Apple Cinema Tools 3 User Manual

Cinema Tools 3

User Manual

 Apple Computer, Inc.

Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Apple. Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement.

The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Use of the “keyboard” Apple logo (Option-Shift-K) for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of Apple may constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Apple Computer, Inc. is not responsible for printing or clerical errors.

Apple Computer, Inc. 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014-2084 408-996-1010 www.apple.com

Apple, the Apple logo, Final Cut, Final Cut Pro, FireWire, Logic, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Monaco, and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. AppleCare and Apple Store are service marks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Cinema Tools, Finder, and OfflineRT are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

Photographs by Robert Chadwick, Montreal, Canada.

Other company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective companies. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products.

Preface 7 An Introduction to Cinema Tools

Editing Film Digitally

Why 24P Video?

Working With 24P Sources

Editing 24P Video

About This Manual

Apple Websites

Part I Using Cinema Tools

Chapter 1 17 Before You Begin Your Project

Before You Shoot Your Film

Which Film to Use?

Transferring Film to Video

Telecines

Transfer Techniques That Are Not Recommended

How Much Should You Transfer?

Frame Rate Basics

Working With NTSC Video

Working With PAL Video

Working With 24P Video

Timecode Considerations

Sound Considerations

Choosing an Audio Recorder

Choosing an Audio Timecode

Mixing the Final Audio

Synchronizing the Audio With the Video

Working in Final Cut Pro

Setting the Editing Timebase for Sequences

Using Effects

Chapter 2 33 The Cinema Tools Workflow

Basic Workflow Steps

Cinema Tools Workflow Examples

If You Used Scene-and-Take Transfers

If You Used Camera-Roll Transfers

Chapter 3 47 The Cinema Tools Interface

Cinema Tools Windows and Dialogs

Dialogs in Final Cut Pro and Cinema Tools

Chapter 4 61 Creating and Using a Cinema Tools Database

Deciding How You Should Create the Database

Capturing Before You Create the Database

If You Have a Telecine Log or ALE File

If You Do Not Have a Telecine Log or ALE File

Additional Uses for the Database

Creating a New Database

Settings in the New Database Dialog

Entering Information in the Database

Importing Database Information

Entering Database Information Manually

Using the Identify Feature to Enter and Calculate Database Information

Modifying Information in the Database

Deleting a Database Record

Choosing a Different Poster Frame for a Clip

Changing the Default Project Settings

Changing All Reel or Roll Identifiers

About Modifying Data in the Identify Window

Verifying and Correcting Edge Code Numbers and Timecodes

Working With the Database

Opening an Existing Database

Finding and Opening Database Records

Accessing Information About a Source Clip

Chapter 5 95 Capturing Source Clips and Connecting Them to the Database

Preparing to Capture

Avoiding Dropped Frames

Setting Up Your Hardware to Capture Accurate Timecode

Considerations Before Capturing Audio

Generating a Batch Capture List From Cinema Tools

101

Considerations Before Capturing Clips Individually

10 2

Connecting Captured Source Clips to the Database

10 3

Using the Connect Clips Command to Connect Source Clips

Contents

10 4

Using the Detail View Window to Connect and Disconnect Source Clips

10 6

Using the Clip Window to Enter or Disconnect Source Clips

10 7

Fixing Broken Clip-to-Database Links

10 7

Reconnecting Individual Clips That Have Been Renamed or Moved

10 7

Locating Broken Links and Reconnecting Groups of Clips That Have Been Moved

Chapter 6 109 Preparing the Source Clips for Editing

10 9

Determining How to Prepare Source Clips for Editing

111

Using the Conform Feature

113

Reversing the Telecine Pull-Down

12 3

Making Adjustments to Audio Speed

12 3

Synchronizing Separately Captured Audio and Video

12 5

Dividing or Deleting Sections of Source Clips Before Editing

Chapter 7 127 Editing

12 7

About Easy Setups and Setting the Editing Timebase

12 8

Restrictions for Using Multiple Tracks

12 8

Using Effects and Transitions

13 4

Tracking Duplicate Uses of Source Material

Chapter 8 137 Generating Film Lists and Change Lists

13 8

Lists You Can Create With the Film Lists Dialog

14 5

Exporting Film Lists

151

Creating Change Lists

Chapter 9 159 Export Considerations and Creating Audio EDLs

15 9

Considerations When Exporting to Videotape

160

Considerations When Exporting Audio

161

Exporting an Audio EDL

Chapter 10 167 Working With External EDLs and ALE Files

167

Creating EDL-Based Film Lists

17 2

Working With ALE Files

Part II Working With 24P

Chapter 11 177 Working With 24P Video and 24 fps EDLs

17 8

Considerations When Originating on Film

17 9

