P2 HD FCP7 White Paper

7/28/2019 P2 HD FCP7 White Paper

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OVERVIEW

Final Cut Pro offers one of the most widely used editing platforms for content created with Panasonics P2 system. With

each new version of FCP, its capabilities regarding P2 are enhanced and made more efcient. This document covers the

basics of working with P2 and FCP 7 as introduced in Final Cut Studio 3.

The following section is a quick overview of everything covered in the document. Many will nd this quick start section

the most useful, but for a more detailed explanation turn to the section bearing the same title within the main document.

QUICK START

P2 AND FINAL CUT PRO 7:

FCP 7 gives a number of new enhancements for P2 users. A key feature is the ability to utilize the user clip name eld

within the P2 metadata system so that clips arrive in FCP already named. There are also a number of new options for

using Panasonics 10-bit AVC-Intra codec in FCP. Many of these options include new Apple ProRes settings, but users

can also now import AVC-Intra native les directly into FCP. However, FCP does not currently support AVC-Intra native

timelines, so all such source footage will still have to be re-rendered within the timeline . The upside with AVC-Intra native

editing is that AVC-Intra clips are re-packaged into Quicktimes within the project capture scratch folder thereby creating

a new master copy of the les. Note: anything beyond cuts only edits will require that the clips be re-rendered into

ProRes or another codec.

P2 BASICS

P2 media is recorded in MXF format. The top-level directory structure of a P2 card will always include a le called

LASTCLIP.TXT and a folder called CONTENTS. The components of the video stream (video, audio, metadata,

thumbnail...) are divided into appropriately-named sub folders within the CONTENTS folder. When archiving or ofoading

from P2 cards to hard drives it is essential to always copy both the LASTCLIP.TXT le and the CONTENTS folder (with

ALL subfolders) to a new folder so that every P2 card on the hard drive has its own separate folder. Putting multiple

CONTENTS folders or LASTCLIP.TXT les at the same level within a directory is not recommended.

AVC-INTRA OR DVCPRO HD?:

P2 HD cameras record in either DVCPRO HD or AVC-Intra. Both codecs utilize professional standard 4:2:2 sampling

DVCPRO HD is a widely-adopted Panasonic 8-bit codec whereas AVC-Intra is Panasonics 10-bit codec that implements

a newer and more efcient broadcast master-quality H.264 compression. All cameras in the P2 range can shoot in

DVCPRO HD, but only certain models also have the option to shoot in AVC-I. In cameras such as the AG-HPX370

and AJ-HPX3000, as well as the P2 VariCam 2700 (AJ-HPX2700) and P2 VariCam 3700 (AJ-HPX3700), AVC-Intra is a

standard option. In the AJ-HPX2000, AVC-Intra is possible with the optional AJ-YBX200 AVC-Intra card. In addition,

Panasonics current P2 recorders, including the AJ-HPM200 P2 Mobile and AJ-HPG20 P2 Portable include AVC-Intra

and DVCPROHD/50/25 compatibility standard.

P2 BEST PRACTICES ON SET:

If using the P2 metadata system in conjunction with FCP, be sure to allow time to create the appropriate scene les on

the computer before the shoot begins. This is a quick process, but its best to do it when not rushed. FCP allows use of

the USER CLIP NAME eld within P2 metadata so that the camera can assign user denable names and shot numbersfor given scenes and camera angles. It is recommended to have a specic plan in place for how cards are handled

through the entire workow from formatting to acquisition to ofoading, reformatting and re-use. A well-conceived plan

ensures proper ofoad and the safety of footage as it travels from P2 card to hard drive backup. This is especially useful

when working with multiple people in a camera department.

OFFLOADING:

There are a number of methods to ofoad P2 media to hard drives. P2 cameras and recorders may be util ized as either

computer-accessed card readers or hosts for hard drives. In device mode, the cameras function as card readers to

allow the computer to directly access the P2 card like any other form of ash memory. In addition, a computers internal

PCMCIA slot or a P2 card reader, such as the 5-slot AJ-PCD20 or AJ-PCD35 or one-slot AJ-PCD2, can be used to

ofoad content.


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Most computer systems do not actually verify data that is transferred using drag and drop, but the Log and Transfer

window offers a safe ofoad using the archive function. For the utmost reliability, it is recommended to use some sort of

veried ofoad. Additionally, FCP can import directly from the P2 card into a QuickTime movie using Log and Transfer.

