FCP 6.0 & Pull Down removal of Panasonic 24p/29.97 footage

[Marcus Van bavel]

DVFilm Maker for Mac can remove either kind of pulldown from NTSC
and with mixed cadence, see https://www.dvfilm.com/maker/macversion.htm

[Rj Miles]

I am pretty sure “he” is using 24p rather than the 24p advanced. We had spent time running thru all of the camera frame rate options with the work flow, and narrowed down the best in camera rate at 29.97.

I might note, some of the project work is being done on an AVID Adrenaline. The AVID is able to properly flag the source footage so that it plays back in the editor and out to tape properly. However, exporting the footage as a file passes along the 3:2 cadence. I have wondered if there is a setting among the AVID’s output options that removes the 3:2 cadence rather than restoring it and passing it along. This would also be a solution for some of the project.

Thanks for the tip about DV Film.

[Rj Miles]

Thanks for being gentle on me. 🙂

We work in SD 29.97. We produce projects on severals systems at once, namely an AVID Adrenaline and my AE/FCP station. So this work flow comes with some challenges, as well as fading memories regarding how we have worked thru challenges in the past. Unfortunately, often the project is beyond the point of no return by the time I notice something that impedes my AE/FCP production flow. I simply have to adapt, hence my interest in a quick fix.

On some projects, I have have complete control of the edit, EFX and finishing. On other projects, the edit begins on the AVID, then comes over to me for EFX, and I will either finish or send back elements for finishing on the AVID. This has been where the fun begins. 🙂

As we have moved away from laying off to tape, as a means of moving elements between stations, the issue of 3:2 cadences has become the issue. Well, also since the client started shooting with the Panasonic 24p mode. I spent a few hours with the camera man, demonstrating the challenges of trying to shoot with anything other than 29.97, and how it affected the cross platform work flow with 3:2 cadence errors. Particularly when source footage is edited on the AVID and then passed off to me as new clips with cadence changes at nearly every edit point. I’m not sure why the latest commercial was shot 24p again.

The client likes the look of 24p and I don’t blame him. However, trying to work cross platform in 29.97 with the 24p material has been the problem. I have pushed for keeping the edit timebase at 29.97 (including the camera) or 24p until final output.

Thanks for the responses as well as helping fill in some blanks in my own understanding of moving 24p/3:2 cadence material around a 29.97 edit world.

RJ
…

PS… when I have a 24p/3:2 cadence clip that has been digitized into an AVID, can FCP guess or be manually adjusted to properly interpert the clip? I understand something like FieldsKit might add the capability, including manual adjustments for edits within the clips which have created cadence changes. But I wondered about any built in capability.

[Rj Miles]

Thanks Dave…

I tried and have had great success removing pull down from the edited clips with mixed cadences, using Cleaner 6.5.1, which also gives me the tools to change codecs, tweak gamma, crop 468 to 480, so I can proceed with DVCPro 50 format files.

Cleaner 6 also did pretty good, except there might be an occassional semi interlaced frame between edited clips of different cadence.

I still have some inspecting to do, but I think I have found a work around until I can coax my client to stick with 30 or 24 frames thru the project work flow.