Printing To Tape - "Pulldown Pattern" Problem?

[Kevin McCallister]

Hey,

We have a feature film, shot completely on the DVX in 24PA, in FCP5 (on a G5 system, 2.3GHz). When trying to print to tape, the "pulldown pattern" seems to be an issue. With the pulldown patterns 2:3:2:3 and 2:3:3:2, the image is jittery, with a black frame appearing between each frame of the film. Only when we select the pulldown pattern 2:2:2:4 does it print to tape without error. Here are my questions:

1). What is the difference between the three pulldown patterns?

2). Is there one that is optimal for printing to tape over the other?

3). If so, why is only 2:2:2:4 working, and why do the other two make the film jittery and place black frames between each film frame?

4). Is there any quality differential between the three pulldown patterns? What type of quality effect is the 2:2:2:4 pulldown having on our film?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[Scottdvx100]

1. 2:3:2:3 is what it shoudl be. This is the same as film to tape transfers. Equivalent to 24p mode recorded on DVX. 2:3:3:2 is the format DVX uses to save 24pa. Not meant for viewing.
2:2:2:4 is only if you have a slow system with just enough power to turn out a video compatible format.
2. 2:3:2:3
3. For some reason your system is having problems keeping up. Make sure EVERYTHING is pre-rendered (option-R) Turn off any unused video/audio tracks. Trun off all other programs. Remove Norton if you have it installed. Playback from a fast disk (ideally in the G5 and not a firewire drive)
4. Quality difference is in the smoothness of motion. 2:3:2:3 is desired to supply the smoothest motion. The other formats will produce some motion hiccups like watching bad PAL to NTSC conversion. Image quality will be the same.