Sequence setting advice please

Question

Sequence setting advice please

I am trying to resurrect an old project shot on S16mm film back in 1993 and do a re-compilation of the film because the only complete edit exists now on VHS, and we all know how wonderful that can look.

The neg' was transferred to DV/DVCPro NTSC 720x480 3.6MB/Sec with separate audio ( off of DAT tape recorded double system / dumb slate…….and yes syncing that is going to be fun seeing as I will be trying to lip-sync someone reading in English and Welsh ! ).

My question is what would be the best timeline / sequence setting to use for these video files for the re-edit? I cannot see one that exactly corresponds to the video's spec's.

One other thing, FCP doesn't seem to want to import the DAT audio files even though according to file information they seem to have been transferred to QT MOV format at sometime or other. Any clues as to how these could be extracted?

Posted on May 14, 2015 7:55 AM

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Answer 1

Meg The Dog

Level 6

13,561 points

May 14, 2015 9:28 AM in response to Peter Mullett

Create a new, empty sequence. Drag one of the film source clips on to the timeline. FCP will ask if you want the sequence to match the source footage. Say yes.

Once that has been done, click anywhere in the timeline and type Command + 0 (zero) to see the sequence settings. Either report those settings, or take a screen shot of the sequence settings and post that here.

In the finder, open one of the audio files in QuickTime 7. Once it is open, go to the menu Window > Show Inspector. Either report the contents of the widow the inspector window that opens, or take a screen shot and post that screen shot here.

MtD

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Answer 2

May 16, 2015 11:18 AM in response to Peter Mullett

HI Peter:

The corresponding Easy Setup is "DV-NTSC". The corresponding Sequence Preset is "DV NTSC 48kHz". However, what Meg suggested is a good approach on the off chance there is something non-standard with your footage. (It's unlikely, but possible.)

You might consider switching the Sequnce Compressor type from "DV/DVCPRO - NTSC" to "Apple ProRes 422".

Was your Super 16 running at 24fps or 18fps before it was transferred to video? If it was 24fps, you might consider removing the 3:2 pulldown; however, FCP's pulldown feature is based on Panasonic's p24 DV mode. After Effects would be a good place to pull the footage up from i60 to p24 if you wanted to do that.

Also, have you thought about upconverting to HD?. Again, After Effects would be good for that as well (via the Detail Preserving Upscale effect), but there is also Red Giant's Instant HD plug in for FCP or Compressor's upconversion features to consider or a Teranex desktop box (just to name a few). If you plan to upconvert, do it to your source footage (not your edited 480i60 DV master) and finish in a HD Sequence.

So, no slate to sync with? Ouch!

-Warren

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