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Cinema Tools
Hello All,
I need advice desperately.
I’m currently capturing 35mm footage that’s been digitized to DVCam for an offline edit. The project will be going back to film so I used cinema tools to import the FLX files and export a batch capture list. After capturing at 29.97 I connected the clips to the Cinema Tools database and checked the Keycodes and T.C. against the burn. I then Reverse Telecined the clips and imported them into Final Cut Pro. Then this is where I’m concerned. I played back the reverse telecined clips on a 23.98 timeline and it looks fine on the computer monitor, but on my external monitor (television set) some movement looks a little stuttery. Not all though. Just when the camera pans etc. It really looks like regular film stutter but a little more of it than usual.
I gathered from the cinema tools manual that the film was telecined using the ABCDD repeating sequence with field 2 dominance. So I Reverse telecined using the Field 2 only option in Cinema Tools.
Also, just in case, I’m not using any hardware to playback on the TV. I only have a G-Technology Firewire 800 drive connected to a Sony DSR-11 DVCam deck which is connected to my G4 1.25 Single Processor with 1 Gig of Ram. Not alot of power I know but I’m only using DV, right?
Anyway, what I want to know is is the stutter normal? Is it the result of the frames that have been pulled out? Is it because FCP is doing the pulldown on the fly and my computer can’t handle it? Or am I doing something wrong.
I appreciate anyone’s help on this. I was flown in to Burbank from NY for this Gig and I have until Monday to figure this out. Lots of thanks in advance.
Carlos Berrios
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6 Replies
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There are a couple versions of stutter.
When you play back properly reversed clips, running at 23.98, out firewire I believe that fields are duplicated to allow playback at 29.97. This gives a slightly unusual look.
The other is when the reverse telecine is not correct. Then the 23.98 clip has 2 frames from 1 film frames, but another film frame is missing.
To check for this second type of problem, frame advance through the clip, looking for the A, B, C, D sequence (which should be on the burn in). If you see A B C and D film frames are all there, you are okay. If you see that there are, for example, A B B D, then that clip will need to be reverse telecined again with the proper sequencing.
Also, you wil need to connect your reversed telecine clips to the cinema tools database.
Check this reference:
https://www.editorsguild.com/newsletter/JanFeb03/tip_cinema_tools.html
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Steven,
Thank you. And thanks for the link. It definitely helped.
Carlos Berrios
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Carlos,
Hey, quick side question. Why did you capture 35m at 29.97, and not at 23.98? I’m kind of new to this and tryin hard to understand film workflow issues.
Thanks, Chris
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If you have your film transferred to DV, then the video will be at 29.97. If you want to edit your film at 24 frames per second, or at 23.98 frames per second, then it will have to be altered. There are basically two ways to do this:
Some systems have a special video capture card which converts the video as it captures to hard disc, leaving 24 or 23.98 frame per second files on your hard disc. This is how Avid Film Composer, and Final Cut Pro with the Igniter Card from Aurora Video Systems works.
Another choice is to bring the footage in at the 29.97 rate (just capturing the DV via firewire). Then you can use software to convert these files into 24 or 23.98 frames per second. This is what Cinema Tools, with its Reverse Telecine process, can accomplish.
Now if you shoot with a camera that keeps track of 23.98 frames per second, such as the Panasonic DVX100, while recording at 29.97, then there is special software within Final Cut to change the frame rate to 23.98 for editing.
However, this is not film origination, and is a slightly different topic. If you start on video, you don’t need Cinema Tools for its other ability: to keep track of the film’s frame addresses (edge code or keycode it is called) and match that to the video timecode, and keep it all straight so you can produce a cut list for the film negative cutter.
I hope this is helpful.
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Steven,
Thanks so much, I guess I was wondering why the original film to DV tranfer has to be 29.97. 35m I assume is 24p right? And different cameras can record at 24 advanced(23.98) which I think FCP can handle on the fly without using Cinema Tools. So why not just stay in 24p the whole time? Thanks for your patience!
Chris
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This artical was very helpful too.
https://www.editorsguild.com/newsletter/mayjun04/mayjun04_23-24_proj.htm
But I still can not understand,
“The camera negative is transferred to video directly or from a workprint, but the film is now running at 23.976fps during the telecine process in order to create a known 2:3 pulldown cadence to the 29.97fps video rate. Once digitized into the Avid in a 24p project, the frames are
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