Camcorders and Premiere CS3

Most hard drive camcorders record files as .mod. The main codec used is Mpeg-2 with Ac3 audio.

To edit these files in Premiere there are a few simple steps to go through:

1. Make sure ‘additional codecs not included in the trial version of Premiere’ are installed. I kept getting an error, but a reinstall fixed the problem.
2. Bestow Ac3 capabilities unto Premiere. Done by copying the file ad2ac3dec.dll (also found in Encore CS3’s root directory) to Premiere’s root directory.
3. Batch rename the .mod files to .m2v or .mpg. This can be done in the command prompt, using the change directory (cd) and rename (rename *.old *.new) commands.
4. Create a new project in Premiere, using the DV - NTSC - Widescreen 48kHz preset.
5. Import the .m2v/.mpg files, then interpret the footage, using ‘frame rate from file’ and conforming the pixel aspect ratio to D1/DV NTSC Widescreen 16:9 (1.2).

By now Premiere should allow you to edit the files. Many thanks to Turkov for sharing the ‘interpret footage’ tip. You can click through to his blog post on the same issue for a more detailed walkthrough with great screenshots. Of course, it is always best to uncompress the footage but that’s not always an option (I am now accepting donations for a bigger external HD :P).

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 12th, 2008 at 11:06 am and is filed under Tutorials, Videos, Technology, Programs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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