Editing 24P Video With Final Cut Pro

17 9

Using One Final Cut Pro System for Both 24P Offline and Online Editing

18 0

Using 24P Video With Final Cut Pro and Cinema Tools

18 0

Using Final Cut Pro as a 24P Online Editor

183

Using Final Cut Pro as a 24P Offline Editor

Contents

187

Adding and Removing Pull-Down in 24P Clips

18 8

Working With 2:3:3:2 Pull-Down

18 9

Removing 2:3:3:2 Pull-Down With Final Cut Pro

19 0

Removing 2:3:3:2 or 2:3:2:3 Pull-Down With Cinema Tools

19 4

Pull-Down Patterns You Can Apply to 23.98 fps Video

19 6

Adding Pull-Down to 23.98 fps Video

19 6

Using Audio EDLs for Double System Sound

Part III Appendixes

Appendix A 201 Background Basics

201

Film Basics

206

Editing Film Using Traditional Methods

208

Editing Film Using Digital Methods

Appendix B 213 How Cinema Tools Creates Film Lists

215

About the Clip-Based Method

215

About the Timecode-Based Method

Appendix C 217 Solutions to Common Problems and Customer Support

217

Solutions to Common Problems

220

Calling AppleCare Support

Glossary 221

Index 229

Contents

An Introduction to Cinema Tools

Cinema Tools with Final Cut Pro gives unprecedented power to film and 24P video editors.

In today’s postproduction environment, it’s common for editors and filmmakers to find themselves faced with a confounding array of formats, frame rates, and workflows encompassing a single project. Projects are often shot, edited, and output using completely different formats at each step. For editors and filmmakers who specifically want to shoot and finish on film, Cinema Tools becomes an essential part of the postproduction process when editing with Final Cut Pro, allowing you to edit video transferred from film, and track your digital edits for the purpose of conforming workprints and cutting the original camera negative.

For example, when working with film you need to be able to track the relationship between the original film frames and their video counterparts. Cinema Tools includes a sophisticated database feature that tracks this relationship regardless of the video standard you use, ensuring that the film can be conformed to match your Final Cut Pro edits.

Preface

Also provided is the ability to convert captured video clips to 24 fps video. For NTSC, this includes a Reverse Telecine feature that removes the extra frames added during the 3:2 pull-down process commonly used when transferring film to video or when downconverting 24P video.

Cinema Tools, in combination with Final Cut Pro, provides tools designed to make both editing film digitally and working with the emerging 24P video standard easier and more cost effective, providing functionality previously found only on high-end or very specialized editing systems.

Editing Film Digitally

Computer technology is changing the film-creation process. Most feature-length films are now edited digitally, using sophisticated and expensive nonlinear editors designed for that specific purpose. Until recently, this sort of tool has not been available to filmmakers on a limited budget.

Cinema Tools provides Final Cut Pro with the functionality of systems costing many times more at a price that all filmmakers can afford. For filmmakers shooting with 35mm or 16mm film who want to edit digitally and finish on film, Cinema Tools allows you to edit video transfers from your film using Final Cut Pro, then generate an accurate cut list that can be used to finish the film.

How Does Cinema Tools Help You Edit Your Film?

For many, film still provides the optimum medium for capturing images. And, if your goal is a theatrical release or a showing at a film festival, you may need to provide the final movie on film. Using Final Cut Pro with Cinema Tools does not change the process of exposing the film in the camera or projecting the final movie in a theater—it’s the part in between that takes advantage of the advances in technology.

Editing film has traditionally involved the cutting and splicing together of a film workprint, a process that is time consuming and tends to discourage experimenting with alternate scene versions. Transferring the film to video makes it possible to use a nonlinear editor (NLE) to edit your project. The flexible nature of an NLE makes it easy to put together each scene and gives you the ability to try different edits. The final edited video is generally not used—the edit decisions you make are the real goal. They provide the information needed to cut and splice (conform) the original camera negative into the final movie. The challenge is in matching the timecode of the video edits with the key numbers of the film negative so that a negative cutter can accurately create a film-based version of the edit.

This is where Cinema Tools comes in. Cinema Tools tracks the relationship between the original camera negative and the video transfer. Once you are finished editing with Final Cut Pro, you can use Cinema Tools to generate a cut list based on the edits you made. Armed with this list, a negative cutter can transform the original camera negative into the final film.

