HELP editing 24p on FCP
 

Hey all you gurus out there. Here's one for you. I've been trying to digitize my footage shot on xl2 24p to FCP, but the images are choppy and not converting. Do you think its the deck (is there a specific deck for xl2 24p) or is it in the software? How do you feel digitizing out of the camera? Help, can't seem to figure it out? And it is shot in 24p not 24pa.

I ran into this same problem for a while. When capturing video, the deck, or any other device you use to digitze, will send the data on that tape to final cut pro at 30 frames--because that is what video is read as. It will still appear 24P in the timeline and when you have eported it as well, but it will not allow you to capture 24P without dropping frames. Set everything to 30 frames--it's 29.97 I believe. I just recently purchased a firestore hard drive that enables me to edit true 24P footage in final cut pro, under 23.97 frames. Other than that, you should be going with 30 frmes. Good luck.

The capture issues may be related to using a deck other than the XL2. I had that issue before. I would suggest that Allen try capturing the footage with the XL2.

As for FCP settings, if you have the current release 5.1.1 there is an easy setup for getting 24p advanced. See the image below.

-gb-

You should be experiencing no problem with this operation.
 

However, I have, myself, experienced instances where there is difficulty digitizing footage, most particularly footage shot on the XL series, when the camera is in the LP mode. In such a case, you'll need to use the camera to directly load the footage into final cut pro.

what kind of deck are you using? I have a Sony DSR-20 and that seems to do the trick in most cases.

If it turns out that you are shooting in the LP mode, then I must ask you why. You're limiting the quality for no real gain. Especially when you can buy Sony Premium mini-dv tapes at FilmTools for a mere $2.90 per tape. If you're not shooting LP, then there may be a scanning issue somewhere. But FCP can't tell the difference between 24p and a regular 30 frames per second. Good luck.

Capturing 24p
 

I am using Vegas with the XL2 and I was wondering if I had to capture my 24p footage with the XL2 or if it was ok to use a different camera such as the GL2.


Thanks
-Jim

the footage is shot in SP mode

What good is the 24p on the XL2?
 

What good is the 24p on the XL2, since major movements causes motion blur when trying to replicate using 1/48

It seems the 24p would only be good for talking heads interviews. Anyone have any tips on what the 24p is good for?

For narrative film...

You can see that motion blur too in film...

Adam, Are you asking this about 24p because you have used it or seen it and did Not like what you saw.......or because you just read about it and are not sure what it is for? The reason I am asking this is because I myself have never used it before and want to know if "24p blur" would come as a shock???

You might want to ask Panasonic DVX100 owners what good is 24P on their camcorders, because it's the exact same implementation on the Canon XL2.

The motion blur at 1/48 is no different from the motion blur on film with a 180 shutter... but I honestly don't know why so many people feel like they need to shoot at 1/48. When a dp working with a film camera wants to freeze motion, they just change the shutter angle, and the analogue on the XL2 is of course a faster shutter.

Or did I misunderstand something?

I try to shoot with a faster shutter than 1/48 most of the time... at least over 1/100. I just think it looks better.

Isn't 1/48 the "typical" shutter speed for 24p? The same as 1/60 is for 30p/60i?

Shutter speed in film cameras depends on the angle of the shutter. The most common, "cine" shutter angle is 180 Degrees, which means it covers half of the time and is open half of the time. This means that at 24fps, a frame is exposed for 1/48 of a second, and the gate is closed for 1/48 of a second (to allow for the next piece of film to moved into position and stopped).

A bolex has a variable shutter, meaning you can close it up past 180 or open more than, letting more light, or more otion blur in, or less light and less "Blur"


I have actually done some comparative tests between an XL2, DVX and a 16mm Arri S to test out how strobing in the XL2 looks compared to film cams, and it is about the same. usually, try and use a 1/48 or 1/60 to really emulate hollywood film (if that's important to you).

Exactly. Seems like 1/100 and higher would give you that no motion blur, super stuttery effect (gladiator, saving private ryan). Maybe that's what you're going for.

You cant flip the switch from 60i to 24P and have it magically look like film... well... maybe poorly shot film. You need to adjust the way you shoot, you have to shoot like film, controlling your movement, frame properly, control the DOF, etc. Someday I will get a reel together and you can see that 24P on the XL2 does not have to be juttery, it can be silky smooth.

As far as shutter, I will hammer it home once again. If you using ANYTHING but a 1/48th shutter in 24P (1/60th in 60i) you are applying an IRREVERSIBLE effect. There is no way to undo it in post. Using a shutter of 1/100th effectively negates the effect of 24P, might as well shoot in 30P at that point.


ash =o)