Converting that H.264 footage…
MPEG Streamclip for Mac or Windows is a CHAMP at converting the H.264 footage! And it's FREE.
One of the most common questions that I get from people regarding the new breed of HD-DSLR cameras is “What’s your post-workflow?”
Truth be told – most of it is actually extremely straightforward. It does get fancy when you try to do some high end stuff- but that workflow applies to maybe one percent of people – so here is the simple workflow:
Simply put – all you need to do is to convert the native footage from the Canon 5D / 7D / 1D MKIV from the AVC H.264 format to a format that your computer and software will support.
For me it’s simple given that I work with Final Cut Studio – I work with Apple’s ProRes codec. What this means is that I simply convert the H.264 footage to the higher quality (and less compressed) ProRes format. (Avid supposedly supports the H.264 format natively according to some post houses that I’ve worked with – but I admit to not being an Avid or Adobe Premier expert by any means.)
Why do you need to do this? Well simply put – most software does not support the editing of H.264 footage natively – some do. Final Cut Pro doesn’t – you’ll find that it can crash every few minutes – or worst – every few seconds. You’ll find that the video is extremely choppy – and that it can be close to impossible to do frame-accurate edits. The reason is simple: the computer has to decompress this (compressed) footage on the fly. And that takes a lot of GPU (Graphic card) power. Older MacBook Pros and even the top end Mac Pro tower with the most expensive graphics card can choke on this task… ironically you’ll find that the new MacBook Pros do much better than the top-end Mac Pros… and that’s just plain silly. Why? Well the MacBook Pros have a H.264 chip built onto their graphics card! This helps play all of the iTunes m4v files (movie files) more smoothly.
So how do YOU do it?
Well, there are MANY ways to do this. You can use Final Cut Studio’s Compressor software – I create droplets and drop my files onto them. Very very easy.
Compressor "Droplets" allow you to simply drag and drop your Canon files onto the icons... the software does all of the rest.
I’ve also converted the file within Final Cut Pro using either the Batch Export feature – or even the media manager menu.
Compressor is good – and easy. But some of you may not own Final Cut Studio… so what do you do?
Well I recommend you look into the utility that has quickly become my absolute favorite way of converting my footage: Squared 5′s MPEG Streamclip. Not only is it extremely easy to use (see Chris Fenwick’s most excellent video tutorial here) but it’s also often faster than Compressor and is much cheaper…
Much cheaper!
It’s FREE. And frankly I don’t know why. Because I would gladly shell out $100 bucks or more for this app. It’s that good.
I’ve found that the app is extremely fast (faster than compressor!) – it allows me to point it to folders and it will ignore all of the THM files and CR2s in the folder – and off it goes. You can pause it in the middle of a re-compression batch should you need to shut down your laptop or unplug your external hard drive. Basically it’s a dream.
Lately I find myself using two codecs most often – Apple ProRes 422 has always been my gold standard, and recently w/ the new FCP Studio I find myself using Apple ProRes Proxy – to do quick edits on my laptop.
Obviously – the size of the de-compressed files will depend on what codec (fancy word for video format) that you chose. ProRes 444 will be much bigger than ProRes 422 or ProRes Proxy obviously. Apple details the sizes somewhere on the web if you’re real curious. (OK HERE it is…) and in even more detail HERE.
Basically – to keep it simple – if you’re just getting started – just follow Chris Fenwick’s tutorial above – or decompress you H.264 footage into ProRes 422. And you’ll be all set to get going in all of this. Remember to always keep the ORIGINAL footage somewhere safe in case some incredible new technology comes out years from now – but work off of the ProRes files from that point on.
Good luck!
Vincent, thanks for this! I just got a 5dmkII and was starting to research video post workflow and saw this in my feed reader. Thanks for helping the beginners figure this stuff out!
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Hello Vincent!
I have been also looking for the best / quickest solution for this new work flow. Thanks for the valuable information and reducing my time researching / testing applications.
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thanks vincent,
MPEG streamclip looks great!
any recommendations on a codec for PC users? I’m running a PC laptop with Premiere Pro CS4 and i’ve been lumbering through by just editing the h264 files directly.
a faster format would be awesome.. but which one?
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Hi Vincent,
thank you very much for posting this but I have one more question: How can I use this program to convert 30P to 25P or 24P? Thank you for your help.
Rolf.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:15 am
@Rolf, Different deal altogether – I’ll post on that in a bit.