FCP offers the option to import AVC-Intra as AVC-Intra native les or as ProRes les. If importing these clips as ProRes,

keep in mind that if the MXFs or the newly created Quicktime movies are backed up elsewhere, then the Quicktime

movies become the only copies of the clips.

LOG AND TRANSFER:

P2 media is imported into FCP to the Log and Transfer window. This window offers a browser in the upper left-handquadrant to navigate to source P2 media on either a card or on a hard drive. The button cluster at the top center of the

Log and Transfer window allows changing of the browser settings and setting of preferences for Log and Transfer. The

preferences pane allows multiple transcoding options for AVC-Intra clips in either AVC-I-native or a variety of ProRes

formats. Be sure to check the Remove Advanced Pulldown or Duplicate Frames box when shooting DVCPRO HD

1080 24PA and 30P.

Clips may be viewed and marked with

in and out points using the transport

window, and any changes to lename

or clip info may be entered here before

clips are added to the project by pressingthe Add Clip to Queue button. Importing

through Log & Transfer is a background

process so multiple clips may be imported

while others are logged or edited within the

FCP timeline.

3RD PARTY MXF OPTIONS:

A number of third-party providers offer solutions for bypassing the Log and Transfer window. In general, these methods

offer drastically increased efciency and productivity when used in the right context. Some of these applications

(Raylight, HD Log) create MXF aliases that reference source P2 media, while others work as background or nder levelapplications (Calibrated Software, MXF4MAC). Applications such as MXF4MAC and Calibrated Software work best in a

standardized environment where every machine on a particular project has an install of the application. Also, it is critical

that any MXF aliases travel with and remain in the same exact le directory as source MXF media . Simply renaming the

MXF folder can break the link and begin a time consuming process re-linking or re-creating the aliases.

RECORDERS:

Panasonic offers other options for recording content, including the AJ-HPM200 and AJ-HPM110 P2 Mobiles and the

AG-HPG20 P2 Portable. These units offer HD/SDI input for recording video to P2 cards as master-quality *AVC-Intra 100

(AJ-HPM110 requires AJ-YBX200 options card) or in other DVPRO-HD/50/25 frame rates and formats.

All P2 HD cameras stream DVCPRO HD through the FireWire port (except for the VariCam 3700). This has given riseto a number of options for recording DVCPRO HD directly to standalone recorders in QuickTime native les. There is

both efciency and redundancy in this option because the camera can record to both P2 and the hard disk recorder

simultaneously. Files from the hard disk recorder can be dragged directly into an FCP project for an efcient editing

process. Additionally, FCP can capture the FireWire DVCPRO HD stream directly to disk using the Log & Capture

window. Keep in mind that DVCPRO HD native modes (24PN, 30PN) and AVC-Intra system modes DO NOT stream

through the FireWire port .


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P2 And FInAl CUT PRO 7:

With the release of the newest version of Final Cut Pro, Apple has given lmmakers using P2 a number of new features

that add to their efciency and creative potential.

One of the most potent features of the P2 camera system is a metadata system that allows the camera to do things

such as name clips, locations and creators. The following two graphics show the robust detail the P2 Metadata System

provides when compared to Quicktime.

P2 METADATA FIELDS:

QUICkTIME LOGGING FIELDS:

The most useful of these features is the User Clip

Name, a metadata eld in which the camera will

apply a specied name and shot count to each

clip, thereby negating the need for shot logging

in post. Thankfully, Final Cut Pro now recognizes

user clip names in the Log and Transfer window.

As far as this writer is concerned, this featurealone is worth the price of admission. Clips can

now be brought right into Final Cut Pro with

logging and naming already done. This is a very

helpful to the workow.

Another long-awaited feature in Final Cut Pro is

native AVC-Intra editing. Given that lm makers

have long had native DVCPRO HD editing this has been an often requested feature for AVC-Intra, Panasonics newest

10-bit standard. You can now import AVC-Intra clips directly into FCP through the Log and Transfer window and they do

indeed appear in the project browser as native AVC-Intra clips. Just like DVCPRO HD, a native Quicktime of the imported

clips is created in the capture scratch. However, there is currently no sequence preset for AVC-Intra so it is best to drop


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the native AVC-Intra clips into a ProRes sequence. For cuts-only editing, the timeline will play back from the AVC-

Intra les. However, wherever a render is involved, that will be in the codec set in the sequence settings (i.e. ProRes as

suggested).

