Here is what I don't understand:

FCP can output 23.98 via FW 29.97 perfectly, looks great.

So how come when I drag a 23.98 clip into my 29.97 timeline, it looks choppy (after rendering)? No matter which dominate field I choose?

I'm in the process of a "making-of" featurette. I have some DV footage I have shot 29.97/60i, and I have a few clips of HDV 1080p24 (23.98fps) that I am dragging into the timeline. The picture itself looks fine (after rendering) but its somewhat choppy.

Have a q for you,

Do you have to render the HDV each time you drop it into the timeline? After you trim it do you have to render it again?

I do, and am wondering if there is any way past that.

Sorry I can't help you with your query but I hope you can offer some advice.

Thanks

After I trim I don't have to render again (if I remember correctly).

Any one have any insight to my original issue?

Here is what I don't understand:

FCP can output 23.98 via FW 29.97 perfectly, looks great.

So how come when I drag a 23.98 clip into my 29.97 timeline, it looks choppy (after rendering)? No matter which dominate field I choose?

I'm in the process of a "making-of" featurette. I have some DV footage I have shot 29.97/60i, and I have a few clips of HDV 1080p24 (23.98fps) that I am dragging into the timeline. The picture itself looks fine (after rendering) but its somewhat choppy.

You need to take your 23.98 clip into Cinema Tools and add a 3:2 pulldown.
Just dragging the clip into a 29.97 won't do it.

Mike, I've never been able to ADD pulldown in Cinema Tools, just remove. I've always had to use After Effects to do this. Are you sure about using Cinema Tools to add?

To Matt, the original poster, the reason 23.98 looks choppy in a 29.97 timeline is that FCP is adding pulldown, but doing it in an inferior way...it's just repeating every 4th frame to bring the 23.98 to 29.97.

If done correctly, it's done using the 2:3 pattern with fields, which After Effects does.

Cinema Tools will do a telecine, but it does a crappy job and speeds up the audio.

I have had audio slippage using After Effects..

If you need to, JES Deinterlacer will do a nice field blend to bring 23.976p to 60i... it seems like it does something like:

A: progressive frame A
B: 25% blend of A, 75% blend of B interlaced frame
C: 50% B, 50% C interlaced frame
D: 75% C, 25% D interlaced frame
E: progressive frame D

The motion looks very smooth, and the blending seems to make a nice motion blur... plus, it's free!

http://www.xs4all.nl/~jeschot/home.html#DEI

But can't you just recapture at 29.97?