Editing AG-DVX100b footage

[Daniel Michel]

I realize these questions would be perfect for the DVXuser community, however I can't seem to activate my account there and I'm tired of waiting to hear back from the mods.

 

 

Anyway... I have an AG-DVX100b and would like to shoot in 24p. I have read that it is ideal to shoot in 24pA and then capture at FPS 29.97 to prevent dropped frames. However, the source was a guide for editing with FinalCut Pro, and I am considering using WinDV to capture the video, and then editing with the 32 bit version of Adobe Elements (which no longer has a video capture feature). The configuration settings on WinDV are very simple, but the website states that one of the programs features are, "no dropped frames - memory buffering."

 

I'm not exceedingly concerned with mega high quality footage (as you can deduce from the camera I'm using), but I'd still like my video to look as clean as possible. If anyone has experience with any of these programs/camera, I'd like to know if it's "safe" to shoot in 24pA, capture with WinDV, and then import to Elements (before I invest $100 for the Elements license).

 

Are there particular settings I need to attend to? Is WinDV's "no dropped frames" claim a sure thing? Or are there better programs (must be 32 bit) that would make easier editing this camera's footage?

[John E Clark]

I began my renewed interest in 'moving picture' capture by purchasing a DVX-100B, ca 2005. I used it for a number of years then graduated to a GH-1... and later to a Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera.

 

The DVX was the most expensive camera I bought, and at the time it was pretty much 'the in camera' for shooting at 24 fps (23.97...). The DVX when shooting at 23.97 fps progressive, encodes the media as 3:2 pull down, and so can be 'played' via standard NTSC displays. But for editing that pull down needs to be removed(*).

 

At the time I found it better to process my DVX footage by using a free tool, JES Deinterlacer (Mac tool...) to produce a MOV with Apple Pro Res encoding.

 

That seemed to work best for my editing in Final Cut Express, and later when I got Adobe Premiere.

 

 

*I had briefly flirted with the idea of getting a 'grey market' PAL DVX100, which shoots at 25 fps, per the PAL standard, and could be 'adjusted' to 24 fps by slowing the time line down a few percents. That would also give a slight more horizontal lines, and hence slightly more vertical resolution. As it was I bought the standard NTSC version as I did want to have the warranty.

 

I had mentioned 5DtoRGB in a previous version, but I think that was a tool for converting AVCHD to something usable for my GH-1...

Edited August 15, 2016 by John E Clark

[David Mullen ASC]

As I recall, the DVX100 had two types of pulldown for recording 24P capture to 60i -- one option had a more obvious pulldown cadence but was designed for a cleaner extraction of the original "P" frames to get back to true 24P in post. Regular 3:2 pulldown has one video frame consisting of fields from two different 24P frames. Now whether the software to correctly extract 24P from the non-standard pulldown cadence still exists, I don't know.

[Daniel Michel]

Thank you for the responses thus far!

 

 

 

 

(Is there a way to edit my original post?)

[Freya Black]

Well after affects can handle it:

 

After Effects also supports Panasonic DVX100 24p DV camera pulldown, called 24P Advance (24Pa). Some cameras use this format to capture 23.976 progressive-scan imagery using standard DV tapes.

Before you remove 3:2 pulldown, separate the fields as either upper-field first or lower-field first. Once the fields are separated, After Effects can analyze the footage and determine the correct 3:2 pulldown phase and field order. If you already know the phase and field order, choose them from the Separate Fields and the Remove menus in the Interpret Footage dialog box.

• In the Project panel, select the footage item from which to remove 3:2 pulldown.
• Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.
• In the Fields and Pulldown section, select Upper Field First or Lower Field First from the Separate Fields menu.
• Do one of the following and click OK:

  • If you know the phase of the 3:2 or 24Pa pulldown, choose it from the Remove menu.

  • To have After Effects determine the correct settings, click Guess 3:2 Pulldown or Guess 24Pa Pulldown.

  Note:

  If your footage file contains frames from different sources, the phase may not be consistent. If the phase is inconsistent, import the footage multiple times, once for each phase, and interpret each footage item with a different setting. Then, add each footage item to your composition and trim each layer to use only the appropriate frames. In other words, if you have an asset that has multiple pulldown phases, then you need to cut that asset into pieces and remove pulldown separately for each of the pieces. This can come up if the asset is a movie that has been edited together from several sources in an NLE.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Freya Black

[Daniel Michel]

After Effects is not supported by 32 bit OS :l

 

 

 

 

 

Since I'm running low on time, I'm thinking I'll just go ahead and capture with WinDV, then edit with Elements. I've done some test footage and it looks smooth to me...

Edited August 18, 2016 by Daniel Michel