It is this writers opinion that whenever doing an AVC-Intra project where there will be large-scale rendering or color

correction, it will be fastest to transcode the AVC-Intra les to ProRes through Log & Transfer rather than import them as

native AVC-Intra les.

P2 BASICS:

Whenever we record in P2, the media is stored on P2 cards in the MXF format. What this means is that the components

of our video stream are separated and stored in individual folders. The picture below demonstrates what our P2 media

looks like once it has been accessed on a computer desktop.

Within each P2 card are folders for CONTENTS and LASTCLIP.TXT. Both the folder and the le are critical to

maintaining the integrity of the recorded media, so always remember to move them together to any new destination. (If

you lose the LASTCLIP le, you can safely substitute one from another card or project).

P2 MEDIA FOLDERS ON HDD

Within CONTENTS you can see that

there is a folder forAUDIO, CLIP, ICON,

PROXY, VIDEO and VOICE, and each

folder contains only those specic parts

of the video stream. In case youre

wondering, clip refers to the XML data

(metadata, timecode information) of the

clip and icon refers to the thumbnail.

Proxy is a feature only available on

cameras with a specic proxy encoder

that generates off-line versions as the

full resolution clips are captured. There is a separate white paper on proxy editing in FCP on the Panasonic website ifyou would like to know more about that. Voice refers to annotation memos recorded after the source clip, but they are

not supported as of yet in FCP.

AVC-INTRA OR DVCPRO HD?

At this time, there are two possible recording modes for P2 media: DVCPRO HD or AVC-Intra . Both modes offer intra-

frame compression and 4:2:2 sampling. All high denition P2 cameras shoot in DVCPRO-HD, but only certain models

shoot in AVC-I. In some cameras such as the AG-HPX370, AJ-HPX2700 and AJ-HPX3700 Varicams AVC-Intra is a

standard feature, but in other ENG cameras or eld recorders (AJ-HPM110) it is only possible with an optional card. The

AG-HPG20 and AJ-HPM200 eld recorders both offer AVC-Intra as a standard feature.

Compression systems are often referred to as codecs. The term codec is short for coder / decoder. DVCPRO

HD is Panasonics proprietary 8-bit codec that continues to be used for every level of HD acquisition. First introduced in

models such as the tape-based Varicam, DVCPRO HD continues to be widely adopted within the broadcast world for

every type of production from sports and news to drama and wildlife documentaries.

AVC-Intra 100 (or Advanced Video Codec-Intra Frame 100 Mb/s) is Panasonics 10-bit, full raster codec that implements

the newest H.264 compression. Shooting with AVC-Intra 100 is truly like shooting with a 10-bit master camcorder. The

more advanced compression scheme in AVC-Intra 100 allows the capture of footage that is about the same le size, but

substantially better picture quality than DVCPRO HD.

Additionally, AVC-Intra 50 captures a quality roughly comparable to DVCPRO HD but at half the bandwidth of AVC-

Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD. This is a great codec for documentary work or areas where the efciency of the acquisition


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is a priority and 4:2:0 intra-frame sampling is satisfactory. This format is ideally suited to news and documentary

productions.

It is worth keeping in mind that DVCPRO HD has the ability to shoot in native modes in 720P whereas AVC-Intra is native

in both 1080 or 720. In native mode formats, the camera will only record the exact frame number in a specied frame

rate. So for example, for 24PN (native) only 24 (23.98) frames will be recorded. But since DVCPRO HD was originally

implemented as a tape-based format, there is also the option of recording such frame rates (24P, 25P, 30P, 60i/P) within a

59.94 stream as it might be recorded to tape. This can be useful when handing footage off for direct broadcast or when

mixing footage between P2 and tape-based cameras. It is important to remember that in DVCPRO HD 1080i all frame

rates are recorded over 59.94 and there is no native recording. If the wrong frame has been inadvertently recorded, itis possible to re-conform in Cinema Tools (part of the Final Cut Studio suite), but this can be a time consuming process

where the shot count is high and audio sync may be affected.

