Putting 3:2 Back In

We have a lovely video clip at 854 x 480, 23.976. We'd like to lay it off to NTSC DigiBeta.

Converting the frame size to letterbox is child's play compared to putting 3:2 in. Every tutorial in the entire internet and points beyond is devoted to the best way to remove 3:2.

FCP 5.0.4 with Cinema Tools 3.0.3 (yes, I know. We're on line to get a new machine).

We also have JES DeInterlacer and most of the de-interlacing/De-3/2 we do is in that. As I write this, the editor is trying to get that software to put 3:2 into the clip.

I know if we don't do anything, the default videotape layoff is 2:2:2:4. We're grand masters at doing that.

Koz

Is it absolutely necessary that you go through a software in-computer step? This sounds like a job for a capture card to me.


www.derekmok.com

One piece missing. We have a Kona II and that board may have built-in progression conversion.

Koz

Kona 2 will cross convert, no? If not, there is a method but involves recapture.

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It claims to, yes. The current struggle is to start with a non-television format and get everything to fall out correct in NTSC. So circles have to come out round, the letterbox black bars have to be the right size and shape and it has to be real, stable 3:2 after we play through the Kona.

So far we can get any two out of three. We can get good motion with egg circles....

Koz

As far as I can tell, the capture card should be used to handle the frame-rate conversion (23.98-29.97fps) and pulldown, because hardware tends to do a better job at that.

But in terms of proper aspect ratios, distort settings, frame resizing and positioning and so on, that can be done in an FCP timeline.

For example, if you make a 23.98fps, 720x486 Uncompressed 10-bit timeline, that allows you to see the image proportions, and on a broadcast monitor. Then use the capture card to go out to tape.


www.derekmok.com

That's what would have normally happened. What actually happened was we were delivered a non-standard 16x9 frame size and in a graphics file format that doesn't easily allow for interlacing.

So we are taking many giant steps backward to deal with the original material.

I couldn't make it look reasonable no matter what, so I started to do media info on the original clips. Wait, that's not right.....

[sigh]

Koz