FCP 5 weirdness - importing DVCPRO HD

I have uncovered a scarry problem with my FCP project that may or may not be a problem. I am in the process of finishing my senior thesis film which was shot a few months ago. It was shot with a rented Panasonic VariCam - DVCPRO HD. I was not the cinematographer so I don't know the details on cam settings, but was assured it was all 24p (except 2 tapes of slow motion shots done in 1080i60). I recently rented a deck to import the footage via firewire. I used the preset settings in FCP batch import set to "DVCPRO HD 720p24." After beginning to edit on my G5, I noticed a frame rate problem - most of the files needed to render. Odd, since the DVCPRO HD should run native on my 2.5 dual G5. But time restraints kept me from doing deeper research. Now that I have some time after getting a rough done, I checked the file specs and found some oddities and here they are:

The files:
NAME - VID RATE - DATA RATE - FRAME SIZE
tape 01 - 59.94 fps, 116.68 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 02 - 59.93 fps, 116.62 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 03 - 23.98 fps, 47.59 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 04 - 59.94 fps, 116.67 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 05 - 59.94 fps, 116.64 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 06 - 59.94 fps, 116.66 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 07 - 59.94 fps, 116.66 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 08 - 59.93 fps, 116.63 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 09 - 59.94 fps, 116.65 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 10 - 59.94 fps, 116.66 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 11 - 23.97 fps, 47.59 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 12 - 23.98 fps, 47.58 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 13 - 59.94 fps, 116.64 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 14 - 59.94 fps, 116.64 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 15 - 59.94 fps, 116.68 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels
tape 16 - 59.92 fps, 116.58 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels (1080i60)
tape 17 - 59.93 fps, 116.65 mbits/sec, 1248 x 702 pixels (1080i60)

Looks to me only 3 tapes were imported correctly. Very odd since the settings were all the same and imported in numerical order (tape1, tape2, ect..). Will the FPS be a problem in the future? It is a bit annoying to have to render, but I can deal with it. But what I cannot deal with is having problems in a professional online session and/or during an out to film. Money is tight, so I would like to avoid a re-import if possible since a deck is $600 a day with a discount, but will do what needs to be done to save the project. I assume everything will be ok if the timecode is ok, but would like some reassurance from someone else. This is my first contact with DVCPRO HD, so any info would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks all

I'm eager to hear any informed responses to your question. I have experienced the same problem and can't figure it out for the life of me.

I have posted the same question on the apple site as well:

[discussions.apple.com]

The VariCam is a trick pony. You need to know those camera settings to be able to capture properly. The camera always records at 720p60 only, and the footage then requires a pulldown to get you to 23.98.

Try this, it describes your situation in detail:

www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/dvcpro_hd_workflow_balis.html

Clay

thanks for that link clay. The answers still seem a bit grey to me at this point, but I think I just need to let all this new information settle.

thanks

It looks like your capture settings were incorrect and also changed a couple of times.

Your capture presets should always be 59.94, and the size 1248x702. You get to the right editing frame rate by setting the editing timebase in your sequence settings to 23.98. Your sequence settings should also be set for 960x720 (720p over 60).

I haven't worked with the varicam, but used the DVCProHD to pull in and edit materials shot on HDCam. On one occasion when somebody fat-fingered the Kona settings, we wound up capturing at an odd frame rate. Someone changed the editing timebase so everything looked okay, but our EDLs were all off when we went to conform clips from these tapes at 1080p later on for filmout.

I think you're going to need to recapture some of these tapes.

Doug Luberts Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Your capture presets should always be 59.94, and
> the size 1248x702.

Incorrect. Your Easy Setup should be set to the format that you shot. 720p24 if you shot 23.98. As I stated on the Apple site, when you choose this setting when you capture footage shot properly at 720p24 23.98, then it will be captured as such, removing pulldown as it captures. If the footage happens to be 59.94, then it will capture it 59.94. The camera flags what settings the footage was recorded at, and FCP reads those settings, and captures it appropriately.

Here is a solution. Look at one of the tapes you captured at 59.94. Play it back on a monitor. Does it look REALLY smooth...Sport smooth...soap opera smooth...nightly news smooth? Then it is 59.94. Does it look slightly suttery, or more filmic, then it is 23.98, and something else is up.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Shane:

It was my understanding that the varicam, as well as quicktimes encoded with the DVCProHD codec all run at 59.94 and that the variable frame rates are achieved by the camera/encoder "flagging" specific frames falling within the desired rate.

At least that's the way all of the DVCProHD work that I've been doing has worked.

From the list you posted, it looks like whoever captured may have edited the capture preset settings, and then not captured all the footage consistently. Go to your audio/video settings then capture presets and take a closer look. Btw, with DVCProHD it's always good practice to run a few tests first, and then check each reel after capture to make sure.

Also, why did you capture some of the tapes in 1080i60? If your timeline is 720, then keep everything in 720. Otherwise, you have to scale all the 1080i material back down again (a batch export would handle that). Those slow motion shots need to go through either the software conversion method described in the link I sent you, or through the Panasonic FRC-27 hardware converter (requires a capture card with HDI input). That conversion works in both 720 and 1080.

Clay

I have a similar question. We just shot w/ the Varicam supposedly at 720/24p. We had someone digitize the media and there are potential issues. He used the AJ-HD1200A deck to digitize via firewire into a G5 laptop. We are now using the new Dual Intel running FCP 5.0 to log footage.

These settings are the same for all of our media: Frame Size = 960x720; Compressor = DVCPRO HD 720p60; Audio = 16-bit, 48k; Field Dominance = none; Pixel Aspet = HD (960x720).

The settings that vary are Video Rate and Data Rate. 1/3 of the footage is at 23.98 (5.7 mb/sec) while the other 2/3 of the footage is at 59.94 (varies from 8.2 to 13.9 mb/sec).

1.) Which set of footage is correct assuming they shot at 24p on the Varicam?
2.) I know the Ken Stone article mentions downloading two files (including one from Panasonic) but is this necessary when running FCP 5.0?

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
RG