The factors to most consider in choosing which codec is right for a project are the required image resolution and

the efciency and ease of integration into post. For work that is likely to be projected on a large screen or used in

compositing, 10-bit AVC-Intra has the most to offer. Projects with a lot of footage in a less demanding application might

benet from shooting in AVC-Intra 50 or DVCPRO HD 720 24/30P native. Additionally, since all current and previous HD

cameras from Panasonic shoot in DVCPRO HD, the codec might be a strong choice for multi-camera shoots involving

DVCPRO HD-only cameras. Remember that FCP uses an open timeline wherein different formats can be mixed, so if

certain shots call for compositing in a primarily documentary-style shoot, then mixing DVCPRO HD or AVC-Intra 50 and

AVC-Intra 100 wont be a problem.

From a workow standpoint, all the codecs will ingest via Log and Transfer and edit in a similar manner.

P2 ACQUISITION: BEST PRACTICES

As with other areas in lm production, a little bit of planning goes a long way when determining what codec to shoot

and the proper protocols to follow -- the best practices. Beginning with the end in mind usually works best at this stage.

What format is the deliverable? What are the capabilities of the post workow? Will there be any additional uses for the

footage down the road with higher requirements than current needs? Knowing exactly what is expected down the road

makes decisions a lot easier.

Even the most basic projects benet from the P2 metadata system. As mentioned above, metadata can save weeks if

not months in terms of logging and other repetitive tasks. All that it takes is a little bit of forethought to create metadata

les to be loaded into the cameras, and then it only takes a minute or so to load new scene les between setups.

Here is a picture of the metadata window in Panasonics Contents Management Software (A free utility in the support

section at www.panasonic.com/p2). There is also a white paper on metadata available on the Panasonic site.


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As you can see, there are a lot of elds and FCP takes advantage of some of the elds, but the all-important user clip

name is recognized. This feature alone has the power to drastically improve and facilitate post-production and archiving.

OFFLOAD IN THE FIELD

There is a lot of discussion about best practices for ofoading in the eld, and perhaps a reason for this is that there are

so many options available. The most important thing is to have a solid plan and methodology and to stick with it for any

given project if possible.

P2 Cards have a write-protect tab, and it is a good idea to set this to protect before mounting cards on computers.

This is a similar concept to the record tab on a videotape. This keeps the computer from accidentally erasing any

media, and it prevents Mac computers from writing invisible directory les (a procedure it does for every mounted

volume). The Macs directory les are harmless except when written to a full P2 card, because in essence, the cards

may become too full to be mounted thereafter. Should this happen, the x is to mount the cards on a PC (or a Mac in

PC mode) and delete all non-P2 les.

Some P2 users create an individual number or label for each card on a shoot and keep a log of the exact time cards

come to the ofoading station and what camera they came from. Additionally, if multiple destination drives are in usethey can be identied on the table as well. Personally, I use a system where each camera gets a certain number of

cards labeled specically (A1,A2, B1,B2...) so that it is easy to monitor cards as they come off camera. For multi-camera

shoots, this makes it easier to track cards across all cameras. Keep in mind that the white space on the back of the P2

card can be written on with a Sharpie and the ink will rub off with alcohol or lens cleaner solution. As such, P2 cards

on my shoots often wind up with useful information such as the card identier and the times at which ofoads are

completed.

The important thing is not that you adhere to one of the above methodologies, but that you implement a consistent

methodology and remain zealous about the details.

So now we have shot our cards. After write-protecting the P2 cards, the next step is to use a computer or the cameras


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to ofoad to a hard drive. It should be noted that this process creates a copy of the P2 card on your drive, but that FCP

doesnt actually reference these clips independently and they must be ingested through Log and Transfer. This will

create a QuickTime le that is the same size as the MXF source media. What this means is that if you have a 1 GB clip in

MXF, Final Cut Pro will create a 1 GB QuickTime movie of that clip. There are third-party applications that allow FCP to

directly access the MXF source clips, and they are discussed in the Third-Party MXF Section.

One way to avoid this doubling of le sizes is to ingest directly from the cards through Log and Transfer so that only

the QuickTime movies reside on the hard drive. Keep in mind that this process only creates a Quicktime and doesnt

also archive the MXF les. If this is the only step in an ofoad process then the QuickTimes essentially become the only

master copies. Having the original source MXF les to turn to in an emergency can be reassuring even though it doesrequire additional storage space.

