Movie Tips on Mac

As Apple Inc.’s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers, OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8) is the ninth major release of OS X. It’s quick, familiar, cheap, and drenched in iOS goodness. However, after updated and installed Mountain Lion on Mac, many Final Cut Pro (mainly FCP X and FCP 7) users found they could not import any AVCHD files into FCP anymore – only getting “no compatible file” message, below is what some folks said:

•  I use FCP 7 and my AVCHD file is shown as a package, not a folder. I tried to log and transfer the AVCHD file to FCP but it did not work. I think FCP does not find the files. I also tryed to click myself to the files by right clicking the file and then opening the package with “show package contents”. Once I clicked myself to the actual .mts file I tried to drag it into the log and transfer window in FCP. But this did not work – I’m using OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

• I could not import any avchd files anymore into fcp on my mac after I installed mountain lion. continue reading…

Flash Media Live Encoder, FMLE in short, is a free live encoding software product from Adobe Systems. It is currently available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. As a desktop application, it is able to stream audio and video in real time to Adobe Flash Media Server software or Flash Video Streaming Service (FVSS). This software can enable the broadcast of live events such as sporting events, webcasts, or concerts around the clock.

Apply FMLE, you will find both On2 VP6 or H.264 preset will creat F4V file. However, F4V file format is not a friendly format for Mac users. Most of the editing programs like FCP, iMovie, Avid etc won’t read it, Mac-compatible iTunes, iOS devices like iPad, iPhone, iPod can’t recognize it. On such a case, you’ll have to convert the FMLE encoded FLV files on Mac before playing, burning or editing.

To achieve your goal smoothly, below, I would throw a quick tutorial up which mainly shows you how to encode F4V to MP4, FLV, M4V, MOV, MP3… under Mac OS X with some help from third-party software. continue reading…

Adobe Premiere is timeline-based video editing software application that’s compatible on both Macs and PCs. You can fix imperfections in the audio and video tracks, add effects and transitions, pan and zoom on still images, and more. You can also create high-definition movies with menus and upload them directly to YouTube, or burn them on a disk.

Recently, when visiting forums, I’ve found some users complaining that they repeatedly received the message “Error compiling movie. Unknown error.” when they want render or export files from Adobe Premiere and meanwhile this problem dates back several years and even includes Premiere Elements, below is one of the disscussions about the error: continue reading…

For Mac users mainly video hobbyists and independent filmmakers, Final Cut Pro really gives a best way to edit their DVD movies. However, before importing DVD movies to FCP 6/7 or FCP X for editing, you’d better do some work in advance. I mean the DVD videos requires to be transcoded into a format better suited to editing, effects, and color grading; this would usually be Apple ProRes, a native codec for Final Cut Pro. The transcoding to ProRes can be a fairly time- and processor-heavy intermediary step that pays off later with superior speed once the post production process begins. However, along with some help from third-party software, you can achieve your goal smoothly, below is a simple tutorial for you, guaranteed to easily and fast convert DVD to Apple ProRes codec for Final Cut Pro further editing under Mac OS. continue reading…

The explosion of digital SLRs with video capability has turned many traditional videographers and photographers toward cameras such as the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark II/III, EOS 5D, EOS 7D, EOS-1D X, EOS 60D and the newly-introduced EOS Rebel T4i (EOS 650D) to create stunning high definition footage at a very affordable price. The impressive video image quality of Canon’s EOS digital SLRs is their use of the sophisticated H.264/MPEG-4 compression method for recording video files to the camera’s memory card. This is an ideal file type for video capture in an SLR camera, delivering relatively compact file sizes with image quality noticeably superior to alternate video compressions (such as Motion JPEG). However, the H.264 codec is not good for iMovie editing, it takes long time to render, and you can’t edit the Canon H.264 video files smoothly in iMovie.

In attempting of importing Canon EOS H.264 mov to iMovie for editing without problems, the H.264 compression format requires that files be transcoded into a format better suited to editing, effects, and color grading; this would usually be Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) (*.mov). To achieve your goal smoothly, the following tutorial will guide you through how to convert Canon EOS H.264 videos to AIC MOV for iMovie, guarannteed to import and edit Canon H.264 MOV files in iMovie smoothly.

Transcoding Canon EOS H.264 MOV files for iMovie continue reading…

With every new Camera, comes many new questions about workflow. The term ‘workflow’ can be fairly broad, but today I am looking at ingesting C300 footage into various non-linear editing systems. Due to format compatibility issues, Canon C300 owners are always having troubles importing C300 MXF footage to Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere for native editing. Yes Canon offers plug-ins e.g. XF utility to help users import camera video clips, but only with very limited success. To make things much easier, below is great tutorial for you, guaranteed to edit C300 MXF files with Avid & Premiere smoothly.

