Hi again mattbrain.
Apologies that I couldn't post anything last night, but I was able to document the details that I needed so I can write this up at work today. Also, knowing that you are FCP X created some questions, but thanks to
seciors, I believe we can create a hybrid solution. Once you create your files you may however want to see if he can assist with any specific questions about editing once you have it in FCP X.
First as reference,
seciors documented his workflow for going from BD to FCP X. I'm not re-directing you there and calling it a day because his instructions for creating the video file, and getting an AC3 audio to work with are not directly relivent to you, but reading them may help reinforce the concepts at play. But his notes on part of the audio process are great, and from there, once you have video and audio files, I have to assume the workflow is identical for both HD and SD so I'll defer to his guidelines from that point since FCP X and FCP 7 are very different beasts.
A quick review of what you need to do:
1. Re-encode your duplicated file into a container and codec that FCP will work with, and do so in small bit-size chunks so that FCP X won't get bogged down.
2. Exporting 6 audio channels (assuming you are working in 5.1 sound) in the exact matching bite-size chunks.
You'll want to be highly organized in this process, by either using a folder for each 'bite' or by ensuring your name allows you to match them back up, or both.
The reason for these bite-size chunks are related to a 'feature' of FCP X. Now with most NLE programs you would rip one big video container for the full length of the film, and then 6 matching audio files. You import those into FC, line them up in your timeline and begin having fun.
Unfortunately FCP X has this nifty feature where it is constantly rendering your modifications in the background while you are editing. This is super-fantastic if your raw file is say, 10 minutes. The problem is that it re-renders the entire segment, so if your segment is 2 hours, it is churning on the whole damn thing, and within about 10-15 minutes of editing your resources are all tied up and you can't do anything.
seciors hints at this in his description, and a buddy of mine who uses FCP X for editing web content runs into this all the time. I suspect that the bloated nature of Apple's Codecs also contribute to this.
To avoid this you'll use the In and Out cutting ability of MPEG Stream Clip to export your video, and then audio in small chunks, roughly 10 minutes or so is probably small enough, though
First off, I suggest creating a series of folders in a structure that makes sense for you to keep track of things, a dedicated 'output' folder is probably enough. The process I am going to describe below will be for one 'chunk' which you can then repeat over and over until you're done (The following instructions assume you are working on NTSC 16:9 a/r DVD.
1. Launch MPEG Streamclip and then go to File->Open and navigate to the folder where you've made your copy of the DVD. In the Video TS folder look for a series of VOB files that are roughly 1 GB in size, typically 4 or 5 of them all in a row, they'll be named something like:
VTS_05_1.VOB
VTS_05_2.VOB
VTS_05_3.VOB and so on.
You'll see a whole bunch of stuff and they're grouped by VTS_0 as a prefix, consider them like chapters. On your DVD they may be _04_ or _03_ but they'll all be about a gig in size. Select the one that is VTS_0X_1.VOB. The program will then ask you "Would you like to open all of the stream together?" Select Open All Files.
2. You'll then get a window that is essentially a media player with a timeline that you can drag the playhead back and forth, play button, etc... and some audio drop downs. Ignore the audio for now. With the playhead at the very beginning (time stamp 0:00:00,00. Press the 'I' key to set the 'in' marker. Then advance the playhead about ten minutes and click the 'o' key to set the 'out' maker. In the lower right of the viewer you'll see those times represented. You may want to write them down on a scratch pad for reference.
This is going to be your first 'bite' or block that you export. You'll export the video file first, and then you'll export the audio without changing the in/out markers. This ensures that your audio files will line up with the video file. This is very important since the files are demuxed and you need them to line up perfectly.
3. From the menu, File-> Show Stream Info. This will open up a small window, keep it open for reference. It will show you all the info about the stream, the codec, the aspect ration, the frame rate, audio information etc... I recommend just moving this window to the side for reference.
