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23.98 to 29.97
Hi. Hope this isn’t too dumb of a question….
I’m working on an infotainment show in which the host/studio sequences are shot on 7D at 29.97, and my FCP7 timeline is set up for that. (Pro Res).
Most of the interviews are shot on 7D at the more “filmic” rate of 23.98. The B-Roll, film clips etc. arrive in a wide variety of formats & codecs. In prep I transcode everything to Pro Res 29.97, and export the final project that way.
Frankly, while editing I can’t see much of a difference between the 23.98 footage and the 29.97 footage. (Production can’t afford a broadcast monitor, so I use a 50″ plasma TV. I don’t think this situation is going to change, so keep that in mind.)
The 23.98 footage looks a bit more filmic *after* I export a master Quicktime file. But not so much that it screams “film look!” All it does is create extra prep work. And sometimes the films clips (coming from outside sources which we cannot control) look a bit “steppy.” I assume this is from changing frame rates.
Is it even worth shooting in 23.98? Thanks for your thoughts.
Mac quad core, 2.66 ghz
10,000 rpm drive
8 gigs RAM
ATI Radeon HD 5770“In modern action films, the only people who work up a sweat are the editors.” — Roger Ebert
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2 Replies
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Final Cut Pro 7 adds an odd pull down (2:2:2:4 or something like that) in the timeline to play 23.98 in 29.97 timeline. It looks horrible. You probably should add the pull down by encoding in Compressor.
At this stage in the advancement of NLEs, FCP7 may bring you more aggravation that necessary. You’d probably be better off using FCPX or Premiere Pro CS6 which handle mixed frame rates. In fact, if you’re getting files in the field in a variety of formats and frame rates, you’d be much better off moving on from FCP7 IMHO.
As to “worth” of shooting in 23.98, it’s an aesthetic choice as far as “look.” I can certainly see the difference (and personally don’t like it but I’m the aesthetic odd ball these days). It’s much easier to go to both PAL and NTSC frame rates if you need to deliver both then 29.97p for example, which could be a problem going to PAL.
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If we shoot 23.98 we do so only if all the footage will be shot at 23.98. If we mix any other footage that is already 29.97 we shoot 30p and mix away.
To convert 23.98 to 29.97 we use a built in Episode setting. Works great.
Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media Inc.
Video Production, Post, Studio Sound Stage
Founder/President/Editor/Designer/Animator
https://www.tiltmedia.com
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