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Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by photofeeds: MPEG Streamclip for Mac or Windows is a CHAMP at converting the H.264 footage! One of the most common question.. http://bit.ly/mbB3Y...
I am just starting to get involved with video editing and this info was very helpful. Thanks for the links to the apple pages and the info on the free software.
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[...] using my Canon 5D Mark II to build first YouTube videos and eventually a DVD. As such, I found this quick tip to create droplets to convert to Apple’s 422 format [...]
Working with Premiere, all you need to do is drop the raw H.264 footage on the timeline, hit render entire work area, and you’re good.
Or if you want Premiere (or Sony Vegas) to handle H.264 natievely, you can use the GPU Decoder plugin by Divide Frame.
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I was wondering if anyone has had experience with combining footage in FCP from different cameras. I am shooting with both a 5D MKII and a Panasonic HVX200. The HVX shoots DVCPRO 720p (we aren’t shooting full HD) and the Canon obviously h264. I converted the h264 to DV/NTSC and was able to edit in the same timeline without rendering one or the other… but I don’t know if that is the right move.
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marty Reply:
February 12th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
@Chris Holme, I use Adobe After Effects CS4 for converting mixed frame rates and image sizes to get them to all work together. I output ProRes 422 HQ for use in Final Cut.
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Hi,
which codec should i use for editing in iMovie?
THank you
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:16 am
@Flo, As far as I know iMovie will not do any conversions
If you CAN convert it in some other way – ProRes 422 will work.
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One workflow that works natively (without having to convert) is using Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. It can be a bit slow on older computers. If you have a newer Mac Pro, Macbook Pro or PC with an Intel i7 processor, it works nicely.
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I’ve been using Cineform’s NeoScene to convert to .avi for PPro CS4. So far so good!
Cheers,
Jeff
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I can say that Avid does have native support for the H264 format. I use both Avid and Final Cut at my day job and Avid handles the files much better than Final Cut.
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Mpeg Streamclip is awesome, but it is worth noting that you need to own Final Cut Pro to have the Apple Prores codecs. So if you don’t have FCP don’t expect to see the prores codecs when you download Mpeg Streamclip. Although is Prores even useful if you don’t have FCP?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:17 am
@Josh, True – my bad. I haven’t owned a computer that hasn’t had FCP installed on it. Therefore you should chose a codec that your computer does support – and work with that. ProRes is a great standard if you can get it converted to that format.
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Michel Reply:
May 21st, 2010 at 1:42 pm
@Vincent Laforet,
Hey Vincent, what is a good alternative if you are using final cut express?
thanks,
Michel
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good tip, thanks for sharing. this is one step that you can beat your head on the wall, figuring out what codec to use. aloha.
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Try to capture the footage via HDMI, too
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Though not a pro program I recently purchased Pinnacle studio 14 software and it edits 5d files
perfectly well. Thank goodness I’ve been trying to find somthing for a year!!
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stan Reply:
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:28 am
do you need to convert the H264 format ? or all woks well as is ?
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Thanks for your great article. There is so much junk on the internet it is hard to find good quality information when you really need it. I just came across your site and have bookmarked it. Look forward to reading more in the future keep us posted.
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These methods are great and thank you for the tips BUT…..do any of these methods maintain the orignal 0-255 values that the camera captures?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 am
@Andrew Clark, It should come close – as close as one can. Definitely better than the pre Quicktime 7.6 conversion which cut the top and bottom 10 points… that was close to a year ago.
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Will this also work with Final Cut Express, or only FCP??
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 am
@PJ Heller, Saddly only FCP – Express is a big let down I’m sorry to say…
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Greg Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:17 pm
@Vincent Laforet,
So what should we use for Express/iMovie?
I’ve seen AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) mentioned before. Any advice on that?
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Geoff Bardot Reply:
November 4th, 2009 at 12:12 am
@Greg, AIC is a good alternative. It is not the best solution but only solution for use with Final Cut Express. The investment into Pro is worth it. Just like Vincent has said compressor and droplets make the workflow with this camera so simple. I could not edit this footage without Pro Res. It also allows you to color correct in ways we could only dream of two years ago. It allows editing color in a 10bit color space even though you are 8 bit “floating” in 10. Sound confusing but it means easy color correction with Apple’s Color. AIC is a “lossless” codec so quality loss is not visible to the normal eye and will make it editable for you in Final Cut Express. If you want a large amount of output options FCP and Compressor give you that. Final Cut Express is limited in compression and output options. H.264, AIC, DV and DVD are about your only options. So look at what you are trying to do and look at the software that will get you there.
