[This article was first published in the April, 2007, issue of
Larry's Final Cut Pro Newsletter. Click here to subscribe.]

Pons Maar provides the following tip:

QuickTime Pro offers an alternative that I saw on the Apple OSX tips page. You can capture video from an iSight either using H.264 compressed or a device native full resolution version. And, its incredibly easy.

1) Hook up your camera via FireWire.
2) Select QuickTime > File > New Movie Recording. A window will open showing your image so you can tweak your camera settings and lighting, then just hit the red button and you are recording live.

Using the QuickTime > Preferences > Recording tab you can set your video and audio source, quality and where to save the files.

The advantage of this is that I don’t have to open Final Cut Pro, I can use my PreSonus Firebox as my audio in and have more control over the audio input than through my camera, and I have a real time preview as I’m shooting.

For a home studio you can get a 32’ firewire cable, run it from the camera to your computer and you have a direct to disk recording set up...pretty sweet. Obviously if you have a laptop then you have the same possibility but with portability.

Larry replies: Pons, this is a great tip. One caution, though. FireWire has a cable limit of 15' -- longer cables require amplifiers to make sure your signal arrives safely. Otherwise, you run the risk of signal degradation.

And here's a second way to do the same thing...

Isazaly Mohd Isa sends in the following technique:

This is a cool feature if you're doing video blogs, podcast or tutorials (like me!) and have direct access to FCP as your non-linear editing software. FCP allows you to capture video from your built-in iSight camera on your MacBook Pros! So, after these few settings, the next time you Press CMD+8 (or File >Log & Capture), you'll be able to see the "live input" and use the "Capture Now" button and..... "Action!"

Create an Easy Setup with the following information (change to NTSC as needed!) :

Larry replies: Very cool! Thanks.

Larry Jordan is a post-production consultant and an Apple-Certified Trainer in Digital Media with over 25 years experience as producer, director and editor with network, local and corporate credits. Based in Los Angeles, he's a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

The information in this article is believed to be accurate at the time of publication. However, the author assumes no liability in case things go wrong. Please use your best judgment in applying these suggestions.

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