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2-Cam Shoot – Different Formats- What to Do?
A client brought me a 2 camera shoot to edit. One camera was a 7D ( 1920 x 1080; 23.98 fps; H.264)
I don’t know the other camera, but the files are 1280 x 720; 30 fps; AVC. Obviously, I need to transcode everything to a common ProRes format. Should I downscale the 7D footage to match the other? What frame-rate will transcode the best? -
12 Replies
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Is there anyone competent on location shoots these days? Are the clients paying through the nose for these stupid mistakes?
Luckily for me I work in PAL land so frame rate differences are rare. Someone who suffers NTSC all the time will have better advice about pullup and pulldown to get everything into one frame rate.
As for frame size, it depends on what the final output of the project is. Is it youtube or broadcast because the advice will depend on knowing that.
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What do you need to deliver? 23.98 or 29.97? It is easier to go 29.97 to 23.98 then the reverse.
1080 or 720? Again, what are you delivering?
Charge for every moment spent converting. Every moment. If people pull crap like shooting like this client did, then they pay for it. If they ask why they are being charged more, explain that if they planned better and shot compatible formats, and frame rates, it would cost less.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Yeah, it’s a real nightmare. I think this was his first shoot with the 7D, and it looks like it. It’s not for broadcast. Output format is not important. It can even be SD.
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I understand completely. As I just posted above, output format / frame-rate doesn’t matter. I just need to make it work & get it done.
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Oh, I almost forgot. Audio was recorded separately, so whatever I wind up with, I have to sync with the audio file. Can you believe it?
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Well it still matters if it is being screened on a TV or the web.
If web, I would go 720p and as Shane indicates convert the 29.97 fps to 23.976. If it is going to be used on a DVD or broadcast then 1080i would be more appropriate.
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For the time-being at least, it will go to DVD. I think it was shot in Progressive on both cameras.
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At least double system will be relatively simple as even though you are changing frame rate on one of the formats, it won’t change real time if it is via pulldown.
Are the audio files in broadcast wav format by any chance? If so they will have embedded timecode which is likely to cause problems if you are changing rate to something different from the audio files. Did they shoot with a timecode slate or lock codes to the 29.97 camera?
One fix is to convert the files to aif first. This is quick and won’t change quality, just get rid of the metadata. Import those files into the sequence once you have made the decision about frame rates etc.
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They are .WAV files, but I doubt if there was timecode or lock codes. Certainly no slate. These guys are amateurs who did the job for nothing. You get what you pay for. When will people understand?
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Even if they are basic wavs, don’t import them until you have sorted out the frame rate. This forum is riddled with tales of sync woe from wavs imported before frame rates were locked in concrete.
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