Need some Cinema Tools Help

[Sharon Pieczenik]

Hello Everyone (sick of me yet?),

In order to get footage without dropouts from my 24fps footage, I am going through the work-around work flow suggested by Tim at:
www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=83228

I am on the last step which is to open Cinema Tools and import the Quicktime File you made in MPEG Streamclip. In MPEG Streamclip I had made an "Uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2" file. I opened up Cinema Tools and it confirmed that my quicktime file was 23.98fps. I didn't know if I should conform it to 24fps since my timeline I am editing in FCP is actually 23.98fps. So, I went ahead and skipped the Cinema tools step and imported the quicktime file into FCP. When I put it on the timeline to edit it, it had a large red Render bar over it. Is this right? Do I have to render something that has gone through Tim's process? OR because I skipped the Cinema Tools step, I have to render it? Was I supposed to conform the Quicktime file to 24fps and not keep it at 23.98fps? HELP! I am so close, I can taste it.

Thanks,
Sharon

[Tim Dashwood]

Hi Sharon,

The Cinema Tools portion of the workflow you referenced is for conforming 59.94fps (60P) down to 23.98fps (24P) for a slow-motion effect.

It sounds like you just want to capture footage shot at 720P24 and work in an uncompressed format.
NOTE: 23.98 (aka 23.976) is the frame rate of 24P. For all intents and purposes you will never use 24fps in your workflow...always 23.98.

It seems you have done everything correctly so far, but I'll backtrack a bit for the benefit of others in the same boat.

• You captured m2t files from the tape using DVHSCap (or HDVxDV)
• You opened those m2t files individually or as a batch in MPEGStreamclip
• You exported those m2t files from MPEGStreamclip as Uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2 quicktime and specified a frame rate of 23.98 in the export pane.
• You don't need Cinema Tools because this is already 23.98fps.
• You imported the quicktime files into FCP and are ready to edit.
• ...
• Now you need to create a new sequence that matches the specs of your source files.

Hit APPLE+N to create a new sequence. It doesn't matter what preset you use.
Select that sequence and use APPLE+0(zero) to open Sequence Settings. (New Sequence and Sequence Settings can also be found in the menus,)

Adjust the sequence settings so that they match your quicktime files.
Choose HDTV 720p (16x9) as your Aspect Ratio and 1280x720 will be automatically filled in.
Use "Square" as Pixel Aspect Ratio. DO NOT checkmark Anamorphic.
Set Field Dominance to "None"
Set Editing Timebase to 23.98
Set Compressor to Uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2

Click OK and you should now be able to use your quicktime files in this new sequence without any rendering required. I hope your hard drives are fast enough for uncompressed!

If you plan to use this workflow on a regular basis, you can create the above settings as a sequence preset in Audio/Video settings.

[Sharon Pieczenik]

Tim, you rock. One more question...

If I create a new sequence for the Quicktime file that I import...can I put other clips (that did not go through this whole process, the were just captured from the deck or camera) onto that timeline and edit them together? Or do I have to go back to all of my tapes and put the footage through all of the process?

You see, I captured the tapes from the camera even with all of the dropouts. Then I edited what I had. Some of my short videos worked out. However, some are missing some key stuff that is on those tapes. So I want to go through your whole work flow process to get the goodies of the tapes and edit them into the work that I have already begun with the video that was captured from the deck or camera. Is this not possible? Is it one or the other? The timelines that I have been editing in with FCP is 24 (23.98) with the stuff from the deck...why wouldn't the quicktimes that go through the whole process be able to work on those timelines?

Thank you for your time and help and patience.

Sincerely,
Sharon

[Tim Dashwood]

Well...you can mix and match frame rates & video codecs within any FCP sequence, but all clips that don't match the settings of that sequence will need to be rendered. The process of rendering will create new media in the sequence render file that matches the sequence settings.

IF you captured a bunch of clips in native HDV, and you have edited your sequence in native HDV, then placing uncompressed clips into that sequence will create a "red bar" and require rendering into HDV.

I usually recommend dropping an edited HDV sequence into an uncompressed sequence for final output anyway, so maybe you should do the same to save time with the new clips.

Create a new sequence for uncompressed as described in my post above. From your existing edited HDV sequence, select all of the clips and copy them. Then go into your new empty sequence and paste. These HDV clips will all need to be rendered into uncompressed codec, but the benefit is that your new uncompressed clips don't.

[Sharon Pieczenik]

Thanks. I definitely could understand that. Sadly you were right about the Uncompressed footage...way too hard core for my set-up to process. So I am going back through the process and using AIC instead. Hope this makes life on my harddrive easier.

I am under a huge time constraint getting these videos edited and I do not love editing...so your help is truly heaven sent.

Cheers,
Sharon

[Tim Dashwood]

If time is the primary concern, you could also use the HDV codec when you export from MpegstreamClip. Keep in mind that you will be re-compressing an mpeg2 back into a mpeg 2, so the quality may not be as good as Apple Intermediate Codec.
However, you can continue to work in your existing sequences without rendering the new clips.

[Sharon Pieczenik]

Fabulous. Thank you.