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The Avid solution:
Here’s how to import from a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and how to change frame rates by keeping all frames. The following procedure has been done on a Media Composer 3.5 Nitris DX Windows.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a Digital SLR camera which is able to shoot video in full HD 1080p30. The footage is stored in Quicktime Container compressed in H264 40 mbit/s. You can import the footage in 1080p30 project (As of 03/2009 only available on Media Composer with Nitris DX) and work either in DNxDH or uncompressed in its progressive flavor. The colorlevel of the Canon camera is RGB which should be chosen as the import setting.
You can also import the .mov files into a 1080p25 project and the Media Composer will drop out 5 of the 30 frames per second. Depending on the motion in the picture there may be some visible jitter. The best way is to import and use the footage in a 1080p30 project (if available) and do all the editing in this project. If you need a 25p version of your timeline, the following steps are suggested:
1. Export a QT Reference file video only (709 color space) of your timeline.
2. Export the Audio as a Wave file.
3. Open a 1080p25 project.
4. Open the console and type in “IgnoreQTRate 1″.
5. Set your Import settings to “Image sized for current format” and “601 SD or 709 HD”.
6. Import the QT Ref movie (should be a fast import).
7. Import the Audio.
8. Video will be around 20% longer than the Audio.
9. Edit Audio and video into the timeline. Video at the same length as Audio.
10. Add a timewarp FX to the video and set the speed to 120%.
11. Render the effect by using the FluidMotion option.
12. Video and Audio should be synced up again in a much better quality than by using the direct import.
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[...] (y bajando a 720) he encontrado la forma de trabajar fluidamente con el premiere en pc. Converting that H.264 footage…
Thanks for the informative article. I like MPEG Streamclip too but the UI really needs polish- it reminds me a bit of Debabelizer 1.0. Further…RE” It’s FREE. And frankly I don’t know why. Because I would gladly shell out $100 bucks or more for this app. It’s that good.”
Soon you may have to pay but my hunch is they want to sell the code to Apple or Adobe instead
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Prores is pretty great for mac workflows, but on the PC I swear by cineform: that codec works miracles on 5DmkII footage. neoscene is worth every penny.
I absoltuely disagree with the folks here who claim that PremeireCS4 solves all the h.264 problems. The bitrate on the 5DmkII is just way too high, you’re not going to get realtime playback with effects out of premiere. And rendering the timeline is really just the same thing as the covnersion that Vincent suggests.
Also: there are a lot of problems with the Chris Fenwick video that is linked here. The 5D shoot 30fps, for one. not 29.97, so streamclip is having to re-interpret a frame here and there for that worklow, even if it is just a slight adjustmet.
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My 7D workflow…
The Canon EOS 7D records video natively in the h264 codec which is not optimized for video editing. So before importing 7D footage into Final Cut Pro I need to convert it into something FCP can handle natively.
……
hey Vincent,
how did you come up with all those fine ideas
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I have found I can also use PreRes LT and XDCAM EX. With ProRes LT the final converted file is about 2.5 times bigger. With XDCAM EX it has roughly the same size (even a bit less). Using both on the Mac I cannot see any perceivable difference. As we are not able (at present) to burn HD Blue Ray disk but only DVD, I think I can better use XDCAM EX. What is your opinion? Thanks.
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I am particularly interested in Eric Ferguson’s comments about Cineform Neoscene. I am just an entry-level user of video on the 5D Mk II, so I wonder has anyone converted to avi using Cineform Neoscene and then edited the avi’s in Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition?
I have already used the trial version of Neoscene and found it easy to use.
Thanks
Des
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Dave Rilstone Reply:
November 14th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
@Des, I use Cineform’s Neoscene for both Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum and Premiere Pro CS4. Works well with both — preserves the quality, colour, and detail of the original MOV files of my 5DMK2. One caution: the Neoscene-generated AVI files are huge; 2 – 3 times the size of the original MOV files.
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Des Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 4:29 am
@Dave Rilstone,
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it.
Regards
Des
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Hi Vincent,
I’m editing ProRes 422 5D footage in FCP, but I still get choppiness and long render times. Any advice?
Thanks,
Nil
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jason baffa films Reply:
November 16th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
@Nil, you may need more RAM to process the large files – also, make sure media is on your hard drive and not an external – that might help.
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[...] on transcoding (changing the CODEC) on the 5DII footage so that FC can read it, but then I saw that Vince Laforet does a very good job of explaining it. The difference is that I use Compressor, rather than [...]
