The Case For Treating FCP As A System
At a SF Cutters meeting some time ago, I asked those that had speakers and a video monitor hooked up to their DV Deck as it states in the manual....(see the above illustration).
Only a few out of 50 people at the whole meeting had their systems set up to spec. I was aghast!
I guess this is because a lot of editors these days are "self-trained" so there is no way they'll know about how important system set up is. In the classes I teach, proper system setup is something that I definitely hammer into my students. It's that important.
Why?
90% of all confusion, pilot error and the like can be attributed to not having your system set up properly and according to the manual. If you haven't looked at the manual - guess what? Likely you're set up wrong, or you are at least confused by why you don’t hear your audio in certain situations, you are confused by blurry graphics, have synch issues, etc.
You see - FCP is more than an app–it's a system! You should think of it as such. Avid is an NLE system. FCP should also be thought of as an NLE system - with all the parts in place to make your life easier.
Cutting DV? This means that your DV Device should be powered up the entire time as you edit. A good DV Deck is designed to withstand lots of hours in being powered up. I've used a DV Camcorder as a deck for hours and days on end and I just keep the LCD panel closed. It works just fine.
You see, a DV Deck or Camcorder has more uses than you may have thought. It's not only for capturing and laying back - it's also for transcoding your audio and video signal for monitoring - which means seeing and hearing your video as it really is in the real world. A WYSIWYG environment, if you will.
Each DV device has a DV decode chip within it. When your video passes through your deck, you get a high quality signal passed through to the external speakers and NTSC monitor so you can monitor at the highest quality. This is why most experts tell you to do your critical editing while set up this way.
Most surprising was to find that most people not raising their hands don't even use a video monitor as they edit. Incredible! How many pro editing suites have you ever seen without a video monitor? I never have. The only time I do not use my video monitor is when I'm cutting offline on my trusty TiBook, in the cafe or on the plane. It is foolish to work without a video monitor, so if you can't afford one now - you can use the best TV in the house until you can. Hook it to your DV Deck via a S-Video cable for best results.
Yep - it’s called monitoring. Every pro editor monitors external
audio and video as they work. If you don't - you should!
Every pro editor needs decent monitoring equipment. I have a word for those that don't have decent monitoring gear: Hobbyists. ;-)
Proper System Setup
Friday, May 26, 2006
