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Before we walk though workflow for each camera, it's important to understand what a codec is. "Codec" is an abbreviated way of referring to compression and decompression. People who work at places such as the Frauenhofer Institute use color science and the psychology of perception to come up with ways to throw away data in a video signal in a way that only shows up a little bit on close inspection in ways we all hope our audience never sees, then reconstitute the video image into a much larger file when it's time to do something like edit it. QuickTime (.MOV) is not a codec but a container. An .MOV file, sometimes also referred to as a wrapper, may contain video made with one of a large number of codecs, including highly compressed codecs, such as MPEG-4 and its variant H.264, or very mildly compressed codecs such as Apple ProRes.

Here are stepwise instructions 

A. The Sony NX5U: shoots MPEG transport stream (.MTS files), contained in folders with specific names; this takes up to c. 11 GB of space on SD card per hour of footage shot at maximum quality and resolution (actual figures may vary)

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B. Canon 60D: . The Canon 60D shoots H.264 in a QuickTime wrapper; this takes up to c. 21 GB of space on SD card per hour of footage shot at maximum quality and resolution (actual figures may vary)

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Here are stepwise instructions:

1. Power off the camera. (Always do this before changing cards or lenses.)

2. Remove the SD card.

3. Insert the SD card into the a card reader connected to the computer you're using. (There's an SD slot on the right side of each iMac in the Media Lab.)

4. Create a new folder on your hard drive for the camera files, ideally named with some or all of this information: your last name, name of the project, and shooting date(s).

5. Transfer camera files from card to hard drive:

    a. For footage shot with a Sony NX5U, look at the root level of the SD card, open the folder called PRIVATE. Inside this, drag the folder called AVCHD to the folder you just made on your hard drive.

    or

    b. For footage shot with a Canon 60D, look at the root level of the SD card, open the folder called DCIM. Inside this, open the folder called 100CANON. Drag the .MOV files inside it to the folder you just made on your hard drive.

6. While your camera files are copying from SD card to hard drive, create and save a new Final Cut Pro project file (if you haven't already done so).

7. When the camera files are done copying from card to hard drive, be sure to eject the SD card.

8. Evaluate whether your project is shot entirely on one type of camera or the other, or on a mix of both:

    a. All one type of footage

Sony NX5U footage:

         i. In Final Cut Pro, launch the Log and Transfer utility.

        ii. Click the Preferences button (near the top of the screen, underneath the word "Log," the tiny drop-down box with a gear on it).

       iii. Under AVCHD Plugin, next to AVCHD, make sure Apple ProRes 422 is selected (or select it, if not) and click the OK button.

      iv. Drag the AVCHD folder into the upper left corner of the Log and Transfer window. Each of your shots will appear with a thumbnail image and timecode representing duration.

      v. Drag the thumbnails of the shots you want into the window in the lower left corner of the Log and Transfer window.

     vi. As each shot finishes being transcoded from MPEG transport stream to ProRes 422, it appears in your browser window.

    vii. Use File --> New Sequence (command+N) to create a new sequence.

   viii. Double-click the new sequence to open it in the timeline.

    ix. Drag your footage into the timeline. 

     x. A dialog box will appear asking you whether you want Final Cut Pro to change sequence settings to match the clip settings (ProRes at whatever frame rate and pixel dimensions you shot). Click the Yes button and begin editing.

    b. all Canon 60D footage

         i. Drag the folder of .MOV files from your hard drive into your Final Cut Pro browser.

        ii. Use File --> New Sequence (command+N) to create a new sequence.

       iii. Double-click the new sequence to open it in the timeline.

       iv. Drag your footage into the timeline. 

        v. A dialog box will appear asking you whether you want FCP to change sequence settings to match the clip settings (H.264 at whatever frame rate and pixel dimensions you shot). Click the Yes button and begin editing.

    c. a mix of footage from both types of camera

        i. Use File --> New Sequence (command+N) to create a new sequence.

       ii. Click once on the sequence in the browser to select it.

      iii. 

V. other useful things
A. Cinema and Media Studies' Gould Guide, by Matt Bailey, Carleton College Media Librarian and Reference & Instruction Librarian for Arts

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