If you have shake… after seeing this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy9XBIpGBpg
I would never use Mpeg StreamClip for something important.
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I’m editing 7d footage, with premiere pro. But the option to compress the files into ProRes 422 isn’t available. Is that because I haven’t installed final cut? What other compression can I use, because the one I’m using, DVCPRO50-PAL causes premiere pro to quit without any warning.
Hope to hear from you!
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On PC, Adobe Premiere Pro with MainConcept MPEG Pro HD 4 plugin is a killer. Native 5D files are popped into the timeline and edited and exported at very fast speeds, all on a mid-end CPU with consumer external hdd via USB.
i’ve seen the performance with my own eyes and found it disbelieving. One can also export as 25p or 24p direct from Premiere’s export fps settings and no visible dropping of frames.
it’s a pain to do a conversion with streamclip when one is pressed for time. I’m a FCP user myself, and i wonder why there ain’t any plugin for FCP to work natively with canon clips.
having mentioned that, i wonder if anyone has favorable experience working with FCP7? does the new version eliminate the conversion process?
regards
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Paolo Reply:
July 17th, 2010 at 8:03 am
@brinsley,
hi,..following your suggestion.. I downloaded MainConcept MPGEG Pro HD 4trial ver… well, AP CS3 offers lots of MainConcept possible projects, which project I have to open in order to edit native videos by Canon Eos 5D Mark II ?
thankyou..
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FCP does actually support H.264 natively – it’s just quite slow that’s all.
Seriously, try it, you can drag a file straight from a memory card into an FCP timeline.
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[...] Converting 5dMk11 H:264 footage to Apple ProRes [...]
I tried this and works well. Im interested to see why so many people would use Cineform Neoscene over something like this? Is Cineform that much better?
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Please excuse my ignorance in these matters, but would “MPEG streamclip” be the solution to my problem?
I have a Sanyo VPC-FH1 camcorder and like to record to its best quality, 1080p @ 60fps. I have bought a copy of Nero9 Reloaded as it seems ideally placed to work on my 64bit Win7 i5 PC and claims to handle the H.264 AVCHD files generated by my camcorder. All I am trying to do is to edit a series of clips into single files. I don’t want to change the file format at all. I can load and trim the clips, and I can add the transitions etc – but I couldn’t see how I set the output as to not downgrade the recordings from 60fps progressive to 25fps interlaced. I contacted Nero support – they have told me the product (Nero9 Reloaded ) can’t export in progressive, let alone 60fps. Of the two I guess the progressive is the more important – I could live with 25FPS. Thank you in advance.
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CLICK HERE TO VIEW GREAT HOW TO VIDEO—(in article above too)
http://chrisfenwick.squarespace.com/converting-5d-movies/
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what cables do you to download to an editing software package. The format the movies when I download is XXXX.MOV which is a quicktime format.
Doug
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Hi Vincent
I’d really like to know how I can edit a Prores Proxy version of my footage and then apply my edits and effects to a higher quality version of the footage – i.e. a Prores 422 or Prores 422 HQ version. That would enable me to quickly edit my stuff and then apply the edits to better quality files and have it render out overnight.
I can’t seem to find any information on how to do this. Can you help? Maybe something about using FCP XML – but that points to the original media, right. So I’d have to reconnect to media in another folder with the same filenames?
Any help would be highly appreciated.
br,
Kim
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Robert Scheer Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
@Kim,
This is a question from a few months ago, but I’ve been messing with doing the same thing. I’ve done the same thing. I do the work with an LT version, then right before I export, I move the LT files out of their original folder, and when FCP wants me to reconnect media, I point it toward a folder with HQ or 4444 versions. Booyah!
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“It does get fancy when you try to do some high end stuff- but that workflow applies to maybe one percent of people”
-I am pretty curious what is meant with this sentence? Compositing?
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that’s quality software! and free is always a plus. i’m not sure i’d pay $100 for it but it’s def. worth at least $50
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[...] de huit processeurs pour éditer les fichiers d’une minuscule caméra… En suivant les conseils de Vincent Laforet, j’ai utilisé MPEG Streamclip. La vidéo de Chris Fenwick donne des précisions sur [...]
Thank you so much. Keep up the great work and all the help you offer to your fans.
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How do I convert 30P to 25P keeping all the frames. I saw “the Avid solution” above – is there a FCP/Compressor solution?
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hi Vincent,
After all your editing is done, do you export as ProRes with QT or Compressor or before you do that, do you change it out of ProRes?
