• Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

  Frame Rate Problem. Please help me!

  Posted by Mike Armstrong on January 1, 2008 at 12:05 am

  Hello,

  Here’s my problem.
  I’ve shot a film in PAL format (25fps) and I have edited it and am ready to encode it do DVD (let’s assume i’m completely ready to output a final DVD). Now I have never filmed in PAL before and I’m unsure if I can author a NTSC film at 25fps or do I have to compress to 24? When I compressed it to 24fps in FCP 5.1.4 my film was choppy.

  So can I leave it at 25fps or is there a better way to get it to 24 without it getting all choppy?

  Thank you for any help.

  Mike

  “Rage against the Dying of the Light”

  Mike Armstrong replied 18 years, 4 months ago 3 Members · 3 Replies
• 3 Replies

• 

  Rafael Amador

  January 1, 2008 at 6:13 am

  So from a PAL movie you want to make a NTSC DVD, Isn’t it?
  – Open your PAL movie in Compressor.
  – Select the MPG2 preset that fits to the length of your movie and duplicate it.
  Open the preset. In the “Inspector” go to the Encoder window.
  – Video format: Select NTSC.
  – Frame rate 29,97
  – Apect ratio, the one of your film.
  – Field dominance: Automatic.
  If you encode now you will get your NTSC MPG2. make a test and if you are happy with your MPG2 go ahead.
  If you want to improve the quality of your MPG2, got o the “Frame control” tab and set:
  – Frame control; ON.
  – Rate conversion: Good/Better or Best. The quality will differ depending of the setting you choose, but the time will take, will increase very, very, veryyyyyyyy much.
  have a happy 2008.
  rafael

  PPC G5 2x2Gh 4GbRAM/BlackMagic SD/PMBP 17″Core2Duo 4GbRAM
  JVC DTV-17″/FCS2/AE CS3/COMBUSTION/SHAKE
• 

  Matthew Nelson

  January 1, 2008 at 6:57 am

  Did you shoot progressive or progressive split frame or old school interlace PAL?

  If you shot P or PsF I would pull the frame rate down to 23.98 in Cinema tools and pitch correct the audio in Soundtrack. After you pull the video your audio will be 4% shorter then the video. In FCP get the new TRT for the pulled video and plug that value in the time stretch process. Double check that the audio at the end of your film is in sync and bada boom bada bing you have a 23.98 film. Just make a MPEG-2 from this source because DVD works best in a 23.98 environment. BUT this will ONLY work if your PAL footage is P or PsF.

  If it was interlaced you will have to standards convert the footage to 29.97 NTSC. I would use the better setting in compressors frame converter if this is for final release and you cannot afford outside Alchemist PhC conversion, because it uses optical flow technology to perform a motion compensation conversion which is similar strategy to what the S&W Kudos Mach1 uses. This will be a 50:1 to 60:1 render ratio if you are on a dual 2Ghz G5 a 20:1 to 30:1 if you are on a Dual Quad 3Ghz Mac Pro, but it makes for the best conversions when it works.

  Just compressing a PAL to NTSC without any frame conversion will cause jutter. Since there is no rational correlation between 25fps and 29.97, frames are either duplicated or dumped willy nilly as compressor attempts to pound a square peg through a round hole.
• 

  Mike Armstrong

  January 1, 2008 at 6:26 pm

  Thanks so much for the help guys!

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