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HDX-900 23.98 workflow in Final Cut Pro
I am about to undertake a project in which we will be shooting on the Panasonic HDX-900 camera at 1080p 23.98. I plan on using either the AG 1200 or the AG 1400 Panasonic DVCPRO HD Deck. I will be editing on Final Cut Pro 5.1.4. What are the specific settings I need to use on the camera and for my capture settings. I am counting on being able to digitize this footage using the firewire connection. Is there an automated setting in which FCP will automatically remove the proper pulldown frames and leave me with true 23.98 footage from the camera?
I want to use the firewire connection so as not to tie up one of the 2 Kona 3 systems I have. Worst case scenario though I could use a system that has HD SDI input and RS-422 control.
What I am looking for here is the proper way to get 23.98 footage from the HDX-900 camera into FCP 5.1.4. Any input on the settings I should use would be greatly appreciated. For example, should I shoot 1080 24p or 1080 24pA to have FCP automatically remove the flagged frames? Thanks in advance for your help!
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7 Replies
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If you digitize over firewire then you’ll want to shoot at 24PA. Then when you digitize make sure the capture setting says remove advanced pulldown.
If you are going to digitize with the Kona 3, then shoot 24P and remove the standard 2:3 pulldown when you digitize.
It’s important to note that if you shoot 24PA, digitizing over firewire is the only good way of removing the pulldown.
-Russ
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>It’s important to note that if you shoot 24PA, digitizing over firewire
>is the only good way of removing the pulldown.…or use the 1400 VTR to send 1080psf/23.98 over HD-SDI. If you intend to ingest over firewire, definitely shoot 24pA.
Evan McIntosh
McIntosh Productions LLC
Atlanta, GA
HDX900 owner/operator -
Hey Evan, thanks for your help so far. I am running into some issues. I went to a camera house today and shot some test footage in 24pA. When I came back to my office and digitized it, it doesn’t appear to be removing the proper frames with the capture preset. I’ve been reading the manual for both the HDX900 and the AG-1400 deck. Is it possible that the camera wouldn’t record the VITC UB information that the deck needs to know which frames should be flagged? The manual says that in 24pA mode the VITC UB information is automatic, but is it possible that it could have been turned off?
Another test I did was to change the frequency of the deck to 23.98 and play out via HD SDI into my Kona System with a 23.98 setting. This also didn’t yield positive results as it seemed I was still getting duplicate frames. Any help you can offer or step by step instructions would be greatly appreciated. I start shooting this project Nov. 30 and need to have this figured out by then. Thanks again for your time!
dK
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It should be pretty straightforward, but something’s awry. It very well could be something in the camera, as I’ve found the 24psf HDSDI method to be pretty foolproof with various sources…SD and HD, standard pulldown and advanced.
On the camera:
In the VTR section of the menus, look at TC/UB. TC MODE should be NDF (I don’t think it’ll let you shoot 24p as DF, but just to be safe…), VITC UB MODE should be FRM RATE. In the OPTION menu, FRAME RATE UB should be FRAME RATE.
You might also try initializing the camera settings (you can save a copy of current settings to a card if you want to go back), then reselect 1080/24PA from the system mode menu.On the VTR:
Try initializing the deck settings as well to eliminate any weirdness. To load via firewire, keep the system frequency at 59/60. To load over HDSDI, change the system frequency to 23/24.In FCP:
To load over firewire, choose the DVCPROHD 1080pA capture preset and DVCPROHD firewire deck control. It’s best to capture shorter clips with this method. Loading full tapes will sometimes abort and give you a VFR cadence break warning.To load over HDSDI, choose AJA KONA 3- 1080psf 23.98 DVCPRO HD easy setup (make sure it’s PSF not regular P). Change device control to Panasonic 23.98 VTR. If you have a monitor that can display 23.98psf, then take a look and see if something strange is going on with the motion (if it’s a CRT, it’ll be flickery, but just look at the motion rendering).
Check the captured clips to make sure that as you go frame-by-frame, there are no duplicate frames or jumps. Put into a sequence that is set to the DVCPROHD 1080p 23.98 preset. (Aside: one of the sequence presets is wrong/mismatched out of the box in FCP 6, I think. They introduced a 1080p30 version of the DVCPROHD codec, but captured material is still loaded with the 1080i29.97 flavor of the codec. There should be no render bars at all.) Generally for editing, you’d set your Kona output to 1080i/29.97 and have it add pulldown on the way out for viewing.
That should be everything, but report back and let me know what you find.
Evan McIntosh
McIntosh Productions LLC
Atlanta, GA
HDX900 owner/operator -
Hi Evan,
Thanks a ton for this information. I shot some more footage with the camera and now I’m just waiting on a deck to test it out. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again!
dK
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Hey Evan,
Everything worked great the second time around. Apparently the UB mode was set to “user” instead of FRM RATE. Changing this to the proper setting fixed the problem. Thanks again for all the help.
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You’re welcome. Glad you got it sorted out.
Evan McIntosh
McIntosh Productions LLC
Atlanta, GA
HDX900 owner/operator
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