24p “The look of film”
Posted by admin on May 29th, 2008 filed in PersonalOk, so many people have been asking me about working with 24p, it is a different workflow with each camera however this is our workflow:
We shot our footage, using a Sony HVR-V1U, in 24p (24 progressive frames per second, 23.98 to be exact) High Definition to capture the “look of film.” After we did this, we captured our footage directly into Final Cut Pro (our Non Liner Editing Program). FCP captures the footage as 29.97 frames per second(fps) leaving some frames interlaced. In order to correctly de-interlaces the frames, you must capture using Apple Intermeadiate Codec(AIC) at 1080i60 at 29.97 fps using a firewire connection to correctly de-interlace with Cinema Tools from the SONY. Now, import the clips into Cinema Tools and use a Reverse Telecine process to give you that true 24 fps look, just like film. The process of doing this reversal in Cinema Tools is very difficult and hard to explain so just shoot me an email if you want to learn more about that process. Unfortunetly it is not the same workflow with other cameras. With the Sony HVR-V1U, we have to move the playhead to the correct frame before we reverse telecine the clip, and due to a glitch in Cinema Tools, also, we have to do one clip at a time. This is due to the way we shot the footage. If you have the Sony HVR-V1U shoot using the 24pA (advance) mode instead, this will make things a lot easier on you in Cinema Tools. Hope this Helps!
June 4th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
FCP 6.0.3 changed the way you import footage of the v1u. You capture using AIC or apple prorez and it will do the 3:2 pulldown, but you have to shoot in 24pscan mode, also you lose the ability to use the tapes timecode. But the capture process is much easier, as there is no trans coding.
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
If you shoot using the 24p mode make sure to capture using the AIC codec or you will not be able to reverse the pulldown
January 9th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I am shooting in 24p with a V1U. I am having some problems where the images look shakey and a bit off. I am using FCP 6.0.5 and I am using the Apple ProRes 422 1080i60 with Sony firewire. I noticed in your post you are using the intermediate codec with 1080i60, should I switch to this? Also, can you tell me about the cinema tools process telecine process? I think this may solve some of my problems.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:52 am
If you shot in 24p mode use the AIC codec and bring it into cinema tools to de-interlace, next time you shoot make sure you use 24p(A) mode and you will import with ProRes 422 and it should automatically de-interlace and save a step.
Each clip in cinema tools will have to be de-interlaced separately. The process is quite difficult and frustrating. You are supposed to move the playhead to the second non de-interlaced frame from the beginning of the clip and then use the Reverse Telecine process. However, sometimes that still may not work and you have to play around with guess and check until you get the clip de-interlaced. My best advice is to never use the 24p mode always use the 24p(A) mode. Even if you have to switch during the middle of a project.
May 24th, 2010 at 11:18 am
I am in the same bind it sounds like you were: I’m editing a film that was shot on the v1u using the regular 24 mode (not 24A). I know your post is two years old, but I wondered if you could give me some more details on the reverse telecine process in cinema tools. By the second non-deinterlaced frame from the beginning of the clip, do you mean the second clean looking frame, or the second interlaced looking frame? Finding this frame really is tough, since the forward arrow doesn’t work in cinema tools. Second, what settings should I use in the reverse telecine dialog (specifically “capture mode” and “fields”)? As you say, the results seem to be inconsistent. Ah, the joy of editing.
May 24th, 2010 at 11:40 am
John,
When I’m talking about the second non-deinertlaced frame from the beginning of the clip I am talking about the second clean frame. You are right, finding this frame is very difficult because the forward arrow doesn’t work. Its usually a guess and check process. I believe the settings in the reverse telecine dialog should be as follows – capture mode “Filed 1 – Field 2″ – Fields “AA” – Frames “conform to 23.98″ with a check in the Standard Upper/Lower box.
Hope this helps. Have you had any success thus far?