Shoot film

Convert film

to video

8 Preface An Introduction to Cinema Tools

Original camera negative

Edit in Final Cut Pro

with Cinema Tools

Conform

original camera

negative

Cut list

Create

release

If your production process involves workprint screenings and modifications, you can also use Cinema Tools to create change lists that describe what needs to be done to a workprint to make it match the new version of the sequence edited in Final Cut Pro.

What Cinema Tools Does

Cinema Tools tracks all of the elements that go into the making of the final film. It knows the relationship between the original camera negative, the transferred videotapes, and the captured video clips on the editing computer. It works with Final Cut Pro to store information on how the video clips are being used and generates the cut list required to transform the original camera negative into the final edited movie.

Cinema Tools also checks for problems that can arise while using Final Cut Pro, the most common one being duplicate uses of source material: using a shot (or a portion of it) more than once. Besides creating duplicate lists, you can use Cinema Tools to generate other lists, such as one dealing with opticals—the placement of transitions, motion effects (video at other than normal speed), and titles.

Cinema Tools can also work with the production sound, tracking the relationship between the audio used by Final Cut Pro and the original production sound sources. It is possible to use the edited audio from Final Cut Pro when creating an Edit Decision List (EDL) and process (or finish) the audio at a specialized audio postproduction facility.

It’s important to understand that you use Final Cut Pro only to make the edit decisions—the final edited video output is not typically used, since the video it is edited from generally is compressed and includes burned-in timecode (window burn) and film information. It is the edit-based cut list that you can generate with Cinema Tools that is the goal.

Preface An Introduction to Cinema Tools 9

Why 24P Video?

The proliferation of high definition video standards and the desire for worldwide distribution has created a demand for a video standard that can be easily converted to all other standards. Additionally, a standard that translates well to film, providing an easy, high-quality method of originating and editing on video and finishing on film, is needed.

The 24P video standard provides all this. It uses the same 24 fps rate as film, making it possible to take advantage of existing conversion schemes to create NTSC and PAL versions of your project. It uses a progressive scanning scheme and a high definition image (1920 pixels per line, 1080 lines per frame) to create an output well suited to being projected on large screens and converted to film.

Additionally, the 24P standard makes it possible to produce high-quality 24 fps telecine transfers from film. These are very useful when you intend to broadcast the final product in multiple standards.

Working With 24P Sources

With the emergence of high definition 24P video recorders, there is a growing need for Final Cut Pro to support several aspects of editing at 24 fps. To this end, Final Cut Pro and Cinema Tools provide the following:

Â the import and export of 24 fps EDLs Â the ability to convert NTSC 30 fps EDLs to 24 fps EDLs Â a Reverse Telecine feature to undo the 3:2 pull-down used when 24 fps film or video

is converted to NTSC’s 30 fps

Â the ability to remove 2:3:3:2 or 2:3:2:3 pull-down when you capture your source clips

from a digital video camera source that applied 2:3:3:2 or 2:3:2:3 pull-down to 24P video, so you can edit at 24 fps

Â the ability to output 23.98 fps video via FireWire at the NTSC standard of 29.97 fps

video

Â the ability to match the edits of videotape audio with the original production audio

tapes, and generate an audio EDL that can then be used to recapture and finish the audio if you intend to recapture it elsewhere for final processing

Several of the features mentioned above are included with Final Cut Pro and do not require Cinema Tools, however this book will describe all of these features because they relate to working with 24P, which is of specific interest to many filmmakers.

10 Preface An Introduction to Cinema Tools

Editing 24P Video

The excellent quality of 24P video presents a challenge when it comes to editing—the bandwidth and storage space it requires. Editing minimally compressed 24P video directly in Final Cut Pro requires you to have a system with large, fast drives and specialized capture hardware. Even with a properly configured system, you will only be able to capture the video you actually intend to use, not the typical 20 to 100 hours you may have shot.

The typical approach is to edit in two steps: an offline session, using compressed and downconverted (to NTSC or PAL) clips, followed by an online session with recaptured uncompressed clips.

Even if your Final Cut Pro system is not configured to edit uncompressed 24P video, it can serve as an offline editor and export a 24 fps EDL to be used by a 24P online editing system. Even better, if your online 24P editing system uses Final Cut Pro, you can simply copy the project from the offline system, which allows you to preserve far more information about the edit than an EDL alone can provide.

24P master

source

NTSC or PAL video

24P video

Final Cut Pro with Cinema Tools

Capture

video

(offline edit)

Convert

to 24 fps

Edit clips

Online edit

(24 fps)

24 fps EDL

Edited 24P

master

Preface An Introduction to Cinema Tools 11

About This Manual

This manual is a fully hyperlinked PDF document enhanced with many features that make locating information quick and easy.

