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PAL to NTSC conversion
I had a PAL source professionally converted to NTSC on the Alchemist. The picture quality is very good, but it still has some of the typical PAL to NTSC jerky movement throughout, especially when there is camera movement. I also had a 35mm print transferred to HD, then put on a D5 tape which we then transferred to my hard drive for export to FCP. I am getting the same jerky movement in the frames especially on camera movement. I know that this is a result of the film speed conversion, but
I’m wondering if any of you wizards out there have an FCP trick or a filter you know of that these can be run through to minimize that jerkiness? The picture quality is excellent, but the jerky movement is not good.I’m on FCP 6, and am planning on using the pro-res 422 setup.
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8 Replies
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Hi Lynne,
Nattress or Compressor is what the people will point. Just make a search in the forum and you will find more.
I don’t think that jerky picture is normal when you go from 24/25 fps to 30. You are only putting in-between frames. The opposite (from 30 to 24/25) could really look jerky because you are discharging in-between frames.
Cheers,
Rafael -
[Lynne Desjardins] , but it still has some of the typical PAL to NTSC jerky movement throughout, especially when there is camera movement.”
What frame-size, codec and frame-rate is the PAL source and the NTSC conversion?
Apart from camera movement NTSC should not be jerky, this is not “typical”.Cheers
Alexander -
I know that they used the pro-res 422 codec. It’s the camera movement I am referring to, it’s not as fluid as it could be, and to my eye it reads “PAL conversion”. The frame size is odd, I can’t remember off hand, but it’s European widescreen frame size.
Lynne Desjardins
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Conform 25 to 23.98 in Cinema Tools. Problem solved.
Sean
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Thank you Sean. Can you give me a little more info? Conform 25 what in Cinema Tools? I’ve never used it before, I don’t know what you mean.
Lynne Desjardins
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Conforming means to alter the playback speed so that the frame rate is different. The number of frames doesn’t change, just the speed at which they playback. This is not the same as converting. Converting adds or removes frames to make up the difference. Conforming leaves that alone.
PAL is 25 frames per second. You use Cinema Tools to convert your 25fps PAL footage to the NTSC film rate of 23.98, and then do the post in a typical 24p workflow.
This is without question the best way to do a PAL to NTSC conversion. Check the Cinema Tools manual for more info. There are rare instances where you can’t do this. For example, if it’s a music video and you don’t have permission to play it at a slightly faster tempo. Or, if the total running time of the program cannot be altered. However, 9 times out of 10, conforming PAL to film-rate is the way to go.
Sean
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Thanks so much Sean, I’ll give it a shot.
Lynne Desjardins
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How did it turn out? I’m about to embark on this adventure myself…
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