FCP - Mixing 720 & 1080 on the same timeline? at DVinfo.net

Jonathan Bland · October 1st, 2009, 07:08 AM

Hello Folks,

I see that the 720 stuff is distorted on the same timeline as the 1080. Under the Motion tab I see that the 'scale' is 150 with the 720 stuff instead of 100.

Can someone please me why what I have to do to make this work?

Craig Seeman · October 1st, 2009, 07:13 AM

And your timeline is set to?
1080 something?
Change the scale of the 720p to 100% but it will be smaller.
It all depends what you mean by "work"

You've left out your timeline setting, what you mean be "distorted," what your intent is.

You could use a 720 timeline and the shrink the 1080 video but without your intent I have no idea how you want it to work.

John Fante · October 1st, 2009, 08:16 AM

As you no doubt know, you can mix formats in the FCP timeline, but they'll need to be sized and proportioned to match whatever settings you are running.

Easiest way I have found is to first, open the shot in the Viewer by double clicking on it, Select from the drop down Menu "Image+Wireframe", Hold the Shift Key down (which allows you to change the aspect ratio dynamically) and Click & Hold one of the corner dots to fit the shot to the frame.

Hope that's helpful.

Jonathan Bland · October 5th, 2009, 09:19 AM

Nice insight John. Thanks :)

My next question would have to be: Does this affect the quality of the shot we are changing and if so, how?

Craig:
I'm shooting a mix of 720 30p (sometimes overcranked for slo-mo) and 1080 30p.
FCP on a 1080 30p timeline.
Feature doc for the festivals.
Thoughts?

Sorry, I know this question has been asked a million times..... and I should know this by now..... but it been one of those years ;)

Apologies for the delayed reply.... the net (if you can call it that) has been down..... out here.

Craig Seeman · October 5th, 2009, 12:10 PM

Two ways come to mind, It's hard to say which is "better" though.

Edit in 720p30 sequence and you now have the option to reframe or otherwise create moves with the 1080p30 files. The sacrifice is lower resolution HD.

You can blow up the 720p30 and edit in a 1080p30 timeline. The sacrifice is image degradation of the 720p30 source.

Either can work and either can survive the blow up if handled well.

Of course if you need 24p out either will be a bit "bumpy" since 30p does not always translate to 24p well. 24p can easily be converted to 25p/50i for PAL and 60i for NTSC too.

One really needs to think through the entire workflow first. If the goal is Film and Blu-ray distribution 24p source would make sense (and I personally can't stand the temporal resolution of 24p). On the other hand if the festivals can handle 30p source and project digitally that would be OK.

Jonathan Bland · October 6th, 2009, 04:26 AM

Well said Craig.

"One really needs to think through the entire workflow first...."

Interesting given the incredibly leaps technology is making all the time..... but working with the tolls we have here and now ;)

October 1st, 2009, 07:08 AM	#1
Jonathan Bland Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Way Far Away Posts: 230	FCP - Mixing 720 & 1080 on the same timeline? Hello Folks, I see that the 720 stuff is distorted on the same timeline as the 1080. Under the Motion tab I see that the 'scale' is 150 with the 720 stuff instead of 100. Can someone please me why what I have to do to make this work?

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October 1st, 2009, 07:13 AM	#2
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	And your timeline is set to? 1080 something? Change the scale of the 720p to 100% but it will be smaller. It all depends what you mean by "work" You've left out your timeline setting, what you mean be "distorted," what your intent is. You could use a 720 timeline and the shrink the 1080 video but without your intent I have no idea how you want it to work.

October 1st, 2009, 08:16 AM	#3
John Fante New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Posts: 15	As you no doubt know, you can mix formats in the FCP timeline, but they'll need to be sized and proportioned to match whatever settings you are running. Easiest way I have found is to first, open the shot in the Viewer by double clicking on it, Select from the drop down Menu "Image+Wireframe", Hold the Shift Key down (which allows you to change the aspect ratio dynamically) and Click & Hold one of the corner dots to fit the shot to the frame. Hope that's helpful.

October 5th, 2009, 09:19 AM	#4
Jonathan Bland Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Way Far Away Posts: 230	Nice insight John. Thanks :) My next question would have to be: Does this affect the quality of the shot we are changing and if so, how? Craig: I'm shooting a mix of 720 30p (sometimes overcranked for slo-mo) and 1080 30p. FCP on a 1080 30p timeline. Feature doc for the festivals. Thoughts? Sorry, I know this question has been asked a million times..... and I should know this by now..... but it been one of those years ;) Apologies for the delayed reply.... the net (if you can call it that) has been down..... out here.

October 5th, 2009, 12:10 PM	#5
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Two ways come to mind, It's hard to say which is "better" though. Edit in 720p30 sequence and you now have the option to reframe or otherwise create moves with the 1080p30 files. The sacrifice is lower resolution HD. You can blow up the 720p30 and edit in a 1080p30 timeline. The sacrifice is image degradation of the 720p30 source. Either can work and either can survive the blow up if handled well. Of course if you need 24p out either will be a bit "bumpy" since 30p does not always translate to 24p well. 24p can easily be converted to 25p/50i for PAL and 60i for NTSC too. One really needs to think through the entire workflow first. If the goal is Film and Blu-ray distribution 24p source would make sense (and I personally can't stand the temporal resolution of 24p). On the other hand if the festivals can handle 30p source and project digitally that would be OK.

October 6th, 2009, 04:26 AM	#6
Jonathan Bland Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Way Far Away Posts: 230	Well said Craig. "One really needs to think through the entire workflow first...." Interesting given the incredibly leaps technology is making all the time..... but working with the tolls we have here and now ;)