Â The homepage provides quick access to various features, including Late-Breaking

News, the index, and the Cinema Tools website.

Â A comprehensive bookmark list allows you to quickly choose what you want to see

and takes you there as soon as you click the link.

Â All cross-references in the text are linked. You can click any cross-reference and jump

immediately to that location. Then, you can use the navigation bar’s Back button to return to where you were before you clicked the cross-reference.

Â The table of contents and index are also linked. If you click an entry in either of these

sections, you jump directly to the section for that entry.

Â You can also use the Find dialog to search the text for a specific word or phrase.

This manual provides background and conceptual information, as well as step-by-step instructions for tasks and a glossary of terms. It is designed to provide the information you need to get up to speed quickly so that you can take full advantage of the powerful features of Cinema Tools.

Â If you want to begin with some introductory background information about editing

film traditionally as opposed to editing it using digital methods, see Appendix A, “Background Basics,” on page 201.

Â To find out the details of how to use Cinema Tools, as well as some things to consider

in the planning of your project, see Part I, “Using Cinema Tools,” next.

Â If you’re interested in the 24P aspects of using both Final Cut Pro and Cinema Tools,

see Part II, “Working With 24P” on page 175.

Note: This manual is not intended to be a complete guide to the art of filmmaking. Much of the film-specific information presented here is very general in nature, and is supplied to provide a context for the terminology used when describing Cinema Tools functions.

12 Preface An Introduction to Cinema Tools

Apple Websites

There are a variety of discussion boards, forums, and educational resources related to Cinema Tools and other Apple products on the web.

Cinema Tools Website

For general information and updates, as well as the latest news on Cinema Tools, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/cinematools.html

Apple Service and Support Website

For software updates and answers to the most frequently asked questions for all Apple products, including Cinema Tools, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/support

You’ll also have access to product specifications, reference documentation, and Apple and third-party product technical articles.

For Cinema Tools support information, go to:

Â http://www.info.apple.com/usen/cinematools

Other Apple Websites

Start at the Apple homepage to find the latest and greatest information about Apple products:

Â http://www.apple.com

QuickTime is industry-standard technology for handling video, sound, animation, graphics, text, music, and 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes. QuickTime provides a high level of performance, compatibility, and quality for delivering digital video. Go to the QuickTime website for information on the types of media supported, a tour of the QuickTime interface, specifications, and more:

Â http://www.apple.com/quicktime

FireWire is one of the fastest peripheral standards ever developed, which makes it great for use with multimedia peripherals, such as video camcorders and the latest highspeed hard disk drives. Visit this website for information about FireWire technology and available third-party FireWire products:

Â http://www.apple.com/firewire

Preface An Introduction to Cinema Tools 13

For information about seminars, events, and third-party tools used in web publishing, design and print, music and audio, desktop movies, digital imaging, and the media arts, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/pro

For resources, stories, and information about projects developed by users in education using Apple software, including Cinema Tools, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/education

Go to the Apple Store to buy software, hardware, and accessories direct from Apple and to find special promotions and deals that include third-party hardware and software products:

Â http://www.apple.com/store

14 Preface An Introduction to Cinema Tools

Part I: Using Cinema Tools

Using Cinema Tools while editing film projects.

Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project

Chapter 2 The Cinema Tools Workflow

Chapter 3 The Cinema Tools Interface

Chapter 4 Creating and Using a Cinema Tools Database

Chapter 5 Capturing Source Clips and Connecting Them to the Database

Chapter 6 Preparing the Source Clips for Editing

Chapter 7 Editing

Chapter 8 Generating Film Lists and Change Lists

Chapter 9 Export Considerations and Creating Audio EDLs

Chapter 10 Working With External EDLs and ALE Files

1 Before You Begin Your Project

Start planning your project early to ensure its success.

Successful film production requires thorough planning well before exposing the first frame. Besides the normal preparations, additional issues must be considered when you intend to edit the film digitally. These issues may affect the film you use, how you record your sound, and other aspects of your production.

This chapter provides basic information on many of the issues you will face:

Â which film to use Â choices for transferring the film to video Â frame rate issues between the film, your video standard, and your editing timebase Â sound issues such as which recorder and timecode to use, and how to synchronize it

with the video

Â issues with Final Cut Pro such as selecting a sequence timebase and using effects

Note: Much of this information is very general in nature and is not intended to serve as a complete guide to filmmaking. Please be aware that the digital filmmaking industry changes rapidly, so what you read here is not necessarily the final word.

