode window.  Formerly this required Digital Heaven’s BigTime plug-in, but now it’s native. Same for alpha transitions. Final Cut now includes built in wipes in which a foreground element covers the transition as an A scene wipes to a B scene. idustrial revolution did this first with SupaWipe, but now it’s built-in. In fact, Apple offers a serious of alpha transition effects with companion media that may be downloaded from their online resource page.

If you are a fan of control surfaces, you’ll be happy to know that Final Cut Studio has now implemented the Euphonix EuCon protocol, in addition to Mackie. Panels like Euphonix’s MC Control and MC Mix could be used before, but under Mackie emulation. Now there is native control, meaning you gain more of the programmable features that these consoles offer.

Motion 4

Motion is one of the few applications within Final Cut Studio that was originally created by Apple engineers and it continues to get better with each iteration. New improvements include 3D shadows and reflections, depth-of-field effects and new text tools. The latter picks up and expands upon what was done in LiveType. There is a new Glyph tool that lets you manipulate each individual letter in 3D space. If you install Final Cut Studio and opt to skip the content, don’t do so for Motion. Some of the content enables text behaviors, so by not installing the Motion content, these behaviors won’t appear in the pulldown menu. I also noticed that when working with LiveFonts and the new Glyph tool, I had more control of the characters than I did in LiveType.

Soundtrack Pro 3

Final Cut Studio’s built-in DAW received a number of small but important features, including better Euphonix integration, noise reduction enhancements, direct recording into the Multitake Editor and advanced Time Stretch. The smallest, but most obvious new feature is Voice-Level Match. This will probably see the most use by editors. If you have a number of dialogue or voice-over clips at differing volume levels, you can now use Lift and Stamp tools to analyze and adjust the volume of one clip relative to the other.

Color 1.5

Folks that find Color challenging won’t be happy. It still presents a very un-Mac-like environment. Nevertheless, this powerful grading tool has gone through some improvements for better round-tripping between Color and Final Cut Pro and to optimize rendering. The most welcome news is for RED One owners. Color finally breaks the frame size limitations of Final Cut Pro by supporting native 4K camera raw files from the RED One camera. You can render back to ProRes 4444, but you have to export DPX files for larger frames, if you intend to stay at 4K sizes.

As part of the across-the-board Euphonix support, Color will also support the new MC Color panel. This is a trackball-style colorist’s panel. In addition, Color 1.5 supports the Tangent Devices Wave, so two low cost controllers have been added to the more expensive models from JL Cooper and Tangent Devices.

To help first time users become more productive with Color, a set of 90 Color look presets have been created. These may be downloaded from Apple and installed as part of your Color toolset.

Gotchas

I’ve had few very hiccups in the weeks that I’ve run the new Final Cut Studio. The main issue I’ve hit is gamma handling with legacy codecs, like Photo-JPEG, a favorite for stock footage houses. Using QuickTime Player Pro to convert these to ProRes causes elevated gamma levels in Final Cut Pro 7; but, only after a filter was added and the clip rendered. The same clips converted via Compressor were fine. As Apple moves more down the QuickTime X path, I suspect conversion of legacy codecs through QuickTime 7 should be avoided. Use Compressor 3.5 instead.

[ EDIT: I've recently hit two other issues. It appears that things related to interlacing are somewhat "broken". Horizontal text crawls and vertical text rolls now render as frame-based media, i.e. progressive and not interlaced. They will preview as interlaced and they used to render as interlaced, but now become frame-based once rendered. This appears to be true using Boris, the internal text tools and third party FxScript plugins. The second issue I've hit is between Compressor 3.5 and FCP7. Compressor can now identify source clips and part of this is field order. It appears that it randomly guesses Field Order wrong. I loaded several 1080i Upper Field clips and these were ID'ed as Upper, Lower or Progressive. As a result, conversions made to these files were subsequently incorrect. FCP7 also reads these files incorrectly, but sometimes in the opposite direction. ]

In the end, this is a healthy update with both small and large improvements. I’ve cherry-picked the most notable to talk about, but there are many more. Apple has lowered the base price to $999 or an upgrade at $299. If you already own an Intel Mac Pro or MacBook Pro and make your living using Final Cut Studio, then don’t think twice about  moving up.

© 2009 Oliver Peters   Written for NewBay Media LLC and Videography magazine