Can't Change Frame Rate in Project - FCPX 10.4

Question

Level 1

8 points

Can't Change Frame Rate in Project - FCPX 10.4

I'm new to editing with a professional program and just got FCPX about a month ago, so pardon if I'm asking a stupid question...

So, I shot a 23.98 interview and I've been cutting it into several short videos. For some reason, each of the projects I've created is 30p. Perhaps I started the first project off with some 30p b-roll or a JPG (though I don't think I did that), and I've duplicated each project to create the next one, since they're all structured similarly. So even projects with no 30p material at all are 30p.

I understood, however, that none of that mattered, since I could easily change the project settings (including frame rate) whenever I wanted. Only problem is, when I select any of my projects and click the blue MODIFY button to get to that window, 30p is the only possible choice for frame rate. I should mention that FCPX allows me to change the other settings in this window (format, resolution, etc.).

Am I doing something wrong or is there a bug with FCPX? I am running FCPX 10.4. Thanks for any help!

MacOS Sierra 10.12.6

27" iMac (Late 2012)

3.4Ghz i7 processor

32GB RAM

macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Jan 10, 2018 2:09 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,949 points

Jan 10, 2018 4:26 PM in response to MStoli

You can’t change the frame rate of a project while there’s anything in it. You can either build new projects, setting the frame rate manually and cut and paste into them. Or you can use the existing projects. Select everything in the project. Cmd-X. Change the project properties and use Cmd-V to paste back in. The second way has a higher risk factor.

Reply

Answer 2

Jan 10, 2018 11:13 AM in response to MStoli

FCPX (and most other editing software) will not allow you to change the frame rate of a timeline because that would throw off the timecode and subsequently mess up the timing of your project.

Try creating a new project and instead of using automatic settings, use the manual settings to create a project that is the resolution and frame rate that you want. You can then open your latest project, select all and then past these into the new 24p project.

Reply

Answer 3

MStoli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 10, 2018 4:30 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thank you, Tom. I thought I saw somewhere in a tutorial or somewhere that you could change it after the fact, but of course if makes sense to set the frame rate based on the most common rate of the footage you're using. I created a new 23.98 project and pasted the footage into it and it's good now (after a few adjustments), so easy fix. Thank you again!

Reply

Answer 4

MStoli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 10, 2018 4:24 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thanks, Tom. But I thought that was the whole idea. FCP would set a frame rate based on the first material you put in the project, but then you could set whatever frame rate you wanted when you were ready to output. Certainly, if you have mixed footage with different frame rates, you'd want to be able to establish the frame rate for the final video when you output. If it's true that you can't change the rate after footage has been added to the project, then you'll have to know exactly what you'll be delivering before you make the project, and that might change over time.

Perhaps I was confused about the flexibility of FCPX, and that really you can only change stuff like resolution and format when you output, but not frame rate (even though there's an option for that in the Modify window). Just seems strange.

Reply

Answer 5

MStoli Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 10, 2018 5:06 PM in response to Curt Cain

Thanks, Curt. That's exactly what I did and it worked, very easily. Thanks for your help!

Reply

Answer 6

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,949 points

Jan 10, 2018 4:26 PM in response to MStoli

That’s never been possible. The timebase of a project cannot be changed when there’s content in it. With Compressor you can change the output frame rate for encoding. You can either set the project timebase using your most common video frame rate or using your desired delivery frame rate. If you know that of course you should use that for shooting as well. The less amount of frame rate change the better.

Reply