Time Code Conforming Issue in FCP

[grimrebes]

I am in the Middle East. I've been working on a few projects, and an editor/friend of mine in LA saw some footage I shot a few months back and wants to work on it. The HD footage is too big to post on an FTP, but DV footage would be fine. However, conforming has proved to be a slight problem.

Why?
The footage is DVCProHD 720p24pN. The DV25 files we've made from them follow the timecode sort of. If I set the export settings in compressor to DV25 at the current frame rate, the hour and minute TC embed do not change. But the frame numbers do. The DVCPro master clip skips frame numbers 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, and 28 when playing back in a 23.98 sequence editing timebase. Why? I recorded from an HPX170 onto a Firestore, and the FS-100 records a 720p30p stream with a pulldown removing the duplicated frames to record the native 24p a second.

The problem is the DV25 clips do not have this problem. They play out with frame numbers :00 to :23 with no issue. No skipping, nothing odd. The TC matches except for the variations in the embedded frame numbers between seconds.

If my editor does an offline with the footage as DV, is there anyway to conform back to the HD masters from his offline edit? Or do I need to re-batch the files, creating a new embedded tc?

And, it should be noted, I've never heard about this problem before from the FS-100. With all the issues its ever had, this was not one I had ever heard about. So beware!

 

[Shane Ross]

Well, those numbers are missing because, and you said it yourself, "the FS-100 records a 720p30p stream with a pulldown removing the duplicated frames to record the native 24p a second."

Frames were removed. That is where those numbers went.

Now, HOW did you make those DV files? Media Manager? Compressor? If you did it that way the numbers should match up.

But you can test this out. Have him send you a small cut of what he has...just the project file. And then you can media manage it using the MAKE OFFLINE option and choose 2 second handles. Or they can and send you THAT project. Then highlight those clips and choose BATCH CAPTURE and see if FCP will batch capture those clips.

Just thoughts...I haven't worked with footage from a firestore, but I have worked with DVCPRO HD from P2 and used MM to convert to offline RT, then batch captured only what was used in the cut.