Importing SD widescreen 24p into FCP 5.1.4

[Jeff Carpenter]

I’ve only used the HDV settings on that camera (never DV) so this advice might not all apply. But I’ll tell you what I know, and I’ll bet it will be similar:

1) The ability to recognize the 24p HDV recordings of the V1U was added in Final Cut 6. And not even the first one, I think it was the 1st or 2nd update to that version. So this is probably your main problem.

2) The 24 and 24A modes on the V1U (again, in HDV) are both the same recording, with one small difference. The pull-down pattern used to put the 23.98 files onto 29.97 tapes is a repeating pattern. The 24A mode always starts with the first part of the pattern and always ENDS with a full-cycle too. This mean that when you stop recording in 24A mode, it might take a full second to stop, because it’s finishing the pattern. This also means that you LOSE the first few frames when capturing because the computer is using those frames to figure out the pattern. You want to record an extra second of head when shooting in this mode.

What this means is that the computer can know how each clip starts (since it’s always starting in the same pattern) and it can remove the extra frames and leave you a 23.98 file. This is what you want, so you’ll want the 24A mode.

The normal 24 mode looks exactly the same, but it just picks up the pattern wherever it last left off. Watching the two types of recording from the tape are identical, it’s only the 24pA mode that can be converted to 23.98 files, however.

Also, in HDV I pick the 29.97 Easy setup when using 24pA and the computer recognizes the pattern and removes the frames. I’m guessing it might work the same for DV? But as I said, I don’t think your version of Final Cut will do that.

[Ann Hunt]

So it sounds like I need to buy the updated version of FCP? Is that the long and short of it?

It’s funny because I didn’t record in HDV as I thought that it would cause post-prod probs but if I am going to buy FCP 6 anyway, I may as well shoot in HDV, no? Can FCP 6 easily handle HDV at 24a without using any bridge apps?

I just started shooting a doc and will switch to HDV if that is the case. I have only shot an hour or two in SD so maybe I should just switch?

Can I mix HDV and SD footage?

thanks,
annie

[Jeff Carpenter]

I’m using the most recent Final Cut with the 24pA mode and everything works for me. Feel free to contact me with any questions after you upgrade, but yes, it works great for me.

I capture using the Apple Intermediate Codec. (Easy Setup-> 1080i, 29.97, and it still knows and removes the frames.) Capturing to AIC works live over firewire. So I don’t log and capture, I just tell the tape to go and it plays over firewire in real-time, and I’m left with 23.98 fps clips, one for each camera start/stop.

The files are bigger than HDV files, but it’s worth it. Hard drives are pretty cheap and it cuts down on rendering times and I get more real-time effects. Larger files, but easier to use. You can also use ProRes for this purpose, but I’m more familiar with AIC.

One downside: No timecode is copied from the tape. I don’t know if re-capturing and re-linking is possible. It MIGHT be, because each clip starts at the camera start, but I’d do some testing. If you can’t make it work it might make sense to back-up all media that’s been captured onto firewire drives for safety.

The solution to that is to use HDV capture, but like I said, it takes much longer to render.

I use a Blackmagic Intensity Pro card to monitor the footage live on an external monitor.

[Rich Wells]

I’m trying to capture some 24pA footage into Final Cut and am finding that it doesn’t want to capture. After 8 attempts, it did. But now I find that the audio is out of sync.
Any suggestions on how to fix the prob? Thanks.

[Michael Santana]

Hows it going? I just can’t seem to figure this thing out. I am shooting on the standard def Panasonic DVX at 24P. I want to capture and edit with that consistent 24P on FCP 5.1.4. Do you know what settings I would need to apply in order to accomplish that? I really appreciate it.
Thanks
Mike