Film scanning 16 fps to 25 fps

Bo Skelmose · February 28th, 2012, 11:42 PM

Hi
I have some old 16mm films recorded at 16fps. I am going to send it to a company that can scan it for me.
I do not know how they are transferring the film to a file. I wonder if I should ask for the film to be played back at 25 fps so I afterwads can stretch it back in Adobe premiere.
Would this be the solution and maybe already the solution they choose?
This pull down thing - can it be done in After Effects or Premiere - and could twixtor be used for that?

Justin Molush · February 29th, 2012, 01:18 AM

Twixtor would be an interesting solution since it wouldn't per se do a pulldown but rather interpolate frames and generate in between frames that will be different than a pulldown export. If there is a lot of motion blur, it can get MESSY though, really depends on the content.

I think for a native AE pulldown, you could just stretch the footage and apply a frame blend and it *should* do it? I never had to deal with 16fps footage so hard for me to say...

Bart Walczak · March 1st, 2012, 08:48 AM

If the company with the scanner has the possibility to give you 25fps file, I would go for it. Most likely their hardware solution will be much better and faster than anything that the software can do. If you are not sure, it's best to ask them. After all, they might know best.

If they are unable to provide you with such file, then you are stuck with either time remapping in After Effects, which is not bad, but CPU intensive, and not really great, and Twixtor, which is VERY CPU intensive, usually great, but sometimes it can fail as well, introducing weird artifacts. As far as I know there are no fool-proof solutions to this problem.

February 28th, 2012, 11:42 PM	#1
Bo Skelmose Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Denmark Posts: 495	Film scanning 16 fps to 25 fps - how? Hi I have some old 16mm films recorded at 16fps. I am going to send it to a company that can scan it for me. I do not know how they are transferring the film to a file. I wonder if I should ask for the film to be played back at 25 fps so I afterwads can stretch it back in Adobe premiere. Would this be the solution and maybe already the solution they choose? This pull down thing - can it be done in After Effects or Premiere - and could twixtor be used for that?

February 29th, 2012, 01:18 AM	#2
Justin Molush Major Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Montreal Posts: 388	Re: Film scanning 16 fps to 25 fps - how? Twixtor would be an interesting solution since it wouldn't per se do a pulldown but rather interpolate frames and generate in between frames that will be different than a pulldown export. If there is a lot of motion blur, it can get MESSY though, really depends on the content. I think for a native AE pulldown, you could just stretch the footage and apply a frame blend and it should do it? I never had to deal with 16fps footage so hard for me to say...

March 1st, 2012, 08:48 AM	#3
Bart Walczak Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Warsaw/Poland Posts: 716	Re: Film scanning 16 fps to 25 fps - how? If the company with the scanner has the possibility to give you 25fps file, I would go for it. Most likely their hardware solution will be much better and faster than anything that the software can do. If you are not sure, it's best to ask them. After all, they might know best. If they are unable to provide you with such file, then you are stuck with either time remapping in After Effects, which is not bad, but CPU intensive, and not really great, and Twixtor, which is VERY CPU intensive, usually great, but sometimes it can fail as well, introducing weird artifacts. As far as I know there are no fool-proof solutions to this problem. __________________ Creative Impatience - The Solace of Simple Solutions. A few useful plugins for Adobe users, and my remarks on the tools and the craft in general.