• Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

  23.98 Timeline in a 30p World

  Posted by Bob Cole on February 16, 2013 at 11:58 am

  This is a “should I take drastic action” post. I discovered, well into an edit, that the framerate in my sequence was wrong. Can I shift framerates in mid-stream? Should I even try?

  I’m almost done editing a graphics-intensive, multi-video-layer 20-minute show destined for DVD playback on a big screen, using a variety of sources:

  1. XDCAM EX footage shot at 1080 p30 (29.97)
  2. XDCAM EX footage shot at 720p60 (59.94)
  3. After Effects clips rendered 1080 29.97

  On my MacPro 1,1 the renders were taking awhile, so I checked and found that the sequence was set as follows:

  Frame Size: 1920×1080 Aspect Ratio: HDTV 1080i (16:9)
  Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
  Anamorphic unchecked
  Editing Timebase: 23.98
  Quicktime Video Settings – Compressor: XDCAM EX 1080p30 (35 Mbps)

  Note: the 23.98 framerate, which cannot be changed. (And no, I have no idea how that happened – that’s one of my questions.)

  I will try outputting a section to see whether the mismatch of 23.98 framerate has any effect on the final result. (UPDATE: I HAVE DONE THAT, AND IT LOOKS FINE, THOUGH I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER ONE PANNING SHOT MIGHT NOT LOOK BETTER AT 30FPS.)

  I’d appreciate the collective wisdom on what happened, and whether it is something I should worry about.

  I have already tried copying and pasting the whole timeline into a new, 29.97 timeline. A small error box appears: “Not Found.” I was able to copy the soundtrack, but that process results in timing discrepancies; there are gaps between many of the clips, and the clip that appeared in the 23.98 original timeline at 01:09:31:06 is, in the 29.97 timeline, at 01:09:31:25.

  Thanks for your help.

  Bob C

  Bob Cole replied 13 years, 6 months ago 1 Member · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Bob Cole

  February 16, 2013 at 7:55 pm

  Thank you Dave. Very interesting! I’m glad to get your answer, because several hours ago I decided to bite the bullet and manually drag each shot of this 23.976 timeline into a new 29.97 timeline. A real painstaking pain, what with the software’s confusion over timing the shots differently – especially as multiple layers of video were involved.

  Any idea as to how FCP dictated using a 23.976 timeline? I sure didn’t specify it on purpose. My SOP is to drag a clip into the timeline, let FCP adjust the timeline’s setting, and go from there. I’m guessing it has to do with the use of 720p30 footage, which is not something I usually do.

  When I use FCP’s automatic sequence settings, here is what happens:

  Footage that was shot 720p60 is characterized within the FCP bin both as 720p60 and as 59.94. The sequence auto-sets to XDCAM EX 720p60 with an editing timebase of 59.94.

  Footage that was shot 1080p30 is characterized within the FCP bin both as 1080p30 and as 29.97. The sequence auto-sets to XDCAM EX 720p60 with an editing timebase of 29.97.

  I’ve been trained to ignore this discrepancy; am I missing something critical?

  Bob C
• 

  Bob Cole

  February 17, 2013 at 2:04 am

  [Dave LaRonde] “do you intend to deliver the final product at 29.97 or 59.94?”

  It’s headed to DVD.

  That is very, very interesting about 59.94. Forgive the stupid question, but what about the whole issue of p30->29.97 and p60->59.94? Is that just a fact of NTSC life, or a choice?

  If I understand it correctly, 29.97 and 59.94 are relics of interlacing, only here because of history. I need a refresher on all of this stuff.

  Bob C

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