[Mark Spano]

Only thing I can think is that it might be interpreting as 30. 192 frames at 30 = 6 seconds 12 frames. Make sure you’re importing the 24 frame clip into a 24 frame Avid project.

[Mark Spano]

Also – definitely check with the festival if they’ll accept an anamorphic DigiBeta. They may not be able to stretch this with projection and your film will look way worse in 4×3. The DVD option might wind up being the better one if the aspect ratio is going to be an issue.

[Mark Spano]

I don’t get it – if your sequence is already ProRes, you should export it from FCP as a self-contained QuickTime file. No reason to use “QuickTime Conversion”. Just set an in and out point on your sequence and choose “Export>QuickTime Movie”, using current settings. Now you have a master video file which you can bring into Compressor and make any other video files from. You shouldn’t get any errors from Compressor – perhaps you’re using “Export using Compressor” from FCP? I never use this, as it ties up my FCP while I’m compressing. Just export the QuickTime file from your sequence as I described and you’ll have a file that is perfect for making into a Blu-Ray or whatever else you need. No problem with that frame rate, file size, or anything else there. Also, there’s not going to be any benefit in transcoding to uncompressed. Just stay with your ProRes master – that’s the highest quality you’ll get from your sequence.

[Mark Spano]

[Ralph Parker] “does the m2V encoding do some sleight of hand to make progressive frames into interlaced?”

Yes, specifically this (from Wikipedia):

By using a pattern of REPEAT_FIRST_FIELD flags on the headers of encoded pictures, pictures can be displayed for either two or three fields and almost any picture display rate (minimum ⅔ of the frame rate) can be achieved. This is most often used to display 23.976 (approximately film rate) video on NTSC.

[Ralph Parker] “If I were to convert the project sequences to progressive, (for learning’s sake), by using the mentioned settings, would that give my video a softer “film look” as opposed to the harsh, stark video look?”

That I don’t know – you might have to experiment. I would do any of that type of experimentation in Compressor rather than FCP. If you set a sequence to progressive in FCP, I believe it will just throw away a field. Compressor offers the options (especially within the Frame Controls tab – Retiming) to smooth the motion between frames when retiming footage. It’s worth trying small sections to see if it’s a look you like. Also of note for this type of conversion is the great and useful JES Deinterlacer app. Check that out – the instructions are pretty detailed and informative. After those, there are various filter packages you can buy for FCP that do retiming with varying degrees of sophistication.

[Mark Spano]

[Ralph Parker] “I’ve read posts in the Forums about using Compressor to take my sequences to Progressive, and then encode to SD m2v as a separate step. This confuses me”

It should. This is stupid advice. If you have an interlaced cut, you keep it interlaced. If you have a progressive cut, you keep it progressive.

[Ralph Parker] “there is a popup to choose Field Dominance which includes a Progressive setting; but if this is for SD DVD, why?”

You can make a progressive DVD if your cut is progressive. That usually happens when you’re cutting 23.976P. Most motion pictures on DVD are 23.976P encoded – it actually looks better since you can take the fixed amount of bits and spread them across fewer frames.

The simplest way I can explain Compressor’s encoding controls is this: whatever your cut is, keep it that way unless you are forced to change it. For example, if your cut is 1080i/29.97, and you want to go to SD DVD, keep interlacing. If you set that value to the “automatic” setting, Compressor will understand what you’re trying to do. Then, the only thing that you are ‘forced’ to change is the resolution. If you are compressing for MPEG-2 for DVD, then it’s 720×480/16:9 pixel aspect ratio.

In Compressor, the Frame Controls tab allows you to finesse the settings. For your compression, I would turn Frame Controls ON, set Resize to BEST, Leave deinterlacing alone (same as source/Fast), leave retiming alone (fast). This tells Compressor to spend some time doing the best it can in resizing your HD to SD 4×3 anamorphic.

Only adjust settings if you are forced to change them. In this case, the only thing you’re forced to change is resolution (frame size). Everything else should go through with as little compression artifact as possible.

[Mark Spano]

With what you have, I’d use Compressor. Reverse telecine as you guessed will not make it here, as there’s no fields and it’s not duplicating fields and frames like pulldown. I would do it like this:

Drop your file into Compressor
Check and make sure in the Inspector that it recognizes the file as Progressive. Since you know it’s progressive, make sure this is set – Compressor will often fail to interpret correctly.
Use the preset I’ve attached.

This preset uses best resizing technique and best retiming technique. Prepare to wait a while for the finished file.

You can utilize this preset if you place it in:

Macintosh HD : home : Library : Application Support : Compressor

Enjoy.

[Mark Spano]

Hi Ryan,

This forum may not be the best place to ask for creative editing advice. You might try the Art Of The Edit forum here on Creative Cow.

Good luck!

[Mark Spano]

TS files are “transport stream”. It’s a very (read: very) specific encoding that must be done. It’s usually an H.264 essence inside an MPEG-2 TS container. I think that Episode Pro can do it, but I’ve never had that requirement, so I don’t own that (expensive) program (yet)…

[Mark Spano]

With the WFM5000, I don’t think there’s an option for Dolby decoding. You might want to ask Tektronix. I have the WFM7000 and the AMM768, and I use the AMM to decode Dolby E, but I think there’s an option for the 7000 as well.

The 1 frame offset is either figured in in the encode or the layoff. If your sound mixer figures it in, then your WAV file should be laid down at the timecode he started his bounce. If he doesn’t then it’s up to you to offset the file in your timeline. The third thing is the spec for whom you’re delivering. Some networks require the offset so that the 1 frame decode time is factored in to make audio in sync with picture upon playback. Some don’t, and will have their own delays in line in the broadcast chain. Always best to get the delivery spec before you make a guess.

[Mark Spano]

Since proper surround monitoring requires you to be able to listen to check down the mix and all channel assignments, getting into surround requires a lot more investment. To do this properly, you’d need a 5.1 speaker setup, a monitor controller, and then potentially software or hardware to encode/decode to and from Dolby E. My advice would be to have the encoding done in mix session, since the mixer will at least already have a proper 5.1 monitoring setup. If he/she does not already have the Dolby encoding tools (either the Dolby E hardware encoder/decoder units or the Minnetonka SurCode software encode/decode plugin set), you may be able to rent these. Dolby E delivery is specific to certain cases – most networks and cable channels are moving away from tape delivery with encoded surround to HDCAM-SR with discrete channels. I’d shy away from buying any Dolby E equipment now.

Once you have an encoded Dolby E file (usually a 24-bit/48kHz stereo WAV file), you can drop that into your sequence and lay it off. The HDCAM deck must be set to receive DATA on those channels (the manuals describe how to set this) so that the automatic bit depth/sample rate converter is disengaged for the stream. I have layed off Dolby E to HDCAM via FCP version 6 and 7 and Kona LHe with success. It is good to have some confidence monitoring though. I would not have felt great about it unless I had my Dolby E decoding Tektronix waveform analyzer in the chain so I could hear both stereo and surround tracks playing back from tape in sync. Tough stuff to be certain about, especially when delivering to major networks. Safest bet sometimes is to take it somewhere where all of this is already setup for assurance.