A few basic questions...please help.

[Mazi Khalighi]

Hey Everyone,

I have been frequenting these forums for a few months now and i have learned more about digital video than I have in 2 years at film school. I am very new to all this and i have a few questions that I bet you all know the answers to.
I will be shooting my first short this July and we will be using the Panasonic DVX-100a. I have heard so many good things about 24p video, I just want to make sure that I don't screw anything up. So...here are my concerns:

1) When I go to capture the footage in FCP HD, do I need to change any of the capture presets or the system presets?
ex. system presets: DV NTSC 48 kHz VS. DV NTSC 48 kHz - 23.98
ex. capture presets: DV NTSC 48 kHz VS. DV NTSC 48 Khz Advanced (2:3:3:2 pulldown removal)

I heard from a few people that I don't have to change anything and that I can just capture - edit - and master as usual and the 24p effect will remain.
But I recently started looking at the program "Cinema Tools" which goes on and on about all these things that you have to aware of when editing 24p video. But I have this feeling that "Cinema Tools" is referring to 24p HD video because it keeps mentioning that you need so much disk space and a fast system to edit the footage, but I know a few people who have shot using the DVX100 and cut the whole show on a Powerbook (which I plan to do).
Thanks in advance for all the help!

[Dan Diaconu]

Mazi,
Welcome aboard. I do not have the DVX100a nor FCP, but I am sure others with more experience (not hard there) will soon lend you a hand, just give them some time...and do not feel ignored (is just a matter of time and contribution to this forum till you get noticed) (;-)<

[Dean Bull]

Mazi Khalighi,

Your on the right track. One reason why you may not be getting the slew of help you desire is because it's right at your finger tips!

I am amazed how much information is actually compiled here on this forum.

So yeah, go ahead a search around using the search function, I am sure you will get tons of information about shooting and editing 24p.

However, from what you have posted I would say your are pretty much on the right track -IF-

You shoot 24p advanced, or 24PA. If you shoot this way you must have your preset set for advanced pull down removal in final cut pro.

If you shoot 24p standard the video is still 29.97 (3:2 pull down) so you pull in the footage at 29.97 and edit using a typical ntsc timebase.

Also, be sure you set your sequence settings to match the timebase of your footage.

Good luck, it's not a crazy as it sounds, and don't bother with cinema tools.

Dean

[Jon Fordham]

Mazi,

There are a number of workflows that you can follow when working with the DVX and FCP.

First you need to understand the two different pulldown modes of the DVX. The regular 24P mode will perform a pulldown using the standard 2:3:2:3 cadence. This is the pulldown cadence used in telecine's to transfer film to video. The Advanced pulldown mode uses a modified pulldown cadence of 2:3:3:2. This produces unnatural movement since the cadence is not evenly spaced.

Now here are the two most popular workflows...

Workflow 1:

Set the DVX to 24PADV advanced pulldown mode. This setting is located in menu section 1. SCENE FILE under item PROGRESSIVE. Select 24P(ADV).

Set FCP's capture preset to Advanced Pulldown removal.

Edit the project on a 23.98 sequence with the render pulldown set to 2:3:2:3.

This workflow has the adavantage of only requiring FCP to handle the pulldown removals. However, by shooting in the advanced pulldown mode, you're motion signature will look highly unnatural until you remove the pulldown in FCP. Once you remove the advanced pulldown on capture and add the standard pulldown on output it will look fine.

Workflow 2:

Set the DVX to 24P standard pulldown mode. This setting is located in menu section 1. SCENE FILE under item PROGRESSIVE. Select 24P.

Set FCP's capture preset to standard DV NTSC.

Open Cinema Tools and choose the option to Batch Reverse Telecine, and select the folder that contains the captured clips.

Open FCP and import the folder containing the new .rev clips.

Edit the project on a 23.98 sequence with the render pulldown set to 2:3:2:3.

This workflow has the adavantage of natural motion during shooting and playback, and capture. However, you cannot work with the clips on a 23.98 sequence until you remove the pulldown by using Cinema Tools Reverse Telecine option. Once you reverse the standard pulldown in Cinema Tools, you can work with it in the exact same way as the Advanced pulldown clips. And of course, add the standard pulldown on output.

Cinema Tools is not standard specific. It is biased in its functions to facilitate editors who are working with traditional film workflows. But in today's hybrid world of 24P, HD, and DI's, Cinema Tools functions can be used for a wide variety of applications.

My personal preference is for Workflow 2: shooting with the DVX's Standard Pulldown. While this workflow does require the extra step of reversing the telecine through Cinema Tools, it allows you the option of not having to work on a 23.98 sequence if you would rather not mess with all the pulldown settings. You can simply cut the project on a standard 60i sequence if you prefer. And, more importantly, you don't have to strain your eyes by watching the highly unnatural movement of the Adavanced pulldown.