How is this done? I'm looking for instructions on the support area and all I run into is Avid Interplay-- I hope this isn't necessary for my small project.

Basically I'm getting footage on DV and HDV tapes and DVCPro (720p) P2 cards, and I have to merge them into a single project.

I've never done this before and I'm a bit puzzled.

Could someone please post a link showing how to do this or share some pointers?  

Thanks in advance!

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EDIT: found out that the more accurate search term is MIXED resolutions. but searches link me to xpress pro...

You can mix frame sizes (1080, 720) but not frame rates (23.976, 59.94) in the same project.  You can always mix resolutions (10:1, 1:1, DNxHD) in the same project.

The best way would be to have be able to digitize the footage via SDI so you sould select an Avid resolution.  Otherwise, you may have to software transocde the footage if you bring it in via FireWire or Import (could take a while).  Depending on whether you are editing HD or SD, you'll have to either upconvert the SD or downconvert the HD.

What will your project be at?  What output format are you looking at?

Kevin Klimek:

editing HD or SD, you'll have to either upconvert the HD or downconvert the SD.

I think you ment to say the other around.

One other thing to add, if you are working strictly SD, capture downconverted off camera/deck. Then you can mix together.

EDIT: sorry missed the P2, this will have to be transcoded to a SD format.

Kevin Klimek:

You can mix frame sizes (1080, 720) but not frame rates (23.976, 59.94) in the same project.  You can always mix resolutions (10:1, 1:1, DNxHD) in the same project.

This is the key point. As long as the frame rates match you don't need to do anything during editing. Avid will automatically scale the footage up or down to match the Project Format. For different outputs you can change the Project Format in the format tab of the project window. Again you don't need to do anything to your footage in terms of size, it will get scaled up or down accordingly.

(This is a big difference from FCP where when you put HD footage onto an SD timeline it applies a scale effect, and then if you switch to HD you have to cut everything off the timeline and then paste it back on and you might still have issues with differenet rastor sizes.)

If you frame rates don't match then there may be some issues but I'm guessing this is not the case here. If you do have different frame rates you'll get an error message when you try and play a clip that is not compatible with the project.

When you do come to output it might be worth making a copy of your sequence and transcoding all the footage into the same format (or dong a video mixdown) if it helps with playback to tape. Especially if you are mastering to DV.

But during editing, as long as your computer is keeping up and not dropping frames, you can just put all the different frame sizes on the timeline and not worry about it.

cheers,

Campbell

outpostbc:

I think you ment to say the other around.

Thanks...fixed post above.

Thanks!  So the determinant is the final resolution of the project, right?

How does the thing deal with different aspect ratios though?  DV is 4:3 and the others widescreen... will it letterbox the HD if I import into SD or will it pillarbox if I import SD into an HD project?  

The final product will be a widescreen DVD, no hi def, so I could downconvert all to SD and then crop the mpeg file in Sorenson, right?  

Hopefully the thing will letterbox instead of crop the HD video...

Oh, and the HDV camera (Sony Z1) will export to DV if I tell it... 

Thanks for your help guys... I'm very new at this.

red ant:

How does the thing deal with different aspect ratios though?  DV is 4:3 and the others widescreen... will it letterbox the HD if I import into SD or will it pillarbox if I import SD into an HD project?

Basically Avid just stretches the video to whatever display size you choose. So if you set the composer window to 16x9 then everything will be that shape (and the 4x3 stuff will be stretched to the wrong shape) and if you set it to 4x3 then it will all fill that shape (and the 16x9 footage will be stretched wrongly).

If you want a final 16x9 project then set it to that and with your DV 4x3 footage use a reformat effect (either Sidebar or Pan and Scan) to pillarbox or enlarge the footage so that it displays how you want it.

You don't want to crop it in Sorenson because you will lose a lot of resolution. (Unless you exported an HD file and downconverted and cropped, but that would be complicated and unnecessary).

cheers

Campbell

Thanks again guys.  I imported it all  while the composer window was 16:9 and it worked great... except that I the DV footage was after all MASKED to display 16:9 (not a true widescreen), so... importing it like this showed a flattened/widened image.  

In the end, instead of using the REFORMAT effect I'm having to use the RESIZE, whereby I scale the vertical to an additional 33%... this restores things to their original shape (ok, not an exact 33.3%, but there are no decimal controls), and drives the black bars out of the composer window and leaves a nicely proportioned widescreen image as intended.

I think I might have lost vertical resolution in the original importing of the footage and subsequent vertical enlarge, but it doesn't look bad... wait, it lost vertical pixels already by being masked... anyway, looks fine.

Now if I could find a way to apply the effect to the whole clip rather than to the subclips on the timeline... but that's a different subject.

Actually it doesn't make any difference which setting you had the composer window on. If you were to switch it back to 4x3 you would see that the footage you digitised displayed correctly - as letterboxed 16x9.

The reason for this is that Standard Def footage is actually the same pixel size, whether it's 4x3 or 16x9 - it's always 640x480 (NTSC) or 720x576(PAL). If the footage is shot in true 16x9 then it actually gets squeezed to fit this number of pixels, and then stretched back out to the correct shape when you display it on a 16x9 screen.

So you didn't lose vertical resolution by importing it with the 16x9 setting. You lost it by shooting with the letterbox setting on your camera. But as you've found, you can stretch it up to fill the screen at the correct shape and as long as it looks correct when edited into the sequence with your other footage, then it _is_ correct.

One way to apply the resize effect to the whole clip is to make a sequence with that whole tape on it, with the resize effect on it. Now drag that sequence from your bin to the left-hand source monitor. (don't double-click it or it will open in the right-hand window and the timeline.)

Now you can mark in and out points and edit as though it is a clip, but when you edit a section into your master timeline you'll find it has the resize effect on it.

cheers

Campbell