Final Cut Pro: Copying Filters

I never realized until today just how many methods there were for copying filters from one clip to another in Final Cut Pro.

1. In the Filters tab for the clip, Ctrl-Click on the name of the filter and select Copy or press Cmd-C. Select the other clip, switch to its Filter tab and press Cmd-V.

2. In the Filters tab, drag the filter name and drop it onto the other clip(s).

3. Some tools like the 3-way Color Corrector give you a little "grab" icon within its interface that you can drag onto other clips.

4. Copy the entire clip, ctrl-click the second clip and select Paste Attributes. Deselect everything except Filters.

5. Use the copying commands in the Modify > Copy Filters menu or use the shortcut keys: Ctrl+Alt+2 = Copy from 2nd clip back, Ctrl+Alt+3 = Copy from 1st clip back, Ctrl+Alt+4 = Copy to 1st clip forwards and Ctrl+Alt+5 = Copy to 2nd clip forwards.

6. Select all of the clips you want to apply the filter to (Edit > Find is useful for this) and drag them up to a higher track. With the items still selected, go to Sequence > Nest Items and make sure the settings in the dialog match your current timeline settings. Click Ok and then apply the filter to the nested sequence.

7. Go to Effects > Make Favorite Effect. You can then select the other clips and go to Effects > Favorites (under the Video heading) and select your filter to apply those settings. Alternatively, you can drag the filter (using one of the methods of grabbing it described above) to the Favorites bin in the Effects tab in the Browser (you can also give it a more descriptive name here).

That's 7 ways I can think of... can anyone think of any more?

Posted by Jon Chappell on May 22 2008 to Final Cut Studio, Video Editing
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Activity Monitor 101: System memory

Activity Monitor (located in Applications/Utilities) is a great tool for monitoring system resource usage, and is a great way of locating rendering bottlenecks in your system.

In particular, the Memory tab shows you a great deal of information (note: this is from Leopard; Tiger's Activity Monitor looks a little different).

But what does this information mean? What exactly is wired memory? Here is a breakdown of what each item in the Memory tab refers to.

(For clarification, a swap file is a file on disk used to store currently inactive memory in order to make room in the system memory for active applications. For example, if you have Firefox running and you minimize it and then open iTunes, there is a good chance that a lot of Firefox's memory will be written to disk and the space freed will be assigned to iTunes. When you restore the Firefox window, it will copy the data from the disk back into memory again. Your hard disk is much slower than your memory chips so it is best to keep swap file usage to a minimum. This can be achieved by adding more memory to your system.)

Free: Unused memory that is available for any application to use.

Wired: Memory used by the operating system that cannot be touched by other applications. This memory cannot be written to a swap file.

Active: Memory currently used by applications. Note that this might not represent all of the memory used, as some may be stored in swap files.

Inactive: Memory stored from an application that is no longer running. OS X stores application data in a cache so that you can quickly relaunch applications a second time. If you start running out of free memory, the operating system will automatically start using inactive memory.

To clear inactive memory manually, go to Applications/Utilities/Terminal. When it launches, type purge and press enter. Note: it takes several seconds to process.

Used: Memory currently in use that cannot be immediately written to a swap file or allocated elsewhere.

VM size: The size of the swap file.

Page Ins / Page Outs: How often OS X is reading data from and writing to the swap file.

When deciding if you need an upgrade, consider the following:

Are your page ins/outs approximately equal to one another? Are they increasing rapidly?
Is the majority of your memory wired?
Do you have 10% or less of your memory free?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, consider more memory.

Posted by Jon Chappell on May 15 2008 to Apple, Software
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How to fully remove Final Cut Server

Apple has just released an Applecare document listing the files installed by Final Cut Server and detailing how to remove them. This follows on from the difficulties a lot of people had with removing it due to the large number of files it places in hidden system folders. This was further complicated by Apple not wanting fixes made public until they had a chance to address the issue themselves.

I will use this information to add support within FCS Remover shortly.

Posted by Jon Chappell on May 8 2008 to Apple, Final Cut Studio, Software
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ATI Radeon 3870 due next month for Mac Pro?

AppleInsider is reporting that the ATI Radeon HD 3870 will be due "next month" for both current and legacy Mac Pros.

Details are scarce (and possibly fictional) but the card is said to include 512 MB of DDR4 memory and support for CrossFire mode (linking two cards up to boost graphics performance, usually in video games) within Windows.

More importantly for professional users, it provides a mid-range alternative to NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GT which has ProApp performance issues.

Color users are particularly advised to invest in an ATI card because they support rendering in 10-, 12- and 16-bit modes in addition to NVIDIA's 8- and 32-bit offerings. The NVIDIA card gives you a choice between best and worst, with no in-between values. This can cause problems for people wanting something higher than 8-bit without the massive performance hit when working in 32-bit mode.