To achieve your goal flawlessly, the best method is to transcode Canon MXF files to Avid/Premiere native editable format along with some help from a third-party tool. After that you can open C300 footage in your video editor for further editing. Keep reading for a brief how-to below. continue reading…

For all of its faults, iMovie’ 09/11 offers much better native file compatibility than its predecessor. Apple claims that iMovie’ 09/11 supports most commonly-used video codecs, including DV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, AVCHD and AIC. However, all files aren’t equal when working in iMovie. And there is no way to import single .mts files to iMovie that you have previously transferred from the camera to your computer unless you have used the Archive method which saves the whole file structure of the camera onto your computer. That’s why you can always meet questions like “how do I open a file in iMovie with enlargement of the MTS?” or “how do i download AVCHD (MTS files) in imovie9″ come from time to time.

To achieve your goal to edit MTS clips with iMovie, below is simple tutorial to make it smoother to get those .MTS files off of a memory card or hard drive to iMovie–and without the need to connect the camera to your Mac.

Converting MTS files to edit in iMovie continue reading…

As the great competitor to canon 5D Mark III, the Nikon 800 is one of the hottest Digital SLRs in the market. Besides vivid images, the newly-introduced D800 is capable of creating stunning 1080p high definition footage. So It’s really wonderful to take it and record exciting moments when we travel or spend holidays.

The impressive video image quality of the D800 is its use of the sophisticated H.264/MPEG-4 compression method for recording video files (.mov format) to the camera’s memory card. This is an ideal file type for video capture in an SLR camera, delivering relatively compact file sizes with image quality noticeably superior to alternate video compressions. However, the format is not good to use in non-linear editing systems such as the Adobe Premiere. Below, I will outline how to ingest and import D800 mov files to Premiere for editing.

In order to edit D800 videos in Premiere smoothly, the H.264 compression format requires that mov files be transcoded into a format better suited to editing, effects, and color grading; this would usually be WMV, the best supported format for Premiere. Below is a simple guide for you. continue reading…

As the clear successor to the Sony NEX-FS100, the Sony NEX-FS700 truly ups the ante. The new model has a lot of things going for it. It initially offers 1080p video, switchable between 50Hz and 60Hz frame rates (including 60p, 50p, 60i and 24p). You can use the camcorder to record slow-motion Full HD video at 120 or 240fps, or record up to 960fps at lower resolutions. With every new camera, comes many new questions about workflow. The term “workflow” can be fairly broad, but today I am looking at importing Sony NEX-FS100 (50p/60p) footage into Final Cut Pro X (also including FCP 6/7) for smoothly editing on Mac.

For all of its faults, Final Cut Pro X offers much better native file compatibility than its predecessor. However, all files aren’t equal when working in Final Cut Pro X. Some files, like the 50p/60p .MTS files produced from AVCHD video capture (like the Sony NEX-FS700), require you to take a couple of extra steps to get them into FCP X.

Here is a piece of simple tip to make it editing Sony NEX-FS700 AVCHD footage in Final Cut Pro X smoother to get those 50/60p .MTS files off of a memory card or hard drive – and without the need to connect the camera to your Mac. As far as I know, to achieve the goal smoothly, the AVCHD compression format requires that files be transcoded into a format better suited to editing, effects, and color grading; this would usually be Apple ProRes. continue reading…

With every new Camera, comes many new questions about workflow. The term ‘workflow’ can be fairly broad, but today I am looking at importing Canon Rebel T4i (EOS 650D) footage into Final Cut Pro. The Canon T4i uses the same workflow as the Canon EOS series of cameras which includes the 550D (T2i), 600D (T3i), and 1000D (XS), because it records in the same H.264 MOV format. Although the tools for importing the footage have been updated by Canon, it seems not working well when ingesting T4i footage to Final Cut Pro. Below, I will throw a quick tutorial up on how to import videos from Canon T4i/650D into Final Cut Pro (FCP 6/7 and FCP X) without the EOS Movie Plugin-E1.

The impressive video image quality of Canon’s EOS digital SLRs is their use of the sophisticated H.264/MPEG-4 compression method for recording video files to the camera’s memory card. The same with the new-brand Rebel T4i (65D) recording videos in H.264 MOV formats. The H.264 compression format requires that files be transcoded into a format better suited to editing, effects, and color grading; this would usually be Apple ProRes. So, to bring your Canon T4i footage into Final Cut Pro for smoothly editing on Mac, you’re suggested to transcode Canon T4i mov to Apple ProRes, the native editing codec of FCP in advance. Along with some help from a third-party software.

That’s where Pavtube HD Video Converter for Mac (currently on sale) comes in: it is good at encoding camera shootings in different formats (H.264 MOV, MTS/M2TS, MXF, etc.) to video editing software compatible file types, i.e. ProRes for FCP, AIC for iMoive, and DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, making the experience of editing Canon T4i HD Video footage with Final Cut Pro as fast and seamless as possible. Just download a free trial here and follow the guide below to convert Canon T4i/650D MOV to Apple ProRes for Final Cut Pro 6/7 or FCP X further editing. continue reading…