[S. Marcotte]

I did set for apply to new layer. I’ve done this before without a hitch. Feels like a glitch. I get some pretty funky results when don’t apply to new layer as well. Might be time for a reinstall.

I’ve done that tutorial. It’s a good one.

[S. Marcotte]

Perfect. Thanks.

[S. Marcotte]

You have no idea how happy that makes me.

Fact is, I can tell when the image is moving along the way it should at 24fps. That part is easy enough. I don’t even mind selecting the right cadence myself, one shot at a time.

My big concern is this: I’m worried that somewhere, somehow, AE will see fit to interpolate a field without telling me. I simply would not be able to tell on this monitor.

So, to wrap things up, here’s what I’m doing:

1) I load my 29.97 footage;
2) I interpret it lower first, guess pulldown;
3) I drop it into a new comp, which automatically goes to 23.976;
4) I frame-by-frame a segment with a lot of motion, I see that that every frame progresses forward, no combing;
5) I smile and I walk away.

[S. Marcotte]

…but if I choose the wrong cadence on a given shot, it WILL be noticeable in my 23.976 composition with pulldown removed, right?

I did a small test. 4 out of the 5 possible cadences led to some unsightly interlacing. Is this simply a lucky shot, or will the same happen on every shot?

Please say yes.

[S. Marcotte]

I was completely aware that the cadence often resets between shots. I sincerely was. I’m going at it one shot at a time.

Yes, entire tapes were captured. These tapes were then split with an AVI splitter because my AE wouldn’t load them otherwise. It’s quite a handful, as you can imagine, but it’s fairly under control.

It’s DVCPRO50, shot with the SDX-900.

[S. Marcotte]

The editor is me. I also did the catering. You get the picture.

I get the distinct feeling I’m going to have to find the first clear and obvious cadence and start counting backwards until I reach the start of the colour bars.

Am I right?

[S. Marcotte]

Yes. I understand this quite well. I simply didn’t know that “3:2 pulldown” applied to this process. Makes complete sense, though. Except for the “pullDOWN” part. Shouldn’t it be called a “pull-UP”? I mean, you’re pulling the footage UP to 30, aren’t you?

I digress.

Here’s another issue: AE can’t guess the pulldown cadence when the footage opens with colour bars.

Any way to make this happen, without the insanity of counting, past 30 seconds of bars, past frozen actors, until I finally reach movement and that combing effect?

[S. Marcotte]

That’s it. That’s all it took. I always wondered what 3:2 pulldown meant. Thanks a lot for that.

[S. Marcotte]

That was far, far too easy.

Now waiting for the other shoe to drop. Thanks very much.

[S. Marcotte]

Yes. Of course! I hope your anamorphic analogy is a good one because I think I’ll stick with it. And thanks for the clarity: TV pixel = not square.