Appendix 1

The Filmmaker’s Guide to Final Cut Pro Workfl ow
Figure 1.12 Removal of 3 : 2 pull down by reverse telecine
and 7 s are removed. The new clip will play at 23.98 at video speed and 24 FPS at fi lm speed. The
resulting 24P digital “video” is an exact digital copy of the original 24 FPS fi lm. The added frame
is removed, as is the interlacing of odd and even fi elds.
Choosing a Frame Rate, 24 or 23.976 (23.98)
You can reverse to 23.98 FPS or 24 FPS and, as 24 may be the fi nal frame rate, many people choose
to put their project in 24, now avoiding pull-up and pull-down issues. But, 23.98 makes more sense
for most projects. Remember that the only difference between 24 and 23.98 is how fast it plays. The
number of frames stays the same. So it shouldn’t make any real difference, and it wouldn’t if it
weren’t for the audio. As we speed up and slow down, the sample rate and speed also changes up
and down. And when importing audio into a project, if the sample rates don’t match, the imported
audio plays at a new speed. We want to keep our audio sample rate at 48 K or 96 K. Generally, 23.98
works better for the postproduction process. If the fi nal product is digital, it can be projected at 23.98
and, if it is projected at 24, it will look fi ne. And if the fi nal product is fi lm print from negative, the
audio can be pulled up to 24 FPS in the transfer to optical. This way the entire postproduction process
can be done at video speed, 29.97 and 23.98. However, if your fi nish is fi lm and fi lm only, and you
want to avoid pulling down and pulling up the audio, use 24. And if you are reversing to 24, DO
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