FPS wrong on export

Question

Level 2

204 points

FPS wrong on export

I must be crazy but this is a real problem. I recorded drone videos at 30fps and they look great. I brought them into iMovie and did all my editing. I go to export and the video is now 24 and looks horribly choppy.

I am told the way to change the frame rate is to make sure your first video in the timeline is to have the output FPS you want. All of them are the same rate so it should be perfect. Nope. All at 24fps MP4 at lowest custom compression possible.

This is on Mojave, 2018 MBP.

Anything that can be done about this?

MacBook Air, macOS High Sierra (10.13)

Posted on Oct 26, 2018 5:22 AM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

48,156 points

Oct 26, 2018 11:37 AM in response to brycesteiner

Hmmmm. That's interesting.

I did a brief test and found that newly created projects default to the previously created project's frame rate unless reset by adding a video clip (not a photo) as the first clip. So when you create a new project, before you even add any clips, the project frame rate will be that of the previously created project. Because a photo has no frame rate the project's frame rate remains that of the previously created project, and that frame rate apparently is locked in by adding the photo. I am curious as to whether your previously created project (not just worked-on project) was 24fps, that might account for why you got 24fps initially with your new project.

Also, once you set a project's frame rate with the first clip, you can then delete that first clip without changing the frame rate.

Thanks for posting your solution.

-- Rich

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Answer 2

brycesteiner Author

Level 2

204 points

Oct 26, 2018 6:11 AM in response to brycesteiner

I solved the problem by making a new video in iMovie and importing only a 30fps movie. I exported it to see if that would work and it did. I then copied the entire contents of the previous iMovie that was exporting at 24 and pasted it into the new one. I then shrunk the existing movie to be the smallest possible and then exported the entire thing and it was then correct.

What it looks like is if you import a picture first or have a transition first it makes it 24 even though they are not video.

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Answer 3

brycesteiner Author

Level 2

204 points

Oct 26, 2018 11:39 AM in response to Rich839

The previous one was 24fps because I had not figured out to increase the fps in the drone yet. I didn't realize it took on the previous settings. That's interesting too! For some reason it would not let me delete the first one I dropped in to set 30 fps that is why I made it the minimal possible (.05 or so).

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Answer 4

brycesteiner Author

Level 2

204 points

Oct 26, 2018 2:45 PM in response to Rich839

I was on the Apple extended keyboard and that is always what I did when before when on my 2011 iMac. That worked fine. I upgraded to a 2018 MBP and, the same extended keyboard, it did not work. I thought maybe something changed with Mojave. Maybe it has to do with the keyboard going through dock??? I don't know. I noticed the same thing with CaptureOne 11 also does not work to hit the delete button--it just dings.

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