29.97 Dropframe Issue !!! Need ADVICE ASAP

[Jerry Wise]

so i smashed my stopwatch that i have used since 1970 to time shows on quad vtr’s and loaded up a tape on digibeta. timecode on the show is drop frame. i set the control track timer to non drop. at the end of 1/2 hour looking at the control track timer it reads 30:00:00/ndf and the drop frame time code from the tape reads 30:01:25/dropframe

i got into butt loads of trouble decades ago by editing some pbs shows in non drop….so my 1/2 hour show was about 2 seconds too long. 4 seconds for an hour show. and the last 4 seconds was the credit for me as cmx editor….hahahaha.

so i bought a stop watch.

i always thought they should have called it “skip frame” time code because thats what it is.

[Mark Raudonis]

[jerry wise] “i always thought they should have called it “skip frame” time code because thats what it is.”

No. It should be called “drop number”, ’cause that’s what it does! No frames are skipped, dropped, or changed. It’s just the numbering that’s different.

Me to newbie assistant editor>>> “When you’re done with outputting the sequence, be sure to clean up all of the dropped frames from the Drop Frame timecode.” Get’s ’em every time!

Bottom line: If you’re taking a paycheck to edit, you should know this stuff.

Mark

[Jerry Wise]

i still like “skip frame”.

back in 1970 drop/non-drop time code was a mystery to a novice editor and drop frame was a mess to deal with because the early cmx systems were crude at best. if you were cutting a 30 second spot you wouldn’t notice the difference in drop/non-drop. cut a 30 min or 60 min show and oops there it is. believe me i learned my lesson early on.

[Joseph Owens]

[Mark Raudonis] “If you’re taking a paycheck to edit, you should know this stuff.”

Somewhat forgiveable if contemporary editors don’t know why 2 frames are dropped at a time…
but component analog obviated the need for color framing… so the origins are lost in the mists of time.

But given the current vogue for “origins” storylines….?

jPo

“I always pass on free advice — its never of any use to me” Oscar Wilde.