Before You Shoot Your Film

Before you begin your project, be sure to discuss it with all parties involved in the process:

Â those providing equipment or supplies used during the production Â those involved during the actual production Â the facility that will develop your film, create workprints, and create the release print Â the video transfer facility Â the editor using Cinema Tools and Final Cut Pro (if it is not you) Â the negative cutter Â the audio postproduction facility

These are people who are experts in their fields. They can provide invaluable information that can be the difference between a smooth, successful project and one that seems constantly to run into obstacles.

Be Careful How You Save Money

There are a number of times throughout the film production process when you will get to choose between “doing it right” and “doing it good enough.” Often your budget or a lack of time drives the decision. Make sure you thoroughly understand your workflow choices before making decisions that could end up costing you more, both in time and money, in the long run. Problems based on choices made early in the process—for example, deciding not to have a telecine log made—could take you by surprise later.

Having professional facilities handle the tasks they specialize in, especially when you are new to the process, is highly recommended. You may actually save money by spending a little for tasks that you could do yourself, such as using an audio postproduction facility.

Also, do not underestimate the importance of using the cut list to conform a workprint before conforming the negative. While creating and editing a workprint adds costs to the project, incorrectly conforming the original camera negative will cause irreparable harm to your film.

Which Film to Use?

One of the first steps in any film production is choosing the film format to use. Cinema Tools’ requirements must be taken into account when making this choice.

Cinema Tools supports 4-perf 35mm and 16mm-20 film formats. See “Film Basics” on page 201 for details on these formats.

Your budget will likely determine which format you use. While it is recommended that you use the same film format throughout your production, Cinema Tools does not require it. Each database record has its own film format setting.

18 Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project

Transferring Film to Video

In order to digitally edit your film, you need to transfer it to video so that it can be captured by the computer. There are a few ways to do this, but an overriding requirement is that there be a reliable way to match the film’s key numbers to the edited video’s timecode. This relationship allows Cinema Tools to accurately calculate specific key numbers based on each edit’s In and Out timecode values.

You also need to make decisions regarding film and video frame rates used during the transfer. These affect the editing timebase and impact the accuracy of the cut list that Cinema Tools generates.

Telecines

By far, the most common method of transferring film to video is to use a telecine. While a telecine provides an excellent picture, for the purposes of Cinema Tools the more important benefit is that it results in a locked relationship between the film and video, with no drifting between them.

Telecines are typically gentler on the film and offer sophisticated color correction and operational control as compared to film chains, described below. Another advantage is that telecines can create video from the original camera negative—most other methods require you to create a film positive (workprint) first. (While, from a budget viewpoint, it may be a benefit not to create a workprint, they are generally created anyway since they provide the best way to see the footage on a large screen and spot any issues that might impact which takes you use. Even more importantly, they allow you to test the cut list before working on the negative.)

In addition to providing a high-quality transfer, most modern telecines read the key numbers from the film and can access the video recorder’s timecode generator, burning in these numbers on the video output. An additional benefit of the telecine transfer method is its ability to provide synchronized audio along with the video output. It can control the audio source and burn in the audio timecode along with the video timecode and the key numbers.

In most cases, telecines produce a log file that can provide the basis for the Cinema Tools database. This allows you to automate capturing the video into the computer.

Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project 19

Transfer Techniques That Are Not Recommended

There are a couple of transfer techniques that are worth mentioning just to point out why you should not use them.

Film Chains

It is recommended that you avoid using a film chain if at all possible. Film chains are relatively old technology, as compared to telecines. They are basically a film projector linked to a video camera. They typically do not support features such as reading the key numbers or controlling video recorders, and cannot create a positive video from a film negative. You must create a workprint to use a film chain.

Using a film chain is usually less expensive than using a telecine, although the cost of creating a workprint partly offsets the lower cost. The biggest challenge is being able to define the relationship between the film’s key numbers and the video timecode. This is usually accomplished with hole punches (or some other distinct frame marker) at known film frames.

Important: Older film chains may not synchronize the film projector to the video

recorder, potentially causing the film-to-video relationship to drift.

Recording a Projected Image With a Camcorder

Due to the greatly increased chances for error and the additional time you have to spend tracking key numbers, this method of transfer is strongly discouraged and should not be considered.

Projecting your film and recording the results using a video camcorder is a method that, while relatively inexpensive, almost guarantees errors in the final negative cutting. Telecines and film chains are usually able to synchronize the film and video devices, ensuring a consistent transfer at whatever frame rates you choose. The projector’s and video camcorder’s frame rates may be close to ideal, but will drift apart throughout the transfer, making it impossible to ensure a reliable relationship between the film’s key numbers and the video timecode. You will have to spend extra time going over the cut list to ensure the proper film frames are being used. Additionally, there may be substantial flicker in the video output making it difficult to see some frames and determine which to edit on.

