[Jack Shepard]

thanks ernie.
the problem i
have is that the tape are in ndf but after the color bars (which m100 reads as ndf) media 100 starts reading the tape as Df.
and then i start losing the frames. and there is no way to force m100 to read the tape as ndf. my guess is that when they were doing
the dailies something was switched from when they laid down the color bars to when they laid down the actual footage. so if i start loading
at the front of the tape all is fine because m100 will stay in ndf mode. but when the camera rolls happen and i have to stop the digitizing…
then m100 reverts to df and i start losing frames and the system goes more and more out of synch with the burned in time code. i hope that makes
sense. unfotunately redoing the dailies is not an option.

so i had the thought that i could load them into final cut and then transfer them over to m100. but importing the footage from final cut
is really slow as it is needs to be translated into the m100 codec. you can export things from final cut using the m100 codec (m100ntsc-720). so
i had the thought that maybe i can digitize directly into final cut using that setting (just like you would a motion jpeg, etc). but that doesnt
seem to work.

[Jack Shepard]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

I do indeed need to switch over. FCP has totally passed Media100 and the restrictions you run into in today’s world with it are getting to be a huge hurdle. I love M100’s interface and like you have been using it for so long you just know it backwards and forwards and it’s tough to switch. This is one of those projects though which is not a good one to switch on — too many deadlines, too much footage, and the actual editorial itself fits well with my m100 knowledge. Also unfortunately doing the dailies over is not an option — as it was done well before my entrance into the project.

Let me ask you this question… in order to skip the step where I convert the FCP quicktime with the M100 codec is it possible when loading the footage into FCP and digitize with the M100 codec already in place. If that makes sense. It gives it as an option in the capture menu under the different compressors you can use. That way it would automatically do the quick load into M100. I gave it a try and it works for a few seconds and then seems to stall…. I wonder if there is a setting I can switch or if this codec is only for exporting purposes.

[Jack Shepard]

the problem with the dailies going into the m100… it appears that they laid down the bars and tone in NDF and then the actual footage in DF. so the m100 will at first take in the footage in ndf until you have to cut as the timecode breaks from the end of a camera roll. and then the problem occurs because the m100 immediately switches back to DF. whereupon the problem occurs.

[Jack Shepard]

The tape is apparently in NDF and Media 100 reads it as DF. And there is
unfortunately no setting in M100 to force it to digitize NDF. Caught me by surprise
when I talked to M100 the other day… So when i digitize i’ll reach the top of the minute —
for example 2:01:00:00 and the M100 will jump two frames ahead (dropping the frames)
compared to the burned in TC on the film. Which throws off the TC more and more — the
longer you digitize.

Which is when I started trying to think of alternate means to import the stuff in NDF…

[Jack Shepard]

you can do on the timeline… but unfortunately not in the digitizing.

[Jack Shepard]

thanks for the reply. did a lot of checking before I figured it out (though
it turned out to be kind of simple). it did turn out to be a drop frame problem.
the dv tapes which the dailies are on were nondrop frame which unfortunately
media 100 can’t import as nondrop frame. so the longer the tapes would run
(every minute it would drop 2 frames)… the more out of synch the tapes would be.