Going Tapeless 4

GOING TAPE-LESS... Post Production

by Ned Cordery

In the previous part we looked at the set up for the Panasonic SD HDC100, its handling and controls. The camera records AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) to SDHC cards (Secure Digital High Capacity). These cards are readily available from both electronic stores and by mail order. The cards must be “fast” enough to record the data and class 4 or higher are recommended. The price of cards has come down and 8 GB Class 4 cards cost between $35 and $60 depending on make and supplier.

Above are two frames grabbed off the timeline converted to compressed .jpeg files, they are NOT still photographs. The aspect ratio has not been modified.

A card adapter. Whichever editing software is used the easiest way to get the clips into the program is to use a simple card adaptor and plug into a USB port.

Editors

HD Writer

AVCHD is a highly compressed format and post production presents a number of challenges. The camera comes with a software program; “HD Writer 2.6E for HDC”. This is a Windows only program that offers a number of options for post production. The program loaded easily into my PC although in terms of performance it is barely adequate. I am using Windows XP SP2; the software works with Windows 2000 and Vista as well. As usual the instructions are a .pdf file. The start menu offers a selection of options. Bottom is the “Save as AVCHD” window.” This worked well, creating a disc playable in a Blu Ray player with excellent quality.

The “Easy Editing” isn’t. I struggled with this and found it more complex than FCP! Perhaps I am the problem; but this is a clunky and opaque piece of software. I moved on.

The HD Writer screen.

Final Cut Express 4

My main editing software is Final Cut Studio with FCP 5 which does not handle AVCHD and the upgrade to FCS2 costs $500; for $199 Final Cut Express 4 does and offers many of the features of FCP.

With my SDHC adaptor and card plugged into a USB port of the Mac, open FCE, open Log and transfer.Magic! All the clips appeared with a poster frame and data; they can be previewed and even trimmed. Then drag to the transfer window and they are transcoded to Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) and automatically loaded into the Browser.

Here there is a bit of a shock, the transcode increases the file size between 8 and 10 times! The 10 second clip that occupied about 17 Mb on the card is now 140 MB on the hard drive. Fortunately I have 1.5 TBs of external storage but this could be a problem if not anticipated.

From then on the editing process is completely normal, transitions, filters, compositing all done in the normal way. I make DVDs using Toast, they can be HD BluRay (AVCHD/H.264) compatible or SD.

Sony Vegas Studio Platinum 9

Sony Vegas Studio Platinum 9 works with DV; HDV and AVCHD.

The simplest way to load AVCHD clips is from an SDHC card via a USB port to the selected hard drive using the Panasonic HD Writer “Copy to PC” utility and then import directly into the Vegas Media Bin.

Cut to the Chase

Let’s cut through all the technical stuff to what the creative movie maker needs to know about recording to SDHC cards.

The shooting part is the same as with any camera. There is the advantage that individual clips can be selected and reviewed very easily whilst on location. Two 8GB or one 16GB card will meet a day’s shooting needs for most people .

An Intel iMac with either Final Cut Express or iMovie 9 will edit your material in such a way you will notice nothing unusual. FCP 6.01 & 7 can handle AVCHD. Have plenty of hard drive space, preferably as external HDDs. Create SD DVDs in iDVD or make Blu Ray playable DVDs using standard blank DVD-Rs in Toast. A standard DVD will hold about 30 minutes of HD video and sound, and that’s enough for most of us.

If you are working with a PC you will need a fast dual core processor, at least 1 GB of RAM, preferably 3 GB and a good graphics card. Check the edit software instructions for the hardware required to handle AVCHD. A brief test with Vegas Studio Platinum 9 (on special offer at $65) shows that it handles AVCHD with ease and can create BluRay compatible DVDs.

Who would have imagined that a combination of a $550 camera with $65 software in a regular PC would edit and deliver full HD video with 5.1 Surround sound?

There is, of course, no substitute for creativity but with tools like these in the right hands superb results can be delivered.

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