Final Cut Pro 4.5 and 24 or 25fps

[Andy Mees]

Hi George
Yes FCP 4.5 HD will work with 24 and 25 fps media. Are you shooting HD or SD? You of course know that FCP 4.5 “HD” is quite limited in the kinds of HD it can handle .. and camera formats have moved on a fair way since back then. It’s bad enough keeping things working smoothly on the latest and greatest! Anyway, its good you’re taking the time to clarify (and the test?) your workflow before you start shooting, you’d be amazed at how many folks just blunder in blindly and then realise too late that none of it works! Hoping you can wrangle the camera files into a format you can work with.
Cheers
Andy

Ps I know you say you have no budget for it, but still, you’d be advised to start looking at upgrading soon .. a second hand but otherwise modern Mac will run circles round anything that you could run FCP 4.5 on. And a newer copy of FCP / FCS should not be too hard to find either, just make sure you find a reputable seller who will transfer the license properly.

[George Snow]

THANK YOU!

I know I have to upgrade, and I eventually will. But, getting this movie shot is going to be painful (monetarily) enough.

I do think he’s going to shoot HD, which is worrisome. Not just because of my FCP set up. But, also make-up wise. The actors are doing their own make-up and HD can easily make you look like a freak. I have to speak to the DP and see if he can switch his cameras over to SD. While it might not be as politically correct as HD in this age, it’ll save a lot of headaches later.

[Andy Mees]

Well the specific flavour of HD that FCP 4.5 HD likes is DVCPRO HD (720p and 1080i) … it’ll do Uncompressed HD too but I’m guessing thats not what you’ll be looking to handle on your older G5 rig. Given that, if your DP is using a DVCPRO HD camera, then shooting 720p24 may be your best bet.

Here’s a link to a success story using just such a format with FCP 4.5:
Incredible Success with FCP 4.5 HD

[George Snow]

Thanks, and that article kicks some butt. I don’t have those stars in my flick. But, I do have a hell of a story.

[Neil Sadwelkar]

If you’re shooting 25 fps then there’s no problem in FCP. if it’s 24 fps, it’s often not really 24fps but 23.976 fps. Depending onnwhat your final output is going to be, and for maintaining sync with double system sound, you may need to conform the 23.976 clips to 24 fps.

If you’re shooting tape, then capture from tape is straightforward. But if it’s to any of the newer card formats, then maybe FCP 4.5HD may not support importing from these formats.

If I remember right FCP 4.5 HD goes back to 2003-04, and a lot has moved on since, as far as shooting formats go. A short test with the selected camera would be a good idea.

I’ve edited many films in the PAL 24@25 method with film telecined to tape, edited on FCP 4.5HD. It works just fine and I have good memories of correct cut lists etc. In those days we even edited TV shows shot on DigiBeta and captured with the Cinewave and Aurora on FCP systems. It all worked fine.

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Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India