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Inserting 3:2 pull down on a DVCAM output – some slight problems
Hi Guys,
I was using a DVCAM deck a few days ago, outputting my 23.98 film project onto a DVCAM tape. In the past, I always used After Effects to insert pulldown into my 23.98 quicktimes, but this time I decided to try to do it on the fly with FCP. Things seemed to run smooth and the frames output in the right places, with the right pulldown pattern, but about 3/4 of the way through the output the deck stopped recording. I did an assemble edit from this point on and then it stopped again about a minute into my final black slug at the end of project. I figured this might just be a drop frame problem, but then this exact scenario continued to happen on every reel following at roughly the same points in the outputting process. You can certainly work around this problem, but does anyone have an idea what is going on here?
I’m using a Dual 1.2 Gigahertz G4, the latest version of FCP 4.5. A Decklink Extreme, and OS 10.3.8 and a DSR-2000.
Cheers
Julian
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11 Replies
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My question is, why did you have a 23.98 timeline if you are outputting to DVCAM? DVCAM runs at 29.97, not 23.98. By going 23.98 all you are doing is complicating things (IMHO) because you have to go back to 29.97 on output.
Why not stick with 29.97 and not muck with 23.98? Simple in, simple out…
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Hi,
Yes that would be true, if this was a video finish show. We are cutting telecined film, and are going to be doing a neg cut. Thus, I need to create 29.97 outputs for the neg cutter and sound editor, but need to cut in 23.98 for generating solid cut lists etc.
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Ah. I see.
Sorry to ask…there are just a lot of people who shoot 24P and remove the pulldown but are trying to output to tape as a master. Obviously not what you are doing.
Wish I could help, but never had to do what you are doing….yet.
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Cutting 24p at 24p is also important to maintain constant cadence, which is a pre-requisite for some broadcasters…. Also, for web or DVD. I see more reasons to cut 24p at 24p than at 29.97fps.
You can use my Standards Converter to add 3:2 pulldown as a render process, which should help, as I guess the G4 is of a minimum spec for realtime addition of pulldown.
Graeme
– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP
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Are you outputting through firewire or the decklink? I’m not sure if you can control it, but I think you’d have better success outputting using the decklink and having the decklink insert the pulldown. Also, what kind of drives are you using? If you are in fact outputting through firewire and have the deck and drives on the same bus, it’s quite possible that FCP is choking while also trying to insert the pulldown. I thought the the minimum was to have a dual 1Gig G4 to have reliable real time pull down insertion, a requirement that you have exceeded. Is your sequence fully rendered?
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Yes, I’m outputting through the decklink. As I don’t like doing edit to tapes using firewire. The sequences is fully rendered. I don’t think it is a drop frame issue, because of the fact that the drop outs seem to happen at almost the same place timecode wise. If I outputting a 6 minute tape, it happens 3/4 in around the 4 minute makr. If I output at 20 minute tape, it happens around the 3/4 mark at around 16 minutes. Very weird.
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How full are your drives and what kind of drives are you using?
I’m thinking it’s your computer not being able to insert the pulldown efficiently enough. Check out Graeme’s plug in. He writes really great, useful, and cost effective plug ins for fcp.
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The drives are standard ATA 100, ID drives. The drives are pretty full, each has about 10% free space now.
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You need to add a black slug to the end of your timeline that is 20% or greater than the length of your show. It has to do with the fact that FCP/QT can’t count at 23.976 frames per second during the handoff, so you’ll have to trick it with the black slug. I’ve had to do this with every 23.976 timeline I’ve output.
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