[Steven Gonzales]

Pick a company that you would want for your film finish, get their specs, and work backwards. Then you’ll be ready if you get the change to go to film.

I agree with Walter: the problems in the script are almost always the problems in the finished film. Pre production is your cheapest part of the process, so make the most of it. Read short stories with the tone of your story, watch every movie you can find that’s like your story, and give the script to the most critical people you know for comments.

“The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of that little out and still preserve an effect of leisure and natural movement.” Raymond Chandler

[Steven Gonzales]

I think you’re right about 3 perf and Cinema Tools. Perhaps you want to try an Avid DV Express Pro with the filmmaker’s option. Avid’s program, Filmscribe, I believe does allow 3 perf tracking.

Of course, I’m not sure how the lack of a FLEX file will affect this, but here’s a link for the film scribe user’s manual (not sure if this is current, as the copyright says 2001):

https://www.avid.com/onlineSupport/supportcontent.asp?browse=&productID=0&contentID=5067

[Steven Gonzales]

If you have burn in on your footage, you can use Cinema Tools without flex files. Basically, Cinema Tools keeps track of the video timecode to film edge code relationships.

You can capture your footage in final cut, and I would recommend logging by shot. Then you can export a batch list from Final Cut, and import that into Cinema Tools database to make a record for each shot. Then link each Cinema Tools record to that shot’s quicktime file. Then open each quicktime in Cinema Tools and read the keycodes from the burnin, check the timecode from the burn in, and add the keycode information to the record.

If you don’t have any burn in at all, you could try to get the keycode from the lab of each punch frame, and find that punch frame’s timecode, and do the record keeping by camera roll.

It’s not difficult if you understand the basic relationship: Final Cut know which quicktime file you used in your edit. A Cinema Tools data record within a database is linked to that same quicktime file. When you go to make a cutlist, Final Cut says to Cinema Tools: “this is the quicktime used at this location in the edit, and here’s the frames within that quicktime file that were used”. Cinema Tools says “I’m connected to that same quicktime, and for those frames that you used, here’s what the keycodes are.”

[Steven Gonzales]

Also, here’s a timecode log spreadsheet.

You could extract the info from your EDL, plug it into the formulas used in this excel spreadsheet, and calculate duration that way.

You’d have to understand excel a little bit to split out your timecode to 2 columns (perhaps the function on 06:54:32:10 of “=left(cell with original TC, 8)” and “=right(cell with original TC, 2)” would give you 06:54:32 in the time column and 10 in the frames column.

https://www.kenstone2.net/fcp_homepage/images_timecode_spreadsheet/timecode_log.xls

[Steven Gonzales]

You have to have a sequence selected, or the sequence be the active window. Then you go to the File Menu, Export, and now Cinema Tools Film Lists.

On my version, this is explained on page 145 of the Cinema Tools Manual. To get to the Cinema Tools Manual, you open the Cinema Tools applications, go to the Help menu bar pulldown, and select Cinema Tools User Manual.

[Steven Gonzales]

I realized I explained that wrong. After making the dummy Cinema Tools database, (settings don’t matter) go back to Final Cut and File-export-cinema tools film list.

Then set the telecine speed, etc for that film list output, and point to the dummy database.

[Steven Gonzales]

I don’t know about EDL with duration, but you could select the sequence and export Cinema Tools Film List.

Create an empty database in cinema tools (the settings don’t matter, it’s just a dummy target). Change the Telecine Speed: to 30 (assuming you’re using a 29.97 timeline), and change Show: to Time and down below cut handles set Show: to Clip name.

Set your output file and choose your dummy database. You’ll have a listing that has clip name and duration (and a lot of other junk you don’t need.

There’s probably a method with XML, but an XML export REALLY has a lot of extra verbiage.

[Steven Gonzales]

You could rename with an increment number using an applescript.

I’ve done a massive rename with applescript and excel, explained here:

https://forums.creativecow.net/cgi-bin/new_read_post.cgi?forumid=8&postid=890943

You could also write a shell script in the terminal using the unix mv command, but that’s a little trickier.

[Steven Gonzales]

The top movie this week pokes fun at Kazakhstan, but they have 64.3 percent voter turnout since 1945, compared to 48.3 for the United States.

https://www.idea.int/vt/survey/voter_turnout_pop2.cfm

[Steven Gonzales]

Have you read this older article?

https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/pana_24p__cinetools.html

Why are you editing at 24 if you didn’t shoot 24P advanced?

“The general rule is to shoot 24p Advanced if you want to extract the original 24 frames/second for a 24fps edit or film-out. Shoot 24p Standard if you are going to stay on video and edit at 30 frames/seconds (60 fields/second, i.e., plain ol’ video at NTSC frame rates), without extracting the original 24 frames into a 24fps timeline.”

https://www.adamwilt.com/24p/#When_to_shoot