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fixing 35mm project
So, we’ve been editing our first 35mm production, and had no idea what we were doing when we started. In other words, we did not reverse telecine the DV Cam offline footage before editing, and did not create a Cinema Tools with our flex files. Instead, we captured the entire DV Cam tapes into FCP and made subclips.
Our goal is to online to a 1080p version of our project by pulling selects from the original negative. I understand the process much more thoroughly than before, and have come up with the following workflow to get a proper 23.98 pull list – does it seem solid?
Fixing Database
1. Make sure Final Cut clips are labeled with correct reels (There is one lab roll per DV Cam tape, with multiple camera rolls on each tape. Does each camera roll need a different reel number, or just lab rolls?).
2. Import flex files (1 per DV Cam tape) into Cinema Tools to make databases with correct key code and timecode (we did get a window burn, so we can double check this).
3. Merge Databases into 1 master database
4. Synchronize the Final Cut subclips I made from the tape to the Cinema Tools database.Fixing frame rate
5. Export each clip used in my 29.97 FCP timeline as a reference mov with audio synched (the whole clip, not just the part that shows in the edit).
6. Reverse telecine each of these exported clips
7. Paste my 29.97 timeline into a new 23.98 sequence and reconnect the clips to the reverse telecined versions.
8. Adjust any +/- 1 frame gaps.
9. Connect the reverse telecined clips to the Cinema Tools database (will I need to enter new key code info for each clip?).
10. Generate pull list from there.Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated!
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3 Replies
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I use FCP-CT in PAL land so things are different as our telecine is 25fps.
Anyway from your workflow what is common and I can comment on is.
1. You heve one lab roll per tape so that’s good. You haven’t ‘captured across’ lab rolls.
2. You can simply highlight the clips in FCP and do Tools > synchronize with Cinema Tools. Create a new database which contains all the clips.
3. You can even enter clips in CT manually but you need not make a new database for each tape. In fact you have to have just one database for all the lab rolls.
4. You can open each clip in CT and manually enter the keycode from the window burn. The time code should be present. If it isn’t, you can enter that manually too.I’m not sure of the rest of the workflow for 23.976 > 29.97 as I haven’t done it before. Like I said, our telecine is 24@25.
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Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India -
Cool – I already know the frame rate conversion part works, I was more worried about the Cinema Tools stuff that I haven’t done before.
Let me ask you this – if I simply make the database out of my final cut clips, does that mean I must enter key code data for every clip, not just each lab roll? Because each camera roll starts a new key code count, right?
If I need to enter key code for every clip, I might as well do the conversion to 23.98 first, then make the database and enter the key code info in CT. In my earlier mentioned workflow, I was trying to salvage the keycode data already stored in my flex files to save time. Do you think I should abandon that idea?
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After many tests and exploring all the possibilities, we decided that the best thing is to relog all of our footage using the flex files. Then we’ll reverse telecine, etc, and rebuild our edit.
We’ll drop our original 29.97 edit into 23.98 timeline, then assemble our correctly logged 23.98 versions above them. The last step will be fixing the +/- 1 frame gaps.
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