EDL reference video Process Tips & Tricks Please

willb_wc wrote on 7/24/2007, 3:59 PM

Anyone have good suggestions for this scenario and perhaps criticisms of my approach.

I'm in a new gig... and a production company sent us a 40minute string of sequences in a Quicktime file.

My job is to create an EDL for the production company to produce a couple of 5 minute pieces. I have a log to work from but it isn't a transcript!

I laid the QT clip in the timeline and added a blank track above with 29.97 TC
Then I rendered that (so that it had its own window burn that would more closely
reference their Final Cut timeline than the stupid QuickTime minute:second counter.

Now, I've gone through and put markers and splits at scenes that I like and created subclips from them.

Problem, how can I trim from the middle of the subclip and leave my full reference on the timeline??? Take it to a new project?

Is it possible to import those subclips into another new project? Or should I just delete my full length tracks and start fresh with a Save As?

I am very comfortable with cutting and using Ripple Edit when necessary. I'm off to read about subclips now... Thank folks!

Comments

GlennChan wrote on 7/25/2007, 1:09 AM

I'm not sure if I understand your situation correctly but...

Interchange between different NLEs can be tricky. Though an EDL export from vegas **scripting*** (NOT save as...) can work.

To get that to work, Vegas will read the timecode from your clips in generating the EDL. If you had ingested from tape, that would retain the timecode.
Your reels/tape names have to be correctly interpreted by the online/other editor... they have to figure out which "reel" to pop in. Names are limited to 8 characters (or less in other irrelevant situations)... the EDL may truncate additional characters.
In your case, it seems like you are dealing with data files so that kind of doesn't apply. I think the FCP editor has to manually connect each clip in FCP to the right data file; it would help if the reel names were helpful in indicating which files each clip goes to.

2- If you mix different frame rates, dropframe versus nondrop, (or have speed changes/ramps), the process gets trickier.

3- Then I rendered that (so that it had its own window burn that would more closely reference their Final Cut timeline than the stupid QuickTime minute:second counter.
That may or may not give you the right timecode?

4- When you are done editing, you should absolutely output a copy of your edit (e.g. onto DV tape or a Quicktime DV file), preferably with 2-pops to help sync audio.
You want a TC burn indicating the program timecode... e.g. your show starts at 01:00:00.00 or some other timecode like that (e.g. 10 hour).
It's also nice to have a second timecode burn showing the media timecode of your "tape"/reel.

You need this reference to make sure that the FCP editor conforms the project correctly. Things can come in a frame off, or they may have problems identifying reels.

5- But basically, I'm confused as to your workflow. It's not a standard practice (though you could say a lot of workflows aren't standard).

EDLs were originally designed for tape-based workflows. Timecode is used to identify which frames on the tape should correspond to which times in your project. You can use EDLs on data files too, but you have to make sure that you and the FCP editor are on the same page when it comes to what the timecode is for the data files, and what reel naming you are going with.

6- Subclips in Vegas are different than subclips in FCP. In Vegas, subclips could help you organize material. You can search subclips, and you can't see media past the subclip limits. An alternative is to use regions; those aren't searchable. You don't necessarily need to use either.

willb_wc wrote on 7/25/2007, 8:24 AM

Thank you. Very robust answer. I may not have phrased my question accurately.

My job is only to illustrate what our favorite cuts are, and to suggest the sequencing of them, and also to suggest a few minor edits within those cuts.

My job is NOT to be frame accurate, nor is it to output a standard EDL which will be imported into FCP. (In the future, perhaps but not this project.).

Again, thank you for the answer. I learned from it, for the future.... "search subclips" hmm....