Andy O'Neil

A broken relationship is languid and listless. The jaded man, the ex-girlfriend, the bruises, the last goodbye... the humanity. I loved it.

"The beautiful thing about humans is that we have the ability to access our emotions. The hard truth is that we cannot control them." -- a paraphrased quotation from an NPR interview with Foster.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. Wait 'til you read the book. Wow.

I've been working with the HVX-200 for about a year and am just now noticing drop-outs during in-camera playback. Is anyone else noticing this? Are P2 cards wearing out?

It was a four camera shoot (1 DVX100, 1 DVX100a, 1 DVX100b, and a Canon XL1s). The three DVXs were all shot in 24pA. The DVX100a and b were both shot Squeezed, the DVX100 was not. The footage that is giving me problems during capturing is coming from the DVX100a (24pA, squeezed). When using the Advanced Pulldown Capture Preset, usually, Final Cut Pro crashes after about 2 seconds of capturing. I also sometimes get a 122 GB av file that magically appears in my external hard drive. - this is after capturing only 2 seconds of footage. The only luck I've had capturing is with the following settings: Now, this comes with its own set of problems. It becomes a render nightmare. Everytime I move the footage in the timeline, I have to render. So, I have to export the footage as a self-contained QuickTime and then import, and drop that back into my timeline. Now, I can finally start editing. It all seems very makeshift - and I don't even know why I consider myself an editor when my workflow is such. It's absurd. Isn't it? Anyway, this is a lot to digest. I don't expect anyone to tackle it, but my situation is on the table. Keep in mind, the capturing method that has worked does NOT work all the time. Sometimes there is a cadence break in digitizing, and I only get portions of the entire 1-hour DV tape. The process is cumbersome and works about 70% of the time. I've gone ahead and foolishly jumped in, started editing with the conditions stated above. There's really no turning back, like re-digitizing everything again and starting over. I just really need a better understanding of what I'm doing. I'll say it again, it's aburd. Sorry for the diatribe. Mac OS X v. 10.3.9 Dual 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 2 GB DDR SDRAM Final Cut Pro 4.5

Brian, why wouldn't you set up the NTSC output for a 2:3:3:2 pulldown, since that's your capturing preset?

Thanks, everyone, for all your help. Here is a picture. This "distortion" is occuring every 5 frames.

I'm actually having the same problem. I shot on a DVX100a (24pa and squeezed). Viewing the footage from a deck directly linked to a monitor, the footage is flawless - no "choppiness". However, after digitizing in FCP (Advanced Pulldown: 2:3:3:2, Anamorphic, 23.98), viewing the footage from the timeline on the monitor, the footage has a strobing effect. During camera moves, the choppy strobing is even more apparent, especially around the edges of subjects. I've tried capturing the footage with a variety of capture presets, 29.97, anamorphic, etc. exhausting all options., but I'm having NO luck getting that flawless footage to translate correctly in FCP. Also, there is no need to render the "choppy", strobing footage after dropping it into the timeline. The settings match up in that regard. Any thoughts? Thanks, Andy

I don't like carrying things around my hips or butt. I knock into things. I like to be stealth - you know - Delta Force. I also am not a big fan of putting things in the pockets of cargo pants. I like to be nimble, quick on my feet. On set, I'm the P2 runner. I'm responsible for copying the information on the P2 cards to the P2 Store. and keeping charged batteries on hand among other things. I'm using Ameribag Healthy Back Bag to carry batts, P2 cards, screw driver, etc. It works great for P2 cards, slater markers, cell phone, tape, lens cleaner, etc. I can swing it around to my back while I work and swing it around to my front to quickly access the tools I need. Unlike a normal backpack - I don't have to take the pack off to get to essential items. I want a better carrying system for batteries. Right now, the 10 hour batteries clump together in a disorganized mass and add uneccesary weight to my messenger bag. It would be nice to carry batteries as if they were ammo packs, somewhere on my upper torso or shoulders. One near each shoulder - this may just be entirely silly. Any thoughts? Thanks, Andy

Harry Caul (The Conversation) - Gene Hackman HAL (2001: A Space Odyssey) - Douglas Rain (voice) Krystyna (Knife in the Water) - Jolanta Umecka Ted Kramer (Kramer vs. Kramer) - Dustin Hoffman Léon (Léon) - Jean Reno Frank T. J. Mackey (Magnolia) - Tom Cruise Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction) - Samuel L. Jackson Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Apocalypse Now) - Marlon Brando Ripley (Alien) - Sigourney Weaver Jack Torrance (The Shining) - Jack Nicholson Roy Neary (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) - Richard Dreyfuss

I never hold the marketing team responsible for my choosing to see a bad movie. "Fast and the Furious: Tokyo poop" marketing is not fooling me at all. I know it's about a bunch o' guys driving around a bunch o' cars doing a bunch o' tricks. This isn't cheating me, it's insulting me.

My Favorite Shot: When the heroes are saved by a pigeon.

Hi, So, I figured out I needed to download some updates on Apple's site for DVDSP and Compressor. I also figured out that setting the frame rate to 23.98 is imperative. I then went through the same process posted above. The .m2v file now imports flawlessly into DVDSP 4.0.3 and I can burn an HD-DVD on a DVD-5. Of course, this won't play on Toshiba's $500 HD DVD player. It will only play on a G5 with Mac OS Tiger with software updates. Apple Pro Support reps said it may play on a PC with an intel processor, but I haven't researched that at all. Also, regarding QuickTime, the .m2v file still will not play properly in Quicktime. The footage still looks undercranked. The Apple Pro Support reps I've spoken with are not sure why this is. I'll have to wait until christmas probably to be able to purchase a proper HD-DVD burner and proper HD-DVD. Thanks, Andy

My failed process: 1. Edit 24pN footage in FCP 5.0.4 within an HD timeline. 2. Export edited sequence using Compressor... 3. HD MPEG-2 (720p) (have tried setting the frame rate to 23.98 and 59.94) The exported .m2v file does not play properly in Quicktime (latest version) at 23.98 or 59.94. The frame rate seems to be like 12 fps. It's fast and jittery and ignores fades. The .m2v file is not supported in DVD Studio Pro 4. Anyone else having issues with this? Thanks, Andy

Syriana