timecode problems in final export for negative cut

[Kevin Monahan]

Recapture the clips where the TC does not line up.

Kevin Monahan
http://www.fcpworld.com
Author – Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro

[David Roth weiss]

[Nick August-Perna] “During the original capture there were some problems with dropped frames as it was batch capturing but everything eventually made it in.”

If you were indeed dropping frames during the original capture you are most likely SOL (out of luck), because contrary to your statement above, everything didn’t eventually make it in, it just appeared that way. Your database of timecode information most likely has a very tiny correlation to reality. Timecode breaks can be Hell, but dropped frames are normally Armageddon. There is a reason that NLEs typically default to aborting capture when dropping frames, and you’ve discovered the biggest one of all.

[Nick August-Perna] “now I have to know what to do to either fix the problem or find an alternative way to get the sequence ready for the negative transfer.”

Re-cutting the picture by eyeball matching every shot may be your only solution.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY â„¢

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Nick August-perna]

thanks, only thing I don’t understand is if the timecode is screwy on the imported clips then why would recutting by eyeball change the output edl?

[David Roth weiss]

My point is that you must probably recapture everything without dropped frames, redo Cinematools, eyeball match evrey cut, and generate a brand new EDL.

An EDL is nothing but a database, and if you input garbage into a database at the outset, that’s what dropped frames does, it generates garbage all the way down the line. You can try to fix the end product all you want, but if you started with funky data, you’ll end with funky data, and if you cut your negative with funky data you’re dead.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.

[Misha Aranyshev]

[Nick August-Perna] “using Cinematools to conform the footage to a 24 fps”

To make a correct 25 fps EDL from 24 fps sequence you had to conform in FCP, not in Cinema Tools. Relog, recapture, reconform, recreate the cut.

[Jordi J recort]

Well,

I had the same problem, but with perfect captured material..

Shoot in Super16mm at 24fps
the lab telecined at 25fps
with burnt TC at 25 fps
recorded on a 50 fields per second tape (obviously).
Audio recorded at 24 fps.

Altougth FCP can edit in native 24fps and on 24@25 modes.

The only way to have audio and video on sync during the editing was:
Have the sequence at 25 fps and reconform all the clips from 25 to 24…this way audio and video were on perfect sync during all the editing.
and altougth the burnt TC mached all the time the metadata TC on FCP… when we export the EDL (also at 25fps) FCP recalculates the original source TC from the unconformed media (don’t ask me why, because on my understanding FCP SHOULD read what’s edited on the timeline) and this is why the TC diferences appeared on the EDL.

Solution.

I have found that creating a new sequence set to 24@25 mode… and just pasting the edited cuts on to this new sequence.. the resulting EDL from this new sequence is almost perfect.
I say almost, because I have found 1 frame diference at the end in all shots… but I guess is because the eternal currentframe/nextframe discussion when you set the out.

Jordi J. Recort

Composer & Editor

[Josh Flentner]

hello jordi,

could you please explain what you mean with “just pasting the edited cuts on to this new sequence” described in your solution?

i tried to copy and paste all clips to the new timeline but that’s obviously not what you mean because this didn’t change anything in the exported edl file.

thanks in advance!
josh

[Jordi J recort]

Hello Josh,

Yes, I just copied all the clips from the 25fps timeline and paste it on to a new sequence at 24fps.

I just had to manually recheck around 30% of the cuts, that appeared 1 frame shorter or longer.
This was very fast to do, having two people and two computers. One checking the final cut at 25 and the other modifying the wrong cuts. With TC’s on screen and just moving up and down with the arrow keys we did the whole 90 minutes movie in a scratch.

This way, the EDL exported (even being at 25fps) was with the rigth TC’s.

But probaly if is not working for you is because some setting is not the same
are you also 25 to 24 or 30 to 24?

which were your steps?

I have to tell you that everything was fine on the lab, all the TC’s matched the scanned DPX.

Jordi J. Recort

Composer & Editor