Visual QuickStart Guide [Electronic resources] : Final Cut Express HD for Mac OS X نسخه متنی

Print to Video: Rendering Tips

• The quality of the render settings you specify on the Render Control tab of the Sequence Settings window before you use Print to Video is reflected in the quality and size of the playback window you see on your computer screen and on your video tape copy. In other words, what you see is what you get.

• If you have multiple layers of sub-sequences in your sequence (sub-sequences within sub-sequences inside the master sequence), it's a good idea to render material in the nested items at the lowest root, or sub-sequence, level firstat least for the first render. Subsequent adjustments and re-renders can be processed at the parent level, and Final Cut Express will more reliably find all the nested sub-sequence material that requires re-rendering.

• The pre-program elements discussed in the section "Print to Video settings checklist" must be rendered before you can print to video.

• If you use the same pre-program sequence frequently, you may want to use the Print to Video function to assemble your color bars, leader, slate, and countdown in advance. After your pre-program sequence has been rendered, print it to video and then capture it as a clip. You can drop your prepared pre-program clip into sequences before you print, speeding up the final output process.

• Be sure your tape is long enough to record the entire program running time as calculated by the Duration Calculator. Most tape stock has a little extra capacity over the program length printed on the packaging, but it's a good idea to respect the official program-length capacity.

1.

Read and follow the setup process described in "Setting up for recording to tape" earlier in this chapter.

2.

In the Browser, select the sequence or clip you want to print (Figure 19.10 ). Open the sequence and make the Timeline active.

3.

Choose File > Print to Video.

The Print to Video dialog box will appear.

4.

Select the program elements you want to include in your program. Refer to the "Print to Video settings checklist" earlier in this chapter for explanations of your options. If you need to change any of the settings, do so now.

5.

Click OK (Figure 19.11 ).

If the sequence you select needs to be rendered before it can be printed, FCE automatically renders any unrendered sequence material, plus any additional program elements you've specified. When the rendering is complete, FCE displays a dialog box telling you to go ahead and start recording on your video deck. If render quality settings on this sequence's Render Control tab specify less than full quality, FCE will display this helpful advisory dialog box (Figure 19.12 ). Click OK to proceed with the Print to Video operation.

6.

Start recording on your video deck or camcorder, and when the device is up to speed, click OK to start playback of your Final Cut Express sequence.

7.

When your program material has finished printing, stop recording on your deck or camcorder. Final Cut Express doesn't provide any end-of-process beep (the large black box disappears from the screen, and the interface returns), so check in at the scheduled end-of-program if you plan on recording unattended.

8.

Play back your recorded sequence and check the quality.

• If you don't specify a post-program black trailer, Final Cut Express will hold on the last frame of your sequence, creating a freeze-frame that will be recorded onto your tape until you stop recording.

• Once the Print to Video process is complete, you'll have access to the render files created for Print to Video in your regular Timeline version of the sequence.

• HDV users take note: Because FCE uses AIC, an intermediate codec, to handle HDV footage inside the application, all HDV projects must be rendered before they can be output back to tape in HDV format. Apple recommends that you take extra care to avoid any possible interruption in this rendering process. HDV users should read Apple's Knowledge Base Article 300775, Final Cut Express HD: Tips for HDV Print to Video. This Kbase article provides a checklist of activities that could possibly interrupt your HDV Print to Video operation, and suggests ways to avoid trouble.

Output Options for HDV

If you're one of the first human beings in history to complete an HDV project, congratulations and welcome to the cutting edgethat chilly breeze blowing through your HDV-format project right now is a lack of true HD distribution options. HD-DVD and Blu-Raythe two competing DVD formats that can handle HD videoaren't due to be released until later in 2005. What are your options right now?

FCE HD offers a wide variety of output options. These two are the best available options for HDV:

• You can use FCE's Print to Video function to record your HDV material back out to your HDV camcorder. FCE HD will automatically re-encode your AIC-format media files back to HDV format before recording the material back to video tape.

• You can export your HDV format material for use in iDVD. The export operation is the same for HDV and DV format material; both are converted to MPEG-2 for use in iDVD.

1.

Load the tape to which you want to record into your deck or camcorder and cue the tape to the point where you want recording to start. If you are starting your recording at the beginning of a tape, be sure to record a few seconds of black at the very head of the tape.

2.

Follow steps 1 through 4 in the preceding section, "To print a sequence or clip to video without device control." When the Print to Video dialog box appears, be sure to select Automatically Start Recording to enable FCE's device control over your camcorder or deck (Figure 19.13 ); then click OK.

If your selected settings will output video or audio at less than full quality, FCE will display an advisory dialog box. Click OK to proceed with the Print to Video operation.

When the sequence rendering is complete, Final Cut Express will automatically place your video deck in Record mode and then start playback. When the recording is complete, FCE will stop recording on your deck, the large black box will disappear from the screen, and the interface will return.