I had this week off as we await notes from the network. I burned a DVD last week and sent it off to New York.

Up til this point I had kept the show separated by Acts…each act was a separate sequence. For the output I needed to combine them into what is called a “stringout” or “show build.” I copied and pasted each act into a new sequence, and separated them with 5 second titles denoting the act number. We are a few minutes over our target time, but that is a good thing. You can always trim…it is more difficult to add time.

One thing I noticed with the long sequence (1:36:36:00) is that when I made a small change, like nudging a clip or replacing another, I’d get the “preparing video for display” message. This I took to mean that I was low on memory…I only have 2.5GB RAM in my G5. So I ordered another 1G and now it doesn’t do that.

OK…so now I have this long sequence that I need to put onto a DVD with a timecode windowburn. So I highlight everything by hitting CMD-A and selecting NEST. I chose MIX DOWN AUDIO as well. If you don’t, some of your audio won’t export for some reason. After it was nested I added the TIMECODE READER filter and rendered, then exported for DVD thru Compressor using the 120min preset.

Well, OK…I didn’t render the first time. BIG mistake. The export then needed to render as it exported, thus taking an inordinate long amount of time…19 hours to be exact. Only to find that there were a few things that we needed to fix before we sent it, so I did it again. This time rendering the timeline (13 minutes) then exporting to DVD…this time it took 13 hours. A little better. Now I am wishing I bought the Quad G5.

I then used DVD SP to author the DVD (my first time using it) and was able to make it so that the Execs could just press play, or they could select an Act they wanted to start on and go there. I thought that might impress…them being so used to VHS screener copies. OH, and the quality of the image…GORGEOUS! An offline cut at full resolution. That is a treat…something that I and my producer aren’t used to. Hoping to impress THC too.

We also spent a day at another post facility exploring their options for online. 1080p24 using a Kona 3 and Final Touch. We’ll see. They are test color correcting and onlining footage for us as I type this. And 1080p24 (output to HDCAM SR) is the optimal choice as it can then be converted to any other HD format an maintain excellent quality.

That’s it for now. Next week I will be tackling network notes and prepping for my trip to NAB…where I will be working at the Panasonic booth on Monday and Tuesday demoing the P2/FCP workflow. If you are coming, look for the man with curley brown and grey hair. Ask for Shane. Not Sean, or I will be forced to ignore you.