A camera or other P2 player/recorder (HPG-20, HPM200) may be used in Host Mode to ofoad P2 media material

directly to a single hard drive. In addition, using a computer with its internal PCMCIA slot or a P2 card reader, such as

the 5-slot AJ-PCD20 or AJ-PCD35 or one slot AJ-PCD2, to ofoad offers the ability to create redundant backups in the

eld. It is recommended to use a veried ofoad program to ofoad and verify the footage. Panasonics P2 CMS offers

this functionality as do programs such as Imagine Products Shotput.

The following graphic shows ShotPut Pros ofoad window. Notice the unique naming system and elds for up to three

ofoad destinations. Very handy.

Some programs (as above) copy to multiple destination drives foran immediate redundant backup, but where this is not possible,

simply create a mirrored raid so that the program thinks its

copying to one drive but in reality is copying to two drives. Or,

simply repeat the ofoad process once for each drive.


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The following graphic shows settings to create a mirrored raid set in Apples Disk Utility. Simply mount identical-sized

drives, select them in the Disk Utilities browser and make raid settings as follows.

Some users also prefer to set Volume Format to Mac OS Extended (not journaled) to free the nder from the processing

required to catalog and maintain media drives.

Additionally, FCP can be used to ofoad footage from a P2 card to a destination hard drive through the Log and Transfer

window. Simply select a P2 card from the Log and Transfer window, control-click and then select Archive to Folder (the

specic folder on your destination hard drive).

If no ofoad program is available on a computer, it is possible (though not as reliable) to drag & drop and then do a

cursory manual verication. Simply get info (command -- A) on the CONTENTS folders on the P2 card and its clone onthe destination hard drive. If the exact number of bytes matches, then you should be in good shape. The transfer utility

programs do a higher level of verication but generally take longer than the nder for the transfer.

P2 footage should be ingested such that each card has its own unique folder on the hard drive. It is absolutely essential

to remember that both the CONTENTS folder containing the various clip elements and the LASTCLIP.TXT le must be

moved together to fully constitute the P2 volume on a destination hard drive. There is an additional white paper available

on the P2 support site that discusses typical times for ofoad and ingest. If the LASTCLIP.TXT le is accidentally lost or

misplaced, one from another card can be used as a substitute. The contents of the LASTCLIP le are not important. It is

only necessary that the le be present for FCP to operate properly.


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lOg And TRAnSFER: BASICS

Whether importing DVCPRO HD or AVC-I, the rst stop in FCP is always the Log and Transfer window (command-

shift-8).

If a P2 card doesnt immediately load into Log and Transfer, simply navigate to the P2 card (generally recognized as

NONAME) or the media folder on your hard drive (the folder level above CONTENTS and LAST CLIP.TXT) by selecting the

folder icon in the upper left-hand corner of the Log and Transfer window.

Note the specic user clip name in the top two clips.

These names were generated using the metadata system.

Think about how easy and convenient this could make

the editing process. From simple single camera work to

multi-camera environments, the user clip name drastically

speeds organization of any project. For more on metadata,

please see the metadata white paper also available on the

P2 support site. The remaining clips all show the standard

six-digit alphanumeric clip ID that the P2 system assigns

to every clip.

As you can see, Log and Transfer creates a browser column of clips on the left-hand side. On the right half of the Logand Transfer window, clips can be viewed, marked with in and out points, logged and selected for ingest by pressing

Add Clip to Queue.


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To transfer an entire card at a time simply select the card or all of the clips in the card and then press the Add Selection

to Queue but at the bottom-right of the column view. Or, use the Automatic Transfer button at the bottom of the Log and

Transfer window to transfer all clips within a specied directory or volume.

To the right of the search window at the top of the Log and Transfer screen

are buttons for list or hierarchical views, the latter giving greater detail

as to the location of source clips. The toggle button on the right is thepreferences button.

DVCPRO HD clips always transfer into FCP as DVCPRO HD QuickTime

les but there are a number of options for ingest of AVC-Intra clips including

ProRes, ProRes HQ

or AVC-Intra natively

(FCP 7). Its always a

good idea to check the

preferences to verify that

the correct settings have

been chosen. The nextgraphic shows the Log

and Transfer preferences

window, and the options

for setting the AVC-Intra

import codec.