4. From file menu, File->Export Quick Time which will bring up the MPEG Streamclip - Movie Exporter dialog box.
- In the Compression drop down, select Apple DVCPRO50 - NTSC (if you're NTSC, select the appropriate PAL option if you're PAL).
- Set Quality to 100%
- Click the Options button, when the window opens, select 16:9 Aspect Ratio and Scan Mode Interlaced and select OK
- Sound: No Sound
- Frame Size: 720 x 480 (DV-NTSC)
- Frame Rate: Probably 23.976, but compare against your Stream Info window that you left open from step 3.
- Interlace Scaling/Reinterlace Chroma/Deinterlace Video. By default the first two are checked, leave them checked and then select Deinterlace Video.
- Field Dominance: Refer back to your Stream Info window from Step 3. Select whichever it specifies.
Leave everything else as is and click 'Make Movie'.
From here standard dialog boxes, determine what folder you want to export into, and the name of the file. I suggest you use a naming system that will help you keep the 'bites' together, so 1_movie_title or something. When you do your audio files, they will all start with 1_Movie_.... and when you do the 2nd chunk, 2_movie title and so-on.
When this is all done, you'll have your first video file saved in a format that Final Cut can read and allow you to edit without problems.
Audio.
Without closing the original video player window, leave the in and out settings where they were.
From here we're borrowing exactly what seciors documented. Copy and pasted from his post:
(2) Once you have opened the file, you will be doing an "Export to Audio" command 4 times. Each time you will need to first select what channel or channels you want to export, and then perform the command. The export will be an AIFF file, which is the uncompressed format that can be imported into FCPX directly, or combined into a quicktime (mov) file first (which is what I do...see a later step!)
(3a) To export the first audio file, select from the Audio Mode drop box the choice that corresponds to the "L/R Channels"
(3b) From the "File" menu, choose Export Audio...
(3c) Confirm the settings are: Format = "AIFF"; Channels = "Stereo"; Sample Rate = 48 Khz
(3d) Click Ok, and save the file. The export will take a few minutes.
(4a) To export the second audio file, select from the Audio Mode drop box the choice that corresponds to the "Center Channel"
(4b) From the "File" menu, choose Export Audio...
(4c) Confirm the settings are: Format = "AIFF"; Channels = "Mono"; Sample Rate = 48 Khz
(4d) Click Ok, and save the file. The export will take a few minutes.
(5a) To export the first audio file, select from the Audio Mode drop box the choice that corresponds to the "LFE Channel"
(5b) From the "File" menu, choose Export Audio...
(5c) Confirm the settings are: Format = "AIFF"; Channels = "Mono"; Sample Rate = 48 Khz
(5d) Click Ok, and save the file. The export will take a few minutes.
(6a) To export the first audio file, select from the Audio Mode drop box the choice that corresponds to the "LS/RS Channels"
(6b) From the "File" menu, choose Export Audio...
(6c) Confirm the settings are: Format = "AIFF"; Channels = "Stereo"; Sample Rate = 48 Khz
(6d) Click Ok, and save the file. The export will take a few minutes.
For each export, I suggest that you name it to identify both which 'bite' it is (1st, 2nd 3rd) and which audio element it is, for instance L/R channels could be "1_movie_Left_Right" and Surround (LS/RS Channels) could be 1_movie_surround and so-on. The key is that you're going to need to know which element of the 5.1 it is, and which video chunk it needs to go with.
Once that is done, adjust the in and out markers for roughly the next 10 minutes. I would suggest that the new 'In' be one or two minutes BEFORE the previous chunk's 'out'. This will give you room to play with in case of any funky audio needs. Repeat the video and audio exporting until you have the entire film exported.
From here, I have to defer to seciors' post for importing them into FCP X and how to make all this craziness work there.
I hope this makes sense, post if you have questions or need something clarified. Again, this is all in theory based what we know about Apple workflows. Once you have a demuxed vid and audio files (standard def or high def) getting them into the editing program and doing the actual editing should be identical processes.
Stay Thirsty.