Since the video is not actually used for anything except determining edit points, its quality doesn’t matter too much. As with film chains, you have to create a workprint to project. Being able to proof your cut list before the original camera negative is worked on is very important with this type of transfer.

20 Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project

How Much Should You Transfer?

Deciding how much of your film to transfer to video depends on a number of issues, probably the biggest one being cost. The amount of time the telecine operator spends on the transfer determines the cost. Whether it is more efficient to transfer entire rolls of film (a “camera-roll” transfer), including bad takes and scenes that won’t be used, or to spend time locating specific takes and transferring only the useful ones (a “sceneand-take” transfer) needs to be determined before starting.

Camera-Roll Transfers

Cinema Tools uses a database to track the relationship between the film key numbers and the video and audio timecodes. The database is designed to have a record for each camera take, but this is not required. If you transfer an entire roll of film continuously to videotape, Cinema Tools only needs one record to establish the relationship between the key numbers and the video timecode. All edits using any portion of that single large clip can be accurately matched to the original camera negative’s key numbers. A drawback to this transfer method is the large file sizes, especially if there are significant chunks of footage that are not going to be used.

Additionally, because of the way it is recorded, audio is difficult to synchronize at the telecine during a camera-roll transfer. During a production, the audio recorder typically starts recording before film starts rolling, and ends after filming has stopped. You also will often shoot some film without sound (known as MOS shots). This means you cannot establish audio sync at the start of the film roll and expect it to be maintained throughout the roll. Instead, each clip needs to be synced individually. The Cinema Tools database includes provisions for tracking the original production sound reels and timecode.

Once captured, it is possible to break a single large clip into smaller ones, allowing you to delete the excess video. Even with multiple clips, it is possible for Cinema Tools to generate a complete cut list with only one database record. Another approach is to manually add additional records for each clip, allowing you to take advantage of Cinema Tools’ extensive database capabilities. See “Create the Cinema Tools database” on page 33 for a detailed discussion of these choices.

Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project 21

Scene-and-Take Transfers

Scene-and-take transfers are a bit more expensive than camera-roll transfers, but they offer significant advantages:

Â Scene-and-take transfers make it easier to synchronize audio during the transfer. Â Since the telecine log contains one record per take, it establishes a solid database

when imported into Cinema Tools.

Â With an established database, Cinema Tools can export a batch capture list. With this

list (and appropriate device control), Final Cut Pro can capture and digitize the appropriate takes with minimum effort on your part.

Maintaining an accurate film log and using a timecode slate can help speed the transfer process and reduce costs.

Frame Rate Basics

When transferring film to video, you need to take into account the differences in film and video frame rates. Film is shot almost exclusively at 24 frames per second (fps). Video can have either a 29.97 fps rate (NTSC), a 25 fps rate (PAL), or a 24 fps rate (24P) depending on your video standard.

The frame rate of your video (whether you sync the audio during the telecine transfer or not) and the frame rate you want to edit at, can determine what you need to do to prepare your clips for editing. You may find it useful to read “Determining How to

Prepare Source Clips for Editing” on page 109 before you make any decisions about

frame rates.

Working With NTSC Video

The original frame rate of NTSC video was exactly 30 fps. When color was added, the rate had to be changed slightly, to the rate of 29.97 fps. The field rate of NTSC video is

59.94. NTSC video is often referred to as having a frame rate of 30, and while the difference is not large, it cannot be ignored when transferring film to video (due to its impact on audio synchronization, explained in “Synchronizing the Audio With the

Video” on page 30).

Another issue is how to distribute film’s 24 fps among NTSC video’s 30 fps. You have two options:

Â perform a 3:2 pull-down Â run the film at 30 fps

22 Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project

ABCD

AAB B BC C DDD

Field1Field2Field1Field

Field1Field

Performing a 3:2 Pull-Down

The most common approach to distributing film’s 24 fps among NTSC video’s 30 fps is to perform a 3:2 pull-down (also known as a 2:3:2:3 pull-down). If you alternate recording two fields of one film frame and then three fields of the next, the 24 frames in one second of film end up filling the 30 frames in one second of video.

One second

Film frames

ABCDA DABCDABCDABCDABCD

AABBBCCDDDAABBBCCDDDAABB CCDDDAAB BBCCDDDABABBCCDDBD

ABABBCCDDD

NTSC video frames (divided into fields)

As shown above, the 3:2 pattern (actually a 2:3:2:3 pattern since frame A is recorded to two fields followed by frame B recorded to three fields) repeats after four film frames. Virtually all high-end commercials, movies, and non-live television shows use this process prior to being broadcast.