Thanks
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i mistakenly came across your blog while searching for something else.but found this post useful hence decided to drop a line.very well done.i dont completely agree with you but still a good agrument.
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Murk Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 11:58 am
I was trying to decide if this was spam or not for my website – and found the exact comment word for word here – thanks google!
Am removing from my site.
(To webmaster – you may want to remove the above comment – and this comment – neither has relevance to the post)
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Can you refer me to an ideal workflow, for exporting to h264 video. I am editing Canon7D footage, ProResHQ timeline, now I want to make a video ideal for online uploading (youtube/facebook) I’ve made a few with H264/1280×1080 HD, and the framerate is choppy.
Turtorial for export settings available?
Please help!
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Thanks for a wonderful post, l ve been looking for such information, I will join jour rss feed now.
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I downloaded the StreamClip app. It is great. But I’m not sure why I don’t get the same codec options as you show on your video? I have HD footage and would like to use DVCPro HD 720 – if it works. The original footage was given to me H.264 960×540. Argh! This is awful in FCP. I understand it isn’t a ‘production codec’ it is not editable in FCP. I have Mac X 10.6 – Snow Leopard and FCP 5. I can’t imagine why there would be a problem with the OS, but I didn’t see it supported on the Squared 5 site. Thanks so much in advance for any insights. I’ve spent HOURS on this little issue.
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forgot to add a word of thanks for the great info to you both (Vincent and Chris)… it is much appreciated.
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Your blog is really awesome Vincent!
I’m not sure if this is correct, but I heard that there is a way to bypass the H.264 codec problem. So that you with a 7D and 5D (although you get 480p size from the 5D, because of the HDMI limitation) can extract some form of “raw files”?
Taking h.264 files and just saving them as something else doesn’t really remove the compression artefacts. It only makes it possible to edit them.
I might be totally wrong here. Anyone know?
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Thanks for sharing, just got my 7D and want to start making HD movies, super excited, but don’t have a clue on how to get started with this new video format. you have cleared it up for me a little, much mahalo’s
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In simple words, How do i convert the H 264 to work in the windows platform ? I am using corel pro x3 . Every time my pro x3 crashes….. which is a good software to handle H264 format on the wondows xp platform for editing , like avid ?
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Hey guys/girls. I’ve got a question about the workflow with emphasis on color-quality.
Here’s the problem. I’m working on a personal project filming a clock-commercial and ran into some roadbumps along the road. In Color (Apple Color) everything looks sexy, in FCP it looks okey but when i output the file, H.264, 5000kbps, 720p. I’ve been filming with a Canon 5D Mk II and converted the photage with MPEG Streamclip to Apple Prores 442HQ, native size.
In Color the film is crispy, nice contrast and a little subtle touch of yellorange in the highlights. QT kills the look by making it all neutral and VLC tends to put some greenish look to it.
I would like to get the same feeling from color to the final product.
Anyone? Help
Thanks in advance!
/Christian
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Wow, great work! I’ve been using mpeg streamclip for other applications but this is fantastic.
one important question though: the project I am trying to convert has been shot with 24, 30, and 60 frame rates and has many many clips, should i convert them all individually? or is there a way for me to convert them all into a single type that wouldn’t look weird?
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Can the PRORes 422 be used for converting media from the Red camera?
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ron kalish Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
@ron kalish,
Can the PRORes 422 be used for converting media from the Red camera?
I am using FCP version 6.0.6.
What are other workflows?
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Vincent,
As I read your blog, I find it to be so far over my head that I just shake in total confusion! My problem is as follows, I am trying to convert H264 (taken with a Canon Vixia HF M30 video camera )to a format that I can edit on my Mac G5. I have FC Express loaded along with Motion.As well as QT7 Pro. I know almost nothing about how to go about converting the 264 to a format that can be used in the Mac. Can you help??
Thanks, Larry
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I’ve followed various post workflows all claiming to remove the need to render clips in FCX – i’m transcoding to the apple intermediate codec – i still have to render the clips in FCX, should this be happening or am i still doing something wrong.
i wona get this worked out as im currently spending far too much time converting / rendering / waiting for stuff to happen
cheers
rich
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I’ve followed various post workflows all claiming to remove the need to render clips in FCX – i’m transcoding to the apple intermediate codec – i still have to render the clips in FCX, should this be happening or am i still doing something wrong.
i wona get this worked out as im currently spending far too much time converting / rendering / waiting for stuff to happen
cheers
rich
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Hi Vincent.
