Canon generated file frame rate metadata

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Level 1

12 points

Canon generated file frame rate metadata

When I click on the info of the clip it says it was shot in 60fps. I know I took it in 120fps and I and confirmed that it was shot in 120fps. How do I get fcpx to recognize the actual framerate?

Posted on Dec 25, 2022 1:29 AM

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Answer 1

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Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

64,928 points

Dec 26, 2022 6:07 AM in response to morpheuz7

The file metadata, as you say, says 29.97.

I am not familiar with Canon cameras, but it is likely that there is a setting for capturing at, say, 120fps, and recording as 30fps (or 29.97... <rant>oh! don't fractional frame rates die already...</rant>).

This sort of capability exists on the Filmic Pro and Filmic Legacy apps on the iPhone, and it is just as you say. They would play in the timeline at slow motion without any change.

That said, only you can say if the speed at which the hand moves in the movie is slow compared to how it moved originally and if, concomitantly, the clip duration is about four times as long as real time (it does not look very slow to me, but then I did not see it as recorded).

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Answer 2

morpheuz7 Author

Level 1

12 points

Dec 25, 2022 4:00 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

I’m posting a shot of the FCP info displaying 29.97 fps

The QuickTime info window displays the same rate.

The camera display as it records displays 119.9

One final check of the camera playback window showing 29.97

This is the Canon R7.

As a note I tried changing the playback speed of the clip in a 24fps FCP project at 40% to see how it played back. I honestly don’t know if it’s really playing each of the frames. The timing math adds up (5 seconds of footage end up as 30 seconds of playback but it’s far from smooth.

(I shot two samples. One was 4 seconds the other 5 seconds. The discrepancy in time is because I mixed up the files, but they both display the same behavior. )

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Answer 3

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,179 points

Dec 25, 2022 2:08 AM in response to morpheuz7

Check the extended Info inspector. The camera frame rate and the recording frame rate might be different. How does the video play in the QuickTime Player? What camera is this exactly a and what recording format?

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Answer 4

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,179 points

Dec 25, 2022 5:04 AM in response to morpheuz7

Use the Retiming menu to set the clip in the project to Automatic Speed and see what happens. Would it be possible to upload a file from this media to somewhere like Dropbox or WeTransfer. Post the link in the forum. It might disappear but we’ll get it in the notification.

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Answer 5

morpheuz7 Author

Level 1

12 points

Dec 26, 2022 5:19 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Here's the file.

I think I figured out what's going on though. It makes for an interesting case.

I believe Canon is giving the file a 29.97 fps metadata so that when put into an editing program and played in a 29.97 project it will automatically play in slow motion at a 100% speed. But my project is a 24 fps project so naturally when asked to adjust speed automatically it plays at 80%. It's the only explanation I found that makes sense to me. If someone has the official word on why Canon does that, or any other theory let me know. I'm still confused on how to get the best out of this canon recording format for slow motion on FCP.

[Link Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 6

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,179 points

Dec 26, 2022 6:25 AM in response to morpheuz7

Thanks for the clip. It's as Luis said. The recording is actually 29.97fps. It's in camera slow motion. I have older Sony MXF 4K clips that are recorded at 23.976 that appear as if they're 120. The recording is standard frame rate so can edit in a standard frame rate project and output at standard frame rate, but slomo out of the camera.

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Answer 7

morpheuz7 Author

Level 1

12 points

Dec 26, 2022 6:38 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thank you Tom and Luis for helping me get clear that it is definitely not a data import or FCP issue.

I was able to get a good grasp of what goes on behind the scenes when these cameras do their magic.

I agree about the fractional frame rates. They are a pain in the neck. In this day and age we still have to deal with them. Oh well.

The original hand movement was very fast, I moved it up and down about 12 times in 5 seconds and it was in very low light at a very high ISO just to test how much I could get away with in terms of grain and image quality at 120fps.

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