[Alejandro Fernandez]

Thanks Bob

Yeah, I agree, and actually I decided to stay on 23,98. The decision was taken also because after trying to sync the sound to the 24 fps clips, I realize that although it seems to be “real” 24 fps, the sound slips out of sync, so I guess it’s still 23,98 in disguise.

Saludos
alejandro

[Alejandro Fernandez]

Dan, could you please paste the link to the thread?, since I can’t find it and have exactly the same problem

salu2
ale

[Alejandro Fernandez]

I just “upgraded” to the 3870 and I’m having tons of problems with projects made under the original 2600 configuration.

I’m hoping to get soon the Matrox Triple Head2Go Digital to been able to use three monitors, but in the meantime, my old 2 monitor configuration (with the 3870 instead of the 2600) is not working either.

I get constant crashes and problems rendering, very long waits to open/close/save projects, etc.

I still haven’t try working new projects created under the 3870 configuration, but my old projects are not responding well.

I don’t know if it is the card or just corruption in the files, but maybe somebody can test the response of the 3870 on FCP.

[Alejandro Fernandez]

Hi Shane

We did what you suggested. Make an exact copy of the macpro hard drive onto the external hard drive, named it the same, and try opening the project in the laptop, but again it asks to relink everything. We even try creating a project onto the drive (same location in both hard drives) and opening in both computers, but still asks for relinking everything.

Is there a difference between copying everything and creating a clone?? and how you create a clone??

Also, another problem we found is that FCP keep on crashing when we return to FCP after using any other program, even finder. Maybe there’s something wrong with the project, or the media.

salu2

[Alejandro Fernandez]

So far I have discovered that I don’t need to restamp every file. For some reason FCP plays many of the 48048 files (created in Pro Tools) at 48000hz, in fact, applying the “pulldown”. Strangely enough, if I see a restamped file and a 48048 one together in the timeline, you can notice that they are out of sync, but they sound OK. It gets weired when you zoom in to one frame only, and then you see that both files are perfectly in sync, but if you zoom out again, let’s say to about five frames, you can notice that the waveforms are out of sync by about half a frame a minute. Good news is that if you export an OMF all the files are rendered at 48K, no matter what their original (or altered or restamped) sample rate was. Also, if it sound good and in sync in the time line, it’s because it’s good (otherwise you will begin to ear the “echo” after one or two minutes).

So, I would say, one problem solved and one piece of the workflow ready for the next project. Next time we will need either to restamp all the files before importing anything in FCP (by the way, the restamp tool only works on wav files, so better tell the sound man to record everything in wav) or use a record machine that have the “fake” 48048 option.

Regarding the keycode problem, the case is as following:

The footage is captured on the FCP at 29.97fps.
Then on Cinema Tools, the Transfer “log file” (ATN o ALE database file from Keylink) is loaded.
Then each quicktime clip (29.97 fps) is processed though Cinema Tools, pulldown removal is done (“Reverse Tk”), we obtain at that stage 23.98 fps clips (with no hybrid frames).
Each 23.98 fps clip is then connected to the Cinema Tools “database”.
Then on FCP, the 23.98 fps clips are loaded on a bin, and “synchronize with cinema tools” function is applied. FCP, opens Cinema Tools and after a few seconds -and one click- the bin shows the Keycode information displayed.

Sometimes, this works perfectly, and all clips are “syncronized with their keycode” with no problems. But what is happening is that a lot of clips do not get their “Keycode syncronisation”.

It’s seems to be totally at random, since we are working with the exact same parameters and workflow for all clips. Even more so, when repeating the exact same process, a few new clips do achieve their keycode sync while others still can’t.

Maybe someone would know if that is a known issue and what’s the best way to deal with this.

I recently upgrade to 6.0.3 and we are using Leopard 10.5.2 on a Macpro 8core.

Thanks

[Alejandro Fernandez]

Thanks a lot Michael.

Don’t worry for the harsh criticism. I completely deserve it. After all, I never defend the usual workflow strongly enough and though (wrongly) that one program should not be not much of a difference from another (stupidly wrongly).

Luckily you gave me the key word “restamp”, and the BWF reStampp tool worked its magic.

https://www.24p.com/AvidInsider2.htm

I drag a test file of a six minute take onto the “convertto47952” and it restamp it as a 47952 sample rate file. Put it onto the timeline and it’s in perfect sync.

I will restamp the rest (from a copy folder) and relink them and I guess I will be OK from now on.

Thanks again

[Alejandro Fernandez]

Thanks Aaron.

Yeah, I guess if you have a big Hollywood studio behind there are no problems, really. I guess we will do a “real” pulldown then, I mean, slowing the file 0.1 percent. The reason we didn’t want to touch much the audio files was that the movie has for the most part a very low volume level, since we didn’t want to have to much compression and have the biggest possible dynamic range (some scenes are very very quiet until some big noise came). We will try the time conversion in Pro Tools and compare it to the one in FCP. Most likely the difference will be not even noticeable, so I hope that just like you we will be fine in the mix studio.

Regarding the key code, the problem was that CT sometimes reads the flex file, sometimes it don’t. No reason. You have to turn off the computer, try again, and sometimes that was it. The machine reads the flex file. Or not. Random chance.

thanks again

[Alejandro Fernandez]

Thanks Gary

Yeah, first time. Last time I worked with a negative cutter in New York who did all the database, so I just gave him the tapes and the negative, edited in 29.97, export an EDL from FCP and he conformed the video cuts to the negative with no problems.

I guess I better talk to the negative cutter in France (although I don’t speak French) and see what he needs. Since the negative is going directly there after the telecine, I guess he can make his own database. I just hope they have a NTSC deck. The other alternative is to have the telecine done in PAL, could that be possible? (my deck and monitor are PAL/NTSC, so no problems there). I guess I better check with the lab too.

thanks again
saludos

[Alejandro Fernandez]

I just installed FCS 2 and send some HDV out to a regular NTSC monitor via firewire and a DV camera acting as deck. The results are just terrible. The edges of the images look distorted, with heavy and marked lines. It’s much better to monitor on a LCD via digital cinema desktop, even without the Matrox MXO.

The output from FCP is fairly simple. I just went to Video Playback and selected NTSC. I checked the manual but I don’t see any other way to do it and no more detailed mention to it.

I have been trying to monitor “real” 24 frames (a reverse telecine from a DVCam of a transfered film) but without much luck. The 23.98 do work, and since I never tried to monitor 23.98 on a NTSC monitor with FCP 5.1 before, I don’t know if the 24 fps mentioned as “new feature” are in fact 24 fps or just 23.98 fps.

Since I’m about to star editing a film shot on 35mm (transfer to DVCam NTSC) that will go back to film, I was just wondering how can I monitor real 24 frames, so I can leave the audio alone and avoid any possible problems with the negative cutter, specially since the rest of the lab work (including the negative cut) will be done in France, PAL land.

Saludos