Be sure to check the Remove Advanced Pulldown or Duplicate Frames box when shooting DVCPRO HD 1080 24PA

and 30P. Doing so ensures that FCP will import true progressive frame rates and remove any pulldown frames or elds.

The following table shows the approximate bit rates for the various P2 and ProRes codecs.

Codec Bit Rate (Mb/s) @ 60p / 60i

DVCPRO HD 100

AVC-Intra 100

ProRes 422 HQ 236

ProRes 422 145

ProRes LT 100

ProrRes Proxy 50

The critical thing to remember is that FCP cannot (at this point) create an AVC-Intra timeline. What that means for users

is that even if they set preferences to ingest native AVC-Intra les, the non-native AVC-Intra timeline will always require

that the clips be be rendered into the timeline codec.

As such, ProRes of any avor remains a better timeline option than AVC-I ntra wherever many renders (effects,

transitions) will be required. .

3RD PARTY APPLICATIONS FOR DIRECT INGEST AND NATIVE EDITING

There are a number of applications that offer workarounds for direct MXF import into FCP. Not all applications use the

same technique, but the basic idea is that they offer solutions so that FCP views the MXF clips as QuickTimes. The

original programs offering this capability rely on a set of aliases that point FCP back to the source MXF data, essentially


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re-wrapping via aliases so that the MXFs look like QuickTimes. Some of the newer offerings actually allow direct drag-

and-drop of the MXF clips into the nal cut browser just like Quicktime clips.

But theres a catch ... All of these programs (whether accessing metadata or not) stumble when dealing with clips larger

than 4 GB in size. Why is this? Well, it has to do with the modied FAT 32 architecture used on P2 cards which has a limit

of 4 GB per partition. Therefore, le size is limited to 4 GB in this particular format. What this means for P2 users is that

when our clips go over 4 GB in size, they essentially span into another partition until that one is full and then the process

repeats. This is much the same process that takes place when a shot spans across two cards. It is absolutely 100%

reliable. (This is essentially what any computer does when it formats a large drive as FAT 32 or DOS format. The

choice of FAT32 for the P2 format allows universal access of the card data from nearly any operating system whetherMac, Windows or Linux).

The catch is what to do with these segmented clips. FCP recognizes the segmentation in much the same way that it

recognizes spanned clips, so the process is transparent to us. Clips appear in the FCP Log and Transfer window in

exactly the form we would expect them to. But where these third-party programs are concerned, each 4 GB segment of

a clip (or section of a span clip for that matter) comes in as its own discrete clip. If you throw them all on a timeline and

string them together they play back continuously, as though only one clip were present. For many applications, this is

absolutely ne. Commercials and most narrative work rarely have shots longer than 4 GB in le size. But in longer form

work, the longer clip length is the rule, not the exception. Therefore, pay careful attention to the type of project at hand

before considering use of any of these applications. The following graphic shows the approximate length (in minutes) for

a 4 GB le in the various codecs.

P2 4 GB FILE SIzE CLIP LENGTH

FRAME RATE / FORMAT APPROX LENGTH FOR 4 GB FILE

720 24P 12:25

720 30P 8

720 60P 4

1080 24P (N) (AVC-I) 5

1080 30P (N) (AVC-I) 4

1080 60i (1080 24P, 24PA, 30DVCPRO HD)

4

So, in looking at the table it is clear that some formats work better than others in the world of third party MXF helpers.

Commercials and promotional work benet from either 1080 or 720, but longer form projects clearly benet from the

efciency of 720 24P or 30P.

In general, MXF helpers work best in a standardized environment where every machine on a particular project has an

install of the helper. Again, it is critical that any aliases generated by the application are kept in, and travel with, the same

le directory as source MXF media. Simply changing the name of the folder that media is kept in can affect the link

between the aliases and the source media, slowing the edit or requiring the creation of new aliases.

RECORdERS

Panasonic offers other options for recording content, including the AJ-HPM200 and AJ-HPM110 P2 Mobiles, and the

AG-HPG20 P2 Portable. These units offer HD/SDI input for recording video to P2 cards as master-quality *AVC-Intra 100

(AJ-HPM110 requires AJ-YBX200 options card) or in other DVPRO-HD/50/25 frame rates and formats.

