Editing Multiple Frame Rates On Single Timeline

[Irene Meimaris]

Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for the quick reply. As per getting all the ducks in a row, here are the details of the films:

Film 1
Frame Rate – 29.97
Aspect Ratio – 1.85:1
Resolution – 720 x 480

I’m working with a burnt copy of the film, according to IMDB the film was shot in HDTV. The resolution information is based on the information MPEG Streamclip gave me when I uploaded the VOB file to it.

Film 2
Frame Rate – 25
Aspect Ratio – 16:9
Resolution – 1024 X 576

Unsure of whether this film was shot in SD or HD.

Film 3
Frame Rate – 23.98
Aspect Ratio – 4:3
Resolution – 720 x 480

Shot in SD.

Could you explain what you mean by “pulldown”?

Again, your help is very much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Irene

[Irene Meimaris]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for the pulldown information.

The trailer will be shown in theaters only. It will need to be transferred to Beta SP from a DV tape. I’m based in Toronto, Canada so this is an NTSC situation.

As per for the first film, I’m unsure how to go about figuring out if it was shot in 24p from the DVD copy I have. When I loaded the DVD into MPEG Streamclip without changing any of the settings, it converted to 29.97. Is there a way to get this information from the DVD or through another program?

The second film seems to be interlaced.

What I’ve done so far is convert the second and third film in MPEG Streamclip to 29.97 fps, as QT files, with the H.264 codec. Final Cut began dropping frames during playback when the sequence settings were set to H.264. After changing it to DV-NTSC, I had to render the files, but playback is back to normal.

However I’ll need to know what sort of settings I should be converting these files to/setting in FCP for a Beta SP final output.

Hopefully that was clear! Thank you again for all your help, I’m fairly new to professional editing (obviously) and I appreciate your patience with some of my ignorance.

Sincerely,

Irene

[Irene Meimaris]

The final trailer will be under 2 minutes, and played back on Beta SP.

“You could burn your work to a Data DVD in a high-quality codec, sidestepping the tape issue entirely.”

Do you mean in place of DV tape, or Beta SP tape, or both? I’ve asked my boss for confirmation on the output of the project, so I will get back to you on that one ASAP.

“When you play back the original DVD, does it look like TV? It’s probably interlaced 29.97 video. Does it look like film?”

It looks like film. However, I do not have a video monitor so I suppose that observation is null and void.

I do not have After Effects, but a friend does. Could you let me know how to figure out the frame rates of my DVD copies in AE? Is this the only program that will allow me to check the frame rate?

Thank you for the H.264 info! I have lots of storage space, and will try the Animation codec.

——————

This situation is overwhelming but it is so relieving to have this help. I’ve been googlin’ like a mad woman but the answers are rarely complete, or straightforward. I’m learning so much more from this forum.

Sincerely,

Irene

[Irene Meimaris]

Update!

The final trailer will be played via DVD. Any suggestions on codecs?

I will have access to After Effects today, and will let you know about frame rates as soon as I get some info on how to go about finding that out.

Thanks again,

Irene

[Irene Meimaris]

[Dave LaRonde] “You still have to determine if the 25fps video is interlaced, and if the 29.97 video contains interlacing. Your AE pal can help you out there, if he or she knows his or her stuff.”

My friend’s AE decided to crash this week. GREAT TIMING.

However I discovered that I could check the information of the DVD on MPEG Streamclip, via “Show Stream Info” as opposed to looking at the automatic settings that pop up after selecting “Export as…”

This is the info it gave for the 29.97 film:

720 × 480, 4:3, 29.97 fps, 8.10 Mbps, upper field first

I found the 4:3 bit strange, especially since there are black bars at the top and bottom. It looks almost exactly the same as the other 16:9 film so I’m going to put that info in the ‘do not worry’ bin for now.

For the 25 PAL film:

720 × 576, 16:9, 25 fps, 8.00 Mbps, progressive

Now as far as what I can tell with my own eyes…

With both films, I can see horizontal lines during movement.

During the 29.97, I see the lines during every frame, though where the lines are changes, is this what you mean by “the motion changes”?

[Dave LaRonde] “If the motion goes back-and-forth”

[Dave LaRonde] “If the motion changes on every OTHER frame”

I’m not quite sure what you mean by the ‘motion changing’. The motion of the horizontal lines? With this film I can see horizontal lines but they are not as pronounced as the ones in the 29.97 film.

Do you think the MPEG Streamclip info is reliable?

Another friend apparently has a reliable version of AE that I will have access to on the weekend. In the meantime, because I do not have a video monitor or AE, I think I’ll try Reverse Telecine in FCP 6 on the 29.97 film. I’ll look this up but I’m assuming that trying this with a film that does not have any pulldown will not affect it.

Getting there, slowly, but surely. Thanks again!

Sincerely,

Irene

[Rupert Shanks]

Hi Dave, just to say that I found your info here very useful and am imptressed with the level of detail youve added!