Note that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between film frames and video frames after this pull-down occurs. The duration of a video frame is four-fifths, the duration of a film frame. Because of this discrepancy, if you tried to match a specific number of whole video frames to some number of whole film frames, the durations would seldom match perfectly. In order to maintain overall synchronization, there is usually some fraction of a film frame that must be either added to or subtracted from the duration of the next edit. This means that in the cut list, Cinema Tools occasionally has to add or subtract a film frame from the end of a cut in order t maintain synchronization. For this reason, if you edit 3:2 pull-down video, the Cinema Tools cut list is only accurate to within +/– 1 frame on each edit. This accuracy issue is easily resolved by using the Reverse Telecine feature (or third-party hardware or software) to remove the extra fields and restore the film’s original 24 fps rate before you begin editing digitally.

Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project 23

To work around the inaccuracies related to editing 3:2 video, Cinema Tools includes a Reverse Telecine feature that can be used to remove the extra fields from the video, returning it to its original 24 fps rate, and thus providing a one-to-one relationship between the video and film frames. Setting Final Cut Pro’s editing timebase in the Sequence Preset Editor to 24 fps (or 23.98 fps—see “Synchronizing the Audio With the

Video” on page 30) allows you to edit the video and generate a very accurate cut list.

See “Determining How to Prepare Source Clips for Editing” on page 109 for more information on issues related to these options.

What’s an “A” Frame?

You will see and hear references to “A” frames whenever you are involved with 3:2 pull-down video. As the previous illustration shows, the A frame is the only one that is complete within a video frame. The others (B, C, and D frames) all appear in two video frames. Since the A frame is the start of the video five-frame pattern, it is highly desirable to have one as the first frame in all video clips. It’s common practice to have A frames at non-drop frame timecode numbers ending in “5” and “0.”

See “About “A” Frames” on page 120 for more information.

Running the Film at 30 fps

Another NTSC video transfer option is to run the film at 30 fps (actually 29.97 fps). While this leads to a one-to-one relationship between each video and film frame, the action in the film is sped up by 25 percent. Due to audio synchronization considerations, this method is not often used or recommended.

Working With PAL Video

The PAL video frame rate is exactly 25 fps. There are two methods used when transferring film to PAL: running the film at 25 fps (referred to as the 24@25 method), and adding two extra fields per second (similar to NTSC’s 3:2 pull-down, referred to as the 24&1 method).

24@25 Method

Running the film at 25 fps sets up a one-to-one relationship between the film and video frames. The drawback is that the action in the film is sped up by 4 percent, and the audio will need an identical speed increase to maintain synchronization. To take advantage of the wide variety of 25 fps video equipment available, you can choose to edit with the action 4 percent faster. Another option is to use the Cinema Tools Conform feature to change the clip’s timebase to 24 fps, correcting the speed. The video can then be edited with Final Cut Pro as long as the sequences using it have a 24 fps timebase.

24 Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project

24&1 Method

Adding two extra video fields per second (the 24&1 method) has the advantage of maintaining the original film speed, at the expense of losing the one-to-one film-to-video frame relationship. This method records an extra video field every twelfth film frame.

One second

Film frames

ABCDE HI JKLMNOPQRSTUVWX

AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH I I JJ K K LL MMNNOO PP QQRR SS TT UUVVWWXXLX

F G

PAL video frames (divided into fields)

Extra fields

Working With 24P Video

With its frame rate, high quality, and progressive scanning, the 24P video standard is well suited for use with telecine transfers. It uses the same frame rate as film, providing a one-to-one relationship between the film and video frames without requiring a frame rate conversion.

Your Final Cut Pro system needs to be equipped with specialized hardware to capture 24P video, either as compressed or uncompressed clips. Alternatively, some DV cameras, such as the Panasonic AG-DVX100 camcorder, can shoot 24P video and use the 2:3:3:2 pull-down method to record it to tape as 29.97 fps (the NTSC standard). Using Final Cut Pro and Cinema Tools, you can capture this video and remove the 2:3:3:2 pull-down so that you can edit it at 24 fps. See “Adding and Removing Pull-

Down in 24P Clips” on page 187 for more information.

Be aware that, when used as part of an NTSC system, the 24P videotape recorder’s (VTR’s) frame rate is actually 23.976 fps (referred to as 23.98 fps)—the same rate the telecine speed would be with a normal NTSC transfer.

Timecode Considerations

There are several general issues related to timecode that you should be aware of. If you’re using NTSC video, you can also choose between two timecode formats.

