How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX at DVinfo.net

David Chapman · July 3rd, 2011, 02:19 PM

One of the coolest things about 60p is the ability to get a 2.5X slow motion effect without frame blending or optical flow. With the old Final Cut Studio, we used Cinema Tools to re-conform the 60p footage over a 24p timeframe (thanks to Tim Dashwood). How do we do this without Cinema Tools?

It's actually quite easy. You have to setup your timeline for 24p (23.976) first, then drop your 60p clips in the timeline. Select the clip and choose "conform" from the retiming menu. DONE.

I have a video showing how here along with a sample:
60p to 24p in FCPX | davechapfilms

David Chapman · July 4th, 2011, 12:45 PM

The 180º rule for 24fps maintains a shutter of 1/48 (24 x 2 = 48). For DSLR cameras, you get as close as possible giving a shutter speed of 1/50.
When shooting 60fps, you still want as close as possible to 1/120 (1/125 for DSLRs).

I updated my previous post with a new clip:
60p to 24p in FCPX | davechapfilms

Yes, there is a slight grade done in FCPX.

Henrik Reach · July 4th, 2011, 01:26 PM

Very nice, thanks for the tip!

I still have Cinema Tools of course, but it's nice being able to do it in FCP.

Is the conform in FCP less strict about what files it will conform also, maybe? Cinema Tools is very fond of giving time compression errors. :D

Simon Wood · July 4th, 2011, 02:57 PM

Quick question (sorry for going OT) - is it possible to conform 25fps to 24fps in FCPX? I will be shooting footage in PAL but will need to deliver some DVD's in the USA. Thanks.

David Chapman · July 5th, 2011, 01:49 PM

Quote:

I still have Cinema Tools of course, but it's nice being able to do it in FCP.

Is the conform in FCP less strict about what files it will conform also, maybe? Cinema Tools is very fond of giving time compression errors. :D

I'm not sure. So far, FCPX hasn't given any errors. Basically, it just does the math for the speed it should be. In FCP6 and 7, changing the speed also introduced frame blending since it was actually doing a retime instead of a conform.

Quote:

is it possible to conform 25fps to 24fps in FCPX? I will be shooting footage in PAL but will need to deliver some DVD's in the USA.

You know, the conform will make the video longer, and then throwing any audio out of sync (or just stretching it out). If you drop it into the timeline, or use Compressor to set a new frame rate, it would workout better than a conform. But, there could be other workflows people use that could chime in for this?

Tim Dashwood · July 5th, 2011, 07:39 PM

Cinema Tools would only conform clips that used an "all I-frame codec" so codecs like Mpeg2 (XDCAM), H264 (AVCHD), etc. had to be transcoded to ProRes422 first. I wonder if this new method in FCP X works on any clip regardless of codec? From David's video it looks like H264 works just fine.

Heath McKnight · July 6th, 2011, 05:43 PM

I was converting 25p to 23.98 fps a few years back with Cinema Tools, so I'm curious. I know the "rule" of slowing down your footage by 4%, but I'm not sure how FCP X will handle the audio. I know Cinema Tools did it better than FCP 5 or 6 (never tried it in 7), with the audio only dropping in pitch, not sounding like slo-mo.

heath

David Chapman · July 17th, 2011, 08:41 AM

Someone asked how you set the conform rate. The project settings have to contain the frame rate you are targeting for the conversion (in my case, 23.967) and the box needs to be unchecked to match the frame rate to the first clip added to the storyline.

July 3rd, 2011, 02:19 PM	#1
David Chapman Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 346	How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX One of the coolest things about 60p is the ability to get a 2.5X slow motion effect without frame blending or optical flow. With the old Final Cut Studio, we used Cinema Tools to re-conform the 60p footage over a 24p timeframe (thanks to Tim Dashwood). How do we do this without Cinema Tools? It's actually quite easy. You have to setup your timeline for 24p (23.976) first, then drop your 60p clips in the timeline. Select the clip and choose "conform" from the retiming menu. DONE. I have a video showing how here along with a sample: 60p to 24p in FCPX \| davechapfilms __________________ David Chapman www.davechapfilms.com

July 4th, 2011, 12:45 PM	#2
David Chapman Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 346	Re: How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX The 180º rule for 24fps maintains a shutter of 1/48 (24 x 2 = 48). For DSLR cameras, you get as close as possible giving a shutter speed of 1/50. When shooting 60fps, you still want as close as possible to 1/120 (1/125 for DSLRs). I updated my previous post with a new clip: 60p to 24p in FCPX \| davechapfilms Yes, there is a slight grade done in FCPX. __________________ David Chapman www.davechapfilms.com

July 4th, 2011, 01:26 PM	#3
Henrik Reach Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Halden Posts: 106	Re: How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX Very nice, thanks for the tip! I still have Cinema Tools of course, but it's nice being able to do it in FCP. Is the conform in FCP less strict about what files it will conform also, maybe? Cinema Tools is very fond of giving time compression errors. :D

July 4th, 2011, 02:57 PM	#4
Simon Wood Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Entebbe Uganda Posts: 768	Re: How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX Quick question (sorry for going OT) - is it possible to conform 25fps to 24fps in FCPX? I will be shooting footage in PAL but will need to deliver some DVD's in the USA. Thanks. __________________ http://vimeo.com/channels/guerrillafilms

July 5th, 2011, 07:39 PM	#6
Tim Dashwood Wrangler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 3,637	Re: How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX Cinema Tools would only conform clips that used an "all I-frame codec" so codecs like Mpeg2 (XDCAM), H264 (AVCHD), etc. had to be transcoded to ProRes422 first. I wonder if this new method in FCP X works on any clip regardless of codec? From David's video it looks like H264 works just fine. __________________ Tim Dashwood

July 6th, 2011, 05:43 PM	#7
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	Re: How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX I was converting 25p to 23.98 fps a few years back with Cinema Tools, so I'm curious. I know the "rule" of slowing down your footage by 4%, but I'm not sure how FCP X will handle the audio. I know Cinema Tools did it better than FCP 5 or 6 (never tried it in 7), with the audio only dropping in pitch, not sounding like slo-mo. heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

July 17th, 2011, 08:41 AM	#8
David Chapman Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 346	Re: How to conform 60p>24p in FCPX Someone asked how you set the conform rate. The project settings have to contain the frame rate you are targeting for the conversion (in my case, 23.967) and the box needs to be unchecked to match the frame rate to the first clip added to the storyline. Tutorial: 60p to 24p in Final Cut Pro X on Vimeo __________________ David Chapman www.davechapfilms.com