Thank you for this. I have an additional question I hope you can help me sorting out. We shot a movie in Ecuador on a Canon 7D and are going to make a blow up to film. Whats the best to make the blowup from? Should we make an offline of the prores sequence and reconnect to the original H264 files?
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The converted file (Apple Pro Res 422 HQ) looks different from the “native” file of the camera. Looks like it’s darker.. is it right?
Thanks for the tutorial.
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Vincent,
I have the same question as above, every time I convert my footage it turns out darker than the original H.264 file. Any way to fix this?
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hi vincent
the codec for conversion of the canon mvi to prores 422 or 444
which would be better for a faster workflow
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I lovee this application first of all, it’s so great. I have been transcoding my H.264 footage to Apple ProRes 422, but once I export it from final cut after editing I find that the resolution is 720×480…what i’m really looking for is 1280x720p how can I do this? Thank you!
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Hey Vincent!
I recently shot a film with a 5d mark II. I tried the using both the compressor and the Mpeg Streamclip (Apple ProRes 422 HQ). In the result I get the darker and colder color of my footage. Is this a bug? do you know how to fix it? Maybe I chose the wrong preferences.
Please give me an answer ASAP. I have to edit the footage by 1st of October!
Thanks!
ArsenyP
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Hello,
And how can I transform my edited sequence back to H264? Thank you!
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I love your image at the top of your blog. The water makes such a nice graphic like a cross between velvet and rock.
Anyway. I can not get ProRes ingestd in CS4. Last year before I had chemo I could of figured this out in an hour. This year I am struggling to pull things from my memory. I think CS5 migh import in natively now. Specifically I need to know what preset to use to import it. At the end of the day maybe it is not going to play smoothly to edit anyway. So my next question is what to convert Sony 900 HDCam footage for best possible editing. I am all over digital workflow with current cameras, so this question probably sounds archaic. Thanks in advance.
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Vince. You the man. Seriously…You the Man. Sometimes I forget that I’m fingertips away from tapping into some of the most ingenious minds on W.W.W!
Before googling in on your Blog, I directied myself directly into
Audio/Video Settings in Final Cut HD, thinking I could convert 264.ACC I shot on a Zi8 Kodak camera by changing everything into HD.264 on Sequence presets, Capture Presets and so forth….then I thought to myself…Hold on, I didn’t check to see what the experts had to say about this mess I got myself ino….And sure enough..I struck Gold…Thanks a Zillion. You save me precious time that I couldn’t spare losing….Stay Forever Young, and Simple…Like the old saying saids..”The simple things of the world will always confound the wise.” Enjoy your passion.
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[...] a 1TB hard disk full of stuff. (If you don´t know what i´m talking about, you might want to see this post by vincent laforet (or one of hundreds concerning prores conversion). Here´s just a short post on how to manage your [...]
Convert Panasonic AVCHD to Final Cut Pro Native Format ProRes 422 with no Rendering
http://www.aunsoft.com/convert_panasonic_avchd_to_final_cut_pro_native_format_prores_422_with_no_rendering/
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In summary: transcode the (Canon t2i) H.264 files into APR422 files using MPEG streamclip and then import those files in FCS3 for editing your film.
Would you say this is still the way to go today, at the beginning of year 2011?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 24th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
I still do it this way yes
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Is Streamclip good for premiere pro CS4 & windows?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 27th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Depending on the format u choose – yes it should work just fine as long as CS4 supports said format!
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[...] It’s best to convert the native video file from the Canon 5D Mark II, which is H.264 to Apple ProRes, which makes editing on Final Cut much faster and efficient. You can do this by using a free software called MPEG Streamclip. Click here to download it. You can find a tutorial on how to use it by clicking here. [...]
Hi Vincent.
I have an issue that I only have FCP5. (can’t afford to upgrade)
So ProRes422 isn’t a codec option I can choose (when transcoding the files in MPEG streamclip).
Could you recommend what you think is the best alternative codec to use in the absence of ProRes?
n.b.
I was told by someone to try converting to Apple Intermediate Codec. This did seem to work on the SD footage I was editing at the time. (The converted files were about 60% larger in file size, and I was able to edit them in FCP5 very easily, and rendering took no time at all)
But I’m now converting some HD footage and the converted files are about the same size as the originals (some even smaller) which would imply they’re not being uncompressed. And they still take a long time to render, but not nearly as long (12 mins for a 4 minute clip rather than 58 minutes).
Is this the right codec to use?
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Hi Vincent,
Thank you for your great article.