An additional option for recording native QuickTime or Avid clips is to use a hard disk recorder such as models like the

Focus Enhancements Firestore or the CitiDisk. These recorders connect to the camera via FireWire to record the 8-bit

DVCPRO HD stream. Files created on hard disk recorders can be dragged right into FCP without any need to go through

Log and Transfer or any need to worry about individual clip length.


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Keep in mind that the FireWire ports on the cameras are only active in non-native modes, meaning that any format with

an N after it (i.e. 720 24PN). 24P and 30P DVCPRO HD can still be recorded by simply selecting the mode without an

N (i.e. 720 24P, not 24PN). In some cases, these recorders do a pulldown removal before writing the le so that they

are capable of recording in true 24P or 30P.

Another consideration is that variable frame rates only record in native modes on the smaller cameras and there will

be no variable frame rate on output to the hard disk recorder . Cameras such as the Varicam 2700 continue to output

DVCPRO HD over rewire (at 59.94 with pull-down ags if required) regardless of frame rate. Additionally, the hard disk

recorder carries its own proprietary naming system which does not include metadata from the camera.

Hard disk recorders used to excel in long-form videography applications such as weddings, games, live events or

in-studio applications. However, P2 card capacities have increased to 64GB. This size increase as well as many P2

cameras offering up to ve P2 card slots has limited the need for 3rd party hard disk recorders. In addition, hard disks

have a limited tolerance for harsh conditions and vibration such as might be found at a rock concert or in more extreme

situations.

For Dual-link 4:4:4 recording from the VariCam 3700, there are three major options. These include recorders from S-Two

Codex and KG (Keisoku-Giken) These products offer different record capabilities, but generally will record this content

as uncompressed DPX les. Please contact Panasonic or these companies for further information on 4:4:4 record

workows.

DIRECT CAPTURE IN FCP:

FCP can capture the FireWire DVCPRO HD stream directly to disk using the Log & Capture window (command-8). Here

we see the Log and Capture window.

To capture DVCPRO HD, simply connect the camera via

FireWire, open Log & Capture, set the Capture/Input to

DVCPRO HD and click on Capture Now. Device control

should be set to DVCPRO HD. However, a generic FireWire

setting should work ne as well.


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Remember that AVC-Intra and DVCPRO HD Native modes do not stream over FireWire. So 24PN and 30PN will not work

with Log & Capture.

It is also possible to access the Scopes tools within Log and Capture to analyze video on the waveform and

vectorscope.

WORkING WITH P2 MEDIA IN FCP:

Once clips have been properly imported into the FCP browser, editing is just as with any other source media. FCP does

work on an open format timeline but it is a good idea to set sequence presets to the most widely used format within

a project. In general, FCP does a very good job of mixing different frame sizes, but mixing frame rates can potentially

introduce artifacts except where you want to over and under crank.

The following image shows a sample browser from a multi-camera shoot where the rst letter in the clip name identies

the camera angle, the rst number identies the scene and the four digit number following the T identies the takenumber. If you ever have any doubt regarding frame rate or format of a clip, simply scroll to the right in the browser as

shown in this image to see frame size, video rate and compressor.

Here is a last reminder that when working with AVC-Intra les, they will show up in the browser with a AVC-Intra

compressor setting, but when they are dropped to a timeline a render bar will appear above any clips. The AVC-Intra

clips will play back ne within the timeline allowing for basic use as in print to video, but any effects, compositing, color

grading or output from the timeline (other than Print to Video) requires a full re-render to the timeline settings.

CONCLUSION:

Weve covered the basic tenets of working with P2 in FCP in this document. The beauty of working with FCP is the

ability to get up and running in a relatively quick time without worrying too much about details and settings. With the

parameters that we covered in this paper, most users should be off to a good start. But be sure to do several trial run-

throughs of any anticipated workows.

Panasonics P2 system offers one of the most reliable means of acquisition, and when coupled with a well-organized

workow involving Final Cut Pro it is extremely efcient. Good luck and happy shooting!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hal Long works as a Director and Cinematographer through Henry Films, Los Angeles (www.henrylms.com). His work

has received Emmy nominations and won numerous commercial awards and lm festivals worldwide. He has recently

directed spots for Cadillac, Qwest and Subaru.

Documents

P2 HD FCP7 White Paper