canon vixia hf10

When using the Canon Vixia HF10 cameras, you will have to change the sequence settings in Final Cut Pro to match that of the HD footage you have captured. You will have to do this before you begin to build out your project on the timeline, and usually after you have logged and transferred your clips.

The process is relatively easy. Simply grab one of the clips you have logged-and-transferred, and drag it on to the timeline. You should do this even if you don't intend to use the clip in your final piece. (you can delete it off of your timeline afterward)

Once you drag your first clip (captured by the Canon Vixia footage) to the timeline, a warning message will appear telling you that the clip settings don't match your sequence settings. A "sequence" refers to the actual timeline where you will be building your project. Answer YES to this dialogue box.

This will automatically set the sequence settings of your Final Cut Pro project to match that of the footage you captured from the Canon Vixia camera. You can now delete the clip and continue building your project.

If you need to change the sequence setting manually

If for some reason you answered "no" to the dialogue box, or you imported a clip that wasn't from the Vixia camera (like a photo), then your sequence settings probably do not match the settings of your clips. This could cause errors displaying a "RT Extreme dropped frames" message. Also, once you export, the footage may come out soft or even blurry.

To fix this issue, you need to manually change your sequence settings. Right-click or (control-click on the Mac) on the sequence you are working on located in your bin. The default sequence name is "Sequence 1." Change the settings to the image below:

• Frame size: 1920 x 1080 (or the HDTV 1080i 16:9 preset)
• Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
• Filed Dominance: Upper (odd)
• Editing Timebase: 29.97
• Compressor: Apple Intermediate Codec

If you change your sequence settings after you have already laid some clips on your timeline tracks, then you will have to do one additional step to conform the clips to the new settings. You can do this by first selecting all of your video clips. Shift-click on video clips or you can select individuals tracks by holding down the Command Key (Mac) or Ctrl key (PC). Then choose "Conform to Sequence" under the modify menu.