For me, I’ve recently purchased a software called Aunsoft Video Converter for Mac which can help me make Canon 5D mov files editable in FCP. And most of all, it supports batch conversion which has saved huge time for me!!
Maybe you can give it a try. At least the program works fine for me. : )
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Hey guys, i formatted my sequence setting to pro res 422 so now every video I import from my 5d mark ll plays well. Am I doing anything wrong? Do I really have to convert every video from h.264 ( 5d mark ll ) to pro res? even if it plays and edit really well on my final cut pro ? thanks. What’s the correct setting for my sequence? If I leave my sequence set in h.264 should I change anything after my film is done? Pro res mean better quality? thank u!
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 11:47 pm
It’s not necessary to go to ProRes – BUT very very few systems if any can handle it in the current FCP. If you’re happy then there’s no need to convert anything. Most do go to ProRes immediately – I do – v
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Vincent, I am still confused. What setting should be my sequence on fcp? I mean the ” Quick time video setting” on my sequence settings. By setting my sequence setting to pro res that means that I have converted all the footage?
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Hi Vincent, how can I film a night scene without grains? I have a Mark ll, a 24-105mm and a 50 mm 1.8. Is it possible to achieve a scene without noise? Black instead og noisy black?Thank u!
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Hi Vincent,
I have using the same way to do my videos, but now I would like to know, after convert to proress, editing, color correction, fx, which is the best format for theaters ? Keep using prores or use another format ?
I have converted my footage to prores HQ.
Camera is 5d Mark II.
Thanks
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I have using the same way to do my videos, but now I would like to know, after convert to proress, editing, color correction, fx, which is the best format for theaters ? Keep using prores or use another format ?
I have converted my footage to prores HQ.
Camera is 5d Mark II.
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Thanks for that, at last explained in very clear terms, I will start with your workflow.
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Wow! Thanks for putting this information so clearly in your post. Very helpful stuff!
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I lovee this application first of all, it’s so great. I have been transcoding my H.264 footage to Apple ProRes 422, but once I export it from final cut after editing I find that the resolution is 720×480…what i’m really looking for is 1280x720p how can I do this? Thank you!
____________
Roland
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
July 1st, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Make sure you select the correct size settings under the quicktime settings you select – also make sure your FCP project is set to the correct resolution – either one could be causing the problem. Open the original files in finder and see what res they are – if they are less than 1080p then MPEGStreamclip is to blame… if they are 1080p then FCP is to blame for downrezing them to 720p either because you have set your sequence settings incorrectly or are exporting it incorrectly.
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I realize this is an older post and so maybe my question won’t apply in this context, but I’m sure someone will at least be able to point me in the right direction.
I’m running FCP7, and I am able to import H.264 files shot on a 7D directly into FCP, and edit them in a sequence set to H.264. No rendering is required, and playback is mostly smooth, unless the network is acting up (footage is accessed through a server).
Here’s my question: am I missing something about the benefits of ProRes? Am I losing quality by editing the H.264 files directly without transcoding them? Or does the fact that I can bring them into FCP7 and edit without any problems simply mean that things have changed?
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I work on a PC and use Premiere 5.5 which edits H264 from Canon nativelly.
What advantages would I have for converting the footage?
Also what should I convert to if any advantages?
I’m making a film, so it will be feature documentary shown in festivals/theaters and on TV’s and over web.
Thanks!
V
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 20th, 2011 at 11:45 am
There is ZERO advantage to converting. Pay attention to your output settings / compressions etc – and grading of course. No need to convert prior. ProRes adds FAKE grain when you convert -and that can be nice – but also lead to some big problems when you try to do a second layer in grading.
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@Vincent Laforet, Thanks Vince.. I guess my initial instincts were correct! Appreciate it.
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@Vincent ,
A simple question here…how much of the lost data (due to compression) is regained by the use of these applications?
w.r.t a canon hdslr im saying. Compression is one thing i really get confused with!
OR
Does it get the true 1080×1920 quality?
Sorry but compression just brings too many questions to my mind.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
September 8th, 2011 at 12:25 am
Too complex to answer here. You can never eliminate compression artifacts as a general rule.
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I’ve been using Log and Transfer through FCP7 to transcode 7D footage to ProRes 422 LT. Recently a coworker transcoded footage for the same project, but used MPEG Streamclip instead. I’ve noticed that the files he converted are almost identical in terms of quality/size, but are ever-so-slightly darker, and ever-so-slightly larger.