At present, the only way to get a mid-range ATI card in your new Mac Pro is to buy one of the ones from the old Mac Pros and update the firmware, although this has the caveat that you have to install it in an older Mac Pro first in order to update it. This news would appear to be the answer to many professional users' prayers, although I hope that Apple introduce a driver update for those that have already upgraded to the 8800 GT.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Apr 30 2008 to Hardware, Software, Apple
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Digital Rebellion 1 year old today

Digital Rebellion is exactly a year old today! And unlike a lot of start-ups, we're still here and going strong (amazingly).

It's been a year of great things for us. Perfect Sport is now complete and is doing very well at festivals, and our free online resources are proving popular. Looking forward, we have some more projects in the pipeline and I hope I can make an announcement towards the end of the year regarding these.

We've always encouraged comments and feedback and I feel this has been important to our success so I encourage that further. Either use our contact form or use the feedback link at the bottom of every page.

I'm not going out to celebrate or anything, but if you are planning on going to a bar, you are more than welcome to use this as an excuse for the wife :p

Posted by Jon Chappell on Apr 30 2008 to DR News, Front Page News
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Baz Luhrmann offers free filmmaking course on iTunes

Baz Luhrmann (director of Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge and the infamous Chanel commercial with Nicole Kidman) is now offering a free filmmaking course entitled Set to Screen in video podcast form on the iTunes store.

It lasts until October and each podcast features a specific aspect of the filmmaking process (e.g. set design, cinematography, etc) on Baz's new feature film, Australia, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. The first one, On Set Photography, is available now. Peter Jackson did something similar on King Kong which ended up being very successful.

If you're a high school or college student, five of the podcasts come with a challenge at the end. Complete the challenge, post it to the Apple Student Gallery and you could be in for the chance of winning an iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, or a MacBook Pro. A trip for two to Australia is also up for grabs, and the top prize in the final challenge is a trip to Australia with a chance to meet Baz and travel with him on the movie's promotional tour. Your project will also be featured on the movie's DVD release.

For those who aren't students, I think the podcasts are still very interesting regardless. I have a lot of respect for Baz and his work so I will be subscribing to this for sure and no doubt hanging on his every word.

[via CamcorderInfo]

Posted by Jon Chappell on Apr 30 2008 to Off-Topic
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CalDigit SAN announced at NAB

I just got this in my inbox courtesy of the LAFCPUG mailing list.

Right now at Digital Rebellion we're running Xserve RAIDs on Xsan 1.4. I love these things but they're loud, they kick out a lot of heat and they're no longer being made. They're still pretty good and they're not out of date yet but I have been looking at alternatives with the future in mind.

CalDigit, famous for their hardware RAID cards, demonstrated such an alternative at NAB. One major departure from the Xserve RAIDs and their replacement, the Promise VTrak E-Class, is the fact that it does not use 2 or 4 Gb Fibre Channel cables (which cost around $80 per cable) to transmit data. It uses ePCIe which allows it to transmit data at speeds of up to 20 Gbps and allows for very long cable lengths of up to 300m.

With the recent announcement of the entry-level Scarlet camera, the demand for real-time access to extremely high resolution streams looks set to increase dramatically and, luckily, the CalDigit SAN has the bandwidth to transfer multiple 2K streams in real-time.

Uniquely, there is also an ePCIe ExpressCard device to allow laptop users (MacBook Pro only) to access the SAN. This is not currently available for fibre-based networks.

There's nothing on their site as of yet but they have a press release out and it looks like more details will be announced nearer the shipping date, which is currently unknown. This is definitely something I'm keeping my eye on.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Apr 23 2008 to Hardware, Video Editing
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New tool: Lens Angle Calc

We've just released a new online tool: Lens Angle Calc. This allows you to calculate the horizontal or vertical lens angle from a given frame width / height and lens focal length.

This is very useful because it allows you to plan your shoot on paper and work out exactly where the camera should be placed before you even arrive on set - saving valuable time and avoiding awkward situations in small locations where you can't see the subject on your widest lens with your back against the wall. It is invaluable for effects work, where everything must be planned out in meticulous detail.

It can also work out the focal length of the lens from a given lens angle and frame width or height - very useful for working out which lens should be used in a certain situation.

Lens Angle Calc
Lens Angle Calc (iPhone version)

See our other web applications here.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Apr 22 2008 to DR News, Front Page News, Utilities
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NAB 2008 Summary

If, like me, you couldn't possibly keep up with all of the goings-on at NAB and decided to wait it out until the end, here is a short summary of the biggest announcements (or the ones most interesting to me anyway) in bitesize form.

