Re: AVI or MP4 files in FCP - can I avoid constant sequence rendering?

Hi Folks

I hope someone can help. I'm using footage from a headcamera that records in AVI. I'm editing in FCP on a MacBook Pro, one of the newer ones (pretty good).

My problem is that when I put an AVI clip (in this case one minute, but I will be using a lot of footage) on the sequence, it needs rendering (which takes two minutes) in order to see the visual or hear the audio on the sequence.

When rendered, I can blade the clips and move them around fine, but when I overlap clips, the timeline needs another render so to see or hear the overlapping part again. The process could go on and on.

I converted my AVI files to MP4, which seems to import ok into FCP (I don't have facilities to convert to QuickTime). This time, when I move the same one-minute clip into the sequence, it again demands slightly shorter audio render to hear it, but I can see the visual.

After rendering the MP4 audio, I can reshuffle the clips fine. But this time when I overlap them, they do not need rendering but I am getting dropped frames - or a freezing effect - at the end of each clip that overlaps. A render of the video makes no difference.

Can I re-adjust sequence settings etc so I do not have to render the AVI or MP4 files so I can edit without having to render the sequence just to see and hear the footage?

Any help is much appreciated and apologies if my problem isn't very clear.

Cameron

Hi there
seems like you could, after rendering the first time, just export the avi files as a quicktime with the current timeline settings and import the quicktime back in, to be used instead of the avi.

hope it helps
g

AVI is merely a wrapper that could be made from any number of codecs. And not all codecs are edit friendly. Your best option would be to convert the AVI files to an editable format that matches your FCP Sequence settings PRIOR to importing into your FCP project.

And no, MPEG-4 isn't an edit friendly format either. It was designed to be a highly compressed final-delivery codec, primarily for web video viewing (good quality, low file size). Don't convert your footage to a delivery format ...convert it to whatever matches your FCP Sequence settings.

-DH

Hi Gary and David - many thanks for your speedy replies.

Exporting the rendered AVI files as QuickTime, to import back in, is a great idea. I'll definitely try that and I should have thought of that. I have been trying to convert AVI to any (!) FCP edit friendly codecs, but struggling. I presume QuickTime is the most edit-friendly. Are there any others known to be FCP edit-friendly? Otherwise, I'll do the QuickTime export.

Cheers

c

>> I presume QuickTime is the most edit-friendly

Like AVI, QuickTime is merely a container that could be made from many different codecs ... some of which are NOT editable formats.

To be really "edit friendly," convert the file(s) to the format/codec that matches your FCP Sequence settings.

-DH

Hi David

The FCP sequence settings are just the ones I usually use - the PAL 48kHz anamorphic option from the drop down menu on the top left of the screen. Should I be using something else, or somewhere else to reset sequence settings, to use AVI as an edit friendly format? (or even QuickTime). Sorry, I'm not massively technically minded - I can do the basics, usually - so thanks for your help.

C