Any preference on your part as to using Log and Transfer versus using MPEG Streamclip to transcode? Any measurable quality difference in the long run?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
September 20th, 2011 at 3:16 pm
No difference in quality whatsoever.
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Hi,
I am using the same workflow as you describe but am experiencing a different problem. After i import my mpeg-stream-clipped files into the FCP timeline the amount of motion artifact (weird horizontal disruptions on the image) increase and the video looks choppy. When I preview the imported files in quicktime rather than via the timeline–they look fine!! is the problem something to do with my display settings in FCP?
I started with T3i 1080p files filmed at ’24p’. I then converted them using mpeg-sc with apple pro res codec, 100% quality, interlace unchecked, 1920X1080 unscaled selected and did not mess with the frame rate.
What can I do to fix this? Thank you so much for your help!!!
Yam
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This soft is great.. It’s very very fast. It renders Canon G12 footage perfectly, however I’m having some problems rendering footage from Canon 5Dii. It renders footage and I can watch video, however if I try to skip rendered video file forward of backward whole video freezes. And I use Apple Pro 2.8 8 cores mac .. (not sure what can cause this) if any one know.. please reply.. thanks much.
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I have a problem
after I create a droplet and drop my footage in there it freezes and i get the beach ball… It works fine if I do it file by file but I have like 30 clips! what do I do?
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Dear Vincent,
I’m new to using DSLR cameras and just finished a project where 7d and ex3 were used. Now when i’m editing it on FCP and watching it on HD monitors the 7D footage is jittering(on movements, pans and tilts) while the EX3 is fine.
I’m desperate to solve this. Would highly appreciate if you could help me and let me know what could i do to remove the jitters. Someone told me, instead of making a movie file just dump it straight into tape. Will that help? Please help.
Regards
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[...] answer therefore, is to convert the video to a more easily accessed codec before working with it. Vincent Laforet’s mini tutorial for making this conversion is a good place to start on the road to editing [...]
Dear Vincent,
I’m going to use Premier CS 5 (for 5d Footage)—>some VFX—->Revese telecine on 35 mm film.
Do i need to convert it something like neo scene or just do all the things in 5D native format?
Your help is appreciated,
Umesh
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
February 17th, 2012 at 8:19 am
I’ve never had to do a film out – straight to DCP for me… Perhaps someone else can chime in.
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@Vincent Laforet, Thanks for Reply
Umesh
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I’m confused, how can ProRes be used to convert a file to a ‘higher quality’? Is there some kind of magic that can add quality to picture information?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
March 13th, 2012 at 12:27 am
No – each compression setting has a different quality. ALL are compressed. You are not ADDING quality. But you are rendering a lower quality ProRes file at 422 than you are at 422HQ.
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@Vincent Laforet,
Thanks for the reply Vincent, I’m still slightly confused, you say ‘I simply convert the H.264 footage to the higher quality (and less compressed) ProRes format.’
The question I’m asking is how ProRes can be of a higher quality than the original file?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 10:18 am
It isn’t. The original file is more compressed than ProRes. Yet realize that ProRes is a compressed format as well. Recommend Prores422HQ for serious uses and ProRes422 for web.
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Thank you! What shall I do if I have already begun using H.264 on my timeline? And I have committed many hours to the project in this codec.
That is, what is the fastest way to convert already manipulated (in FCP 7) H.264 footage to a malleable, more edit-friendly codec?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
April 14th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Convert to ProRes422
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great.. helps me understand… more….but maybe all i need. i am making a short film. I am not very great with technical details, but i noticed that final cut took to long time rendering. also lagging and doing other strange things. the format was h264. started to edit today in that format and it was really annoying. . now i will check out the link on how to convert to prores…. thank you so much again
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Bigasoft ProRes Converter is advanced and simplified encoder which lets you fast and easily convert video in any format like MKV, MTS, MOV, MP4, WMV, AVCHD, WebM, RMVB to lossy video compression format ProRes 422, ProRes 4444, Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) for import and edit in FCP and FCP X.
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Hi Vincent, thanks for all the good information you are giving out free! …well here’s a difficult one we have not solved yet. We have to deliver standard on SP Beta tape to the local broadcaster here in South Africa. Up till now what we re converting through the Aja card is not acceptable because the picture is jerking too much. Is it possible to convert progressive 25p into interlaced standard def. smooth moving images and objects through the frames?
If at all possible, I would very much appreciate if you could tell me how to achieve this. Kind regards Uwe
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
May 8th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
hmmm – I’ve never faced this issue unfortunately. Maybe someone else can answer?
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