RED
New low-end portable camera Scarlet

3K
Around $3000
Early 2009 release
New Mysterium X Sensor
1-120 fps (180 fps burst)
100MB/sec Redcode RAW and RGB recording via dual Compact Flash
4.8 inch LCD
Fixed 8x T2.8 lens
Auto and manual shooting modes
Wi-Fi control - this one opens up many possibilities

PVC Scarlet write-up

New high-end camera Epic

5K (up from 4K)
I have heard both $30,000 and $40,000 quoted (up from $17,500)
Early 2009 release
New Full-Frame S35 Mysterium X Sensor
1-100 fps (up from 1-60 fps)
100MB/sec (up from 36 MB/sec) Redcode and HDMI recording
6 lb body (down from 10 lbs)
RAW and RGB recording to Red Flash
Wi-Fi control
Fully upgradeable
You can get a full $17,500 credit for your Red One if you upgrade

PVC Epic write-up

New playback device RED Ray

Early 2009
4K in
4K, 2K, 1080p, 720p, SD playback
Can play back content from a regular red laser disc
Plays native R3D files from Compact Flash
4 HD SDI and 4
HDMI connections for 4K
2 HD SDI and 2 HDMI connections for 2K
2 hrs of 4K with 5.1 audio on a regular DVD
FireWire 800 for connecting external hard disks or cameras
Under $1000

PVC RED Ray write-up
Scott Simmons at the Editblog has several photographs of the various RED products.

Sony
PMW-EX3

Around $13,000
Uses SxS cards (similar to P2)
Removable lens
1080i / 720p switchable
Genlock and timecode inputs
Shoulder-mounted
Available late 2008

F35

S35-sized sensor
Extensive depth of field controls
Greater dynamic range than the F23 (800% more)
PL lens mount allows regular 35mm film lenses to be used

Panasonic
P2 Varicams (AJ-HPX3700 and AJ-HPX2700)

Now uses P2 cards exclusively. 5x P2 slots available on each camera
2/3" CCDs
Full-res 10-bit 4:2:2 AVC Intra-100 recording
Variable frame rates in 1-frame increments
Available fall 2008

AG-HPX170 solid-state camcorder

Improves on the successful HVX200
1/3" premium-quality CCDs offering increased sensitivity and lower noise
13x lens with 28mm wide-angle setting (widest in its class)
12-60 fps in 720p-mode
P2-only; no tape deck
Much smaller and lighter than the HVX200
Available fall 2008

Here is a great summary from DVXUser.com.

AJ-HVX200A camcorder

Successor to the hugely popular HVX-200
Incorporates the same lens and CCDs as the new HPX170 but with a tape deck for transitioning from a MiniDV workflow

Here is a great review from DVXUser.com.

64 GB P2 card

More than 4 hours of DVCPRO footage
More than 2 hours of DVCPRO50 or AVC-Intra 50
More than 64 minutes of AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD
Available fall 2008

AJ-PCD35 ExpressCard P2 drive

Allows P2 cards to be used in machines with ExpressCard ports
Can transfer from up to 5 cards at once
Available late 2008

Imagineer Systems
High-end finishing system mogul

Monthly subscription includes hardware, software and maintenance. Annual hardware upgrades
Open platform allows content sharing and management between multiple applications
Editing, compositing and grading integrated to allow you to switch from one to the other without rendering
Software "plugs in" to the architecture to perform certain tasks such as mogul/roto and mogul/comp with similar interfaces
mogul/serve shipping at NAB, other products to be determined

Studio Daily mogul interview

Matrox
MXO 2

Inputs: Component HD/SD, SDI HD/SD, Embedded SDI audio, Y/C, Composite, XLR audio, RCA audio, AES/EBU, HDMI, Embedded HDMI audio
Outputs: Component HD/SD, SDI HD/SD, Embedded SDI audio, Y/C, Composite, RCA audio, XLR audio, AES/EBU, HDMI, Embedded HDMI audio, Direct 5.1 surround monitoring
This does not have a DVI output like the MXO so it cannot output to a Cinema Display
Dynamic RT acceleration and hardware up/downscaling
Designed for HDMI monitoring with calibration and 1:1 pixel mapping
Black burst and tri-sync for HD
$1600
Released July 2008

Differences between the MXO and MXO 2 (PDF)
Shane Ross's write-up

Posted by Jon Chappell on Apr 19 2008 to Cameras, Hardware, Industry
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FCS Remover 1.0.7 released

We've just released FCS Remover 1.0.7.

The biggest new feature is Final Cut Server support (thanks to Morten Schmidt for helping with this). Clicking "Remove Final Cut Server" will remove the Final Cut Server software but not Compressor or Qmaster. To remove these as well, you will have to click "Remove Final Cut Studio" as unfortunately these two applications overlap into both pieces of software.

It also removes some Final Cut Studio support files that were missed out in previous versions.

FCS Remover allows you to remove Final Cut Studio 1 and 2, Final Cut Express and Final Cut Server at the press of a button.

Bug report
Feature request

Posted by Jon Chappell on Apr 18 2008 to DR News, Front Page News, Utilities
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