30 fps in 25 fps project
 

I am about to start my first project on Final Cut Pro. I need some help:

I work with the XDCAM EX 3 camera, PAL system. In this basically XDCAM project, I wish to use some video footage acquired with Canon 5D Mk2, which is 30 fps, as we all know. OK. All of the Canon footage are landscapes, no camera movements, no zoom.... So, obviously, the Canon footage will be somewhat slowed as compared to normal 25 fps footage, but it would not be detectable as there is no movement of any sort in my shots.

My question is: as mixing of different formats and even different recording speeds is possible in FCP, do I have to slow down the Canon 30 fps footage to 25 fps to be able to use both in the same project, or I can leave the Canon footage unaltered, being a bit slowed then the main footage.

Also, would you recommend to transfer all the footage to ProRes and perhaps encode the final film to required broadcast format? Thanks.

I would load the material in at 25fps so that everything on the timeline is the same, you can mix formats on the timeline but you might as well have piece of mind that it is all OK and at the same frame rate.

Gary...
 

... could you please elaborate how to do that? Should I transform canon footage to XDCAM PAL system and treat that footage as XDCAM footage onwards? If so, how? In Compressor? Sorry for these question, as I said, this is my firs FCP project, but since I have lots of Avid and PP editing, this should not be mission impossible. Especially so with a 'little help from my friends'... Thanks!

I would load all your footage in a 30p timeline then export out via compressor to a 25p in XDCAM file while in your settings for export: ... ramp up motion and frame conversion to BEST and sit back and let the 10:1 render time complete. Then import the new footage and edit normally in your timeline.

Alex
 

Thanks, much appreciated.