General Timecode Tips

When using video or audio equipment that allows you to define the timecode setting, it is recommended that you set the “hours” part of the timecode to match the tape’s reel number. This makes it much easier to recognize which reel a clip originated from. It is also strongly suggested to avoid “crossing midnight” on a tape. This happens when the timecode turns over from 23:59:59:29 to 00:00:00:00 while playing.

Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project 25

You have the option to use record run or free run timecode during the production: Â With record run timecode, the timecode generator pauses each time you stop

recording. Your tape ends up with continuous timecode, since each time you start recording it picks up from where it left off.

Â With free run timecode, the timecode generator runs continuously. Your tape ends up

with a timecode break each time you start recording.

To avoid potential issues while capturing clips, it is strongly suggested that you use the record run method, and avoid noncontinuous timecode within a tape.

Whenever a tape has noncontinuous timecode (with jumps in the numbers between takes), be sure to allow enough time (handles) for the pre-roll and post-roll required during the capture process when logging your clips. See the Final Cut Pro documentation for additional information on timecode usage.

About NTSC Timecode

Normal NTSC timecode (referred to as non-drop frame timecode) works as you would expect—each frame uses the next available number. There are 30 frames per second, 60 seconds per minute, and 60 minutes per hour. Since NTSC’s frame rate at 29.97 fps is a little less than 30 fps, non-drop frame timecode ends up being slow (by 3 seconds and 18 frames per hour) when compared to actual elapsed time.

To compensate for this, drop frame timecode skips ahead by two frames each minute, except those minutes ending in “0.” (Note that it is only the numbers that are skipped—not the actual video frames.) This correction makes the timecode accurate with respect to real time, but adds confusion to the process of digital film editing.

With non-drop frame timecode, once you find an A frame, you know that the frame at that frame number and the one five away from it will always be A frames. For example, if you find an A frame at 1:23:14:15, you know that all frames ending in “5” and “0” will be A frames. With drop frame timecode, you are not able to easily establish this sort of relationship.

Note: It is standard practice to have A frames at non-drop frame timecode numbers ending in “5” and “0.”

It is highly recommended that you use non-drop frame timecode for both the video and audio in all film editing projects, even though both Cinema Tools and Final Cut Pro are able to use either type. Whichever you use, be sure to use the same for both the video and audio tapes.

Note: PAL timecode does not have this issue—it runs at a true 25 fps.

26 Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project

What Happens to the Timecode After Using Reverse Telecine or Conform?

The Reverse Telecine feature (changing 30 fps video to 24 fps video) and the Conform feature (changing either 25 fps or 30 fps video to 24 fps) directly affect the timecode of the video frames. Since Cinema Tools must generate new 24 fps timecode for the frames (based on the original timecode), you may see a difference between the burned-in timecode numbers and the numbers shown in Final Cut Pro. Though the timecode discrepancies between the window burn and Final Cut Pro timecodes may be confusing, Cinema Tools tracks the new timecode of the 24 fps video and is able to match it back to its original NTSC or PAL values, and thus back to the film’s key numbers.

This is what happens to the timecode: reverse telecine removes six frames per second, so the timecodes continue to match at the beginning of each second. This means that a clip that lasts for 38 seconds when played at its NTSC rate of 30 fps will still last for 38 seconds when played at the reverse telecined rate of 24 fps.

Clip start

1:0

1:01

1:0

1:03

1:0

1:00 1:11

1:0

1:06

1:04

1:05 1:16

1:07

1:0

1:10

1:09

1:0

In the above illustration, the blue NTSC fields represent those that are removed during the reverse telecine process. The window burn NTSC timecode will be different from what Final Cut Pro shows for all frames except the first one of each second, regardless of the clip’s length.

Using the Conform feature to change video rates causes more timecode changes, since all the original frames are kept and you are actually changing the video’s speed. A clip that plays for 38 seconds at its PAL rate of 25 fps will play for almost 40 seconds at the conformed rate of 24 fps. After the first 24 frames, each frame that follows will have a different timecode number as compared to the timecode of the 25 fps video.

NTSC video frames (30 fps)

1:12

1:13

1:15

1:14

1:1

1:0

1:181:08

1:17

1:19

1:20

1:1

Reverse telecined video frames (24 fps)

1:1

One secondDiscarded fields

1:2

1:21

1:23

1:1

1:26

1:201:2

1:25

1:24

1:27

1:221:2

1:29

1:28

3 2:00 2:01 2:02

2:00 2:01 2:02

Chapter 1 Before You Begin Your Project 27

Clip start

1:0