Drop Zone referencing time code 00:00:00:00

FCPX drop zone is referencing timecode 00:00:00:00 in my Motion template. How can I use drop zone footage with a different timecode?

I appreciate the post Fox and the link to your fine video on using the Comparator Generator; however, what I'm finding is that when multiple drop zones appear in a project clip they seem to reference the first drop zone. (Your example uses only one drop zone. I've never had a problem syncing video with only one drop zone.) My post, that I referenced above, didn't specify using this procedure, but that is exactly what I did. Just to review a portion of that post:
For the first test I placed each Drop Zone within one Group in Motion. Drop Zones start at the following timecode for each location as follows:
UL: 00:00:00:00
LL: 00:00:10:00
UR: 00:00:20:00
LR: 00:00:30:00
After publishing the project, I loaded it into FCP X. I used the same timecode video for each Drop Zone starting it at timecode value 00:01:00:00. Now, one would think that each drop zone window, having been placed exactly 10 seconds apart, would show timecode values for the inserted videos also each 10 seconds apart. But they don't! All four Drop Zones show exactly the same timecode value. They are acting as if all four were placed within the Motion 5 timeline starting at 00:00:00:00. But they weren't.
I perfectly aligned the start point for each timecode clip segment for it's appropriate drop zone, (first one at 00:00:00:00; second at 00:00:10:00; third at 00:00:20:00 and fourth at 00:00:30:00) but found that FCP X ignored the clip's cursor location for all but the first drop zone. Each of the other three referenced that first drop zone and when playing the project back, the timecode readout in each window precisely matched when they should have been 10 seconds apart.
However, I also found that if I loaded the drop zones in reverse, starting with the last and moving to the first, using the exact same procedure, then all four drop zones synced perfectly. Honestly, it's got me scratching my head. I'm now working on a project that uses 12 drop zones and I'm seriously considering creating each drop zone video clip separately, exporting them from FCP X, importing them into Motion directly, then export the Motion project as a video which I can then import into FCP X. I shouldn't have to do that, but at least that seems to work.
John

Similar Messages

Drop Frame video (29.97) with Non-Drop Frame Time Code

Howdy All,
I understand that DF TC & Non-Drop frame TC are numbering issues and not frame
count issues, That said,
If I have an encoded file captured from an analog Beta Cam SP that has NDF TC
and that file has been encoded as 29.97, so that the resulting file has
a Frame rate of 29.97 with NDF TC from the source tape,
1) Does this constitute an error?.
2) Will this cause problems for the next guy?.
(having been "The Next Guy" in the past I prefer to handle such things on this end if it requires handling)
I have been looking for a straight answer but this specific cause/effect
is tough to track down.
Thanks in advance for any assistance,
KA

Well, starting as a linear editor I can tell you jam syncing and converting to DF will really screw up the TC. Every 10 seconds you'll have a TC number that's incompatible with the DF counting sequence.
If these are source tapes, you have nothing to worry about. I actually prefer NDF source while editing (I'm very old school) beacuse if I trim 5 frames on a mark I can calculate in my head where the new point would land regarding TC. With DF, I trim and often have to do a double take because the math didn't make sense.
Do NOT ever alter the time code on any source material unless you have a capture failure that you have absolutely no other way of working around.
Anyone can mix DF and NDF source time code on any system without any issues. The only problem with NDF is determining EXCACT running time of a completed program when delivering for broadcast.

Capture/time code drop... oops i didn't mean to

After capturing clip warning came up about break in time code. "You must relog and recapture them without breaks."
Question? Clips are already captured and play fine. Will the drop in TC cause a techenical problem in my program or a problem later during output by using the clips? Going to DVD Studio.
Thank you for your kind attention!

Yes - to be on the safe side you should - and make sure you select "make new clip" in the 'on timecode break' setting in general User Preferences. You may be lucky with what you have captured but you may also find that it creates problems later on - especially if you need to batch digitise parts of your project again at a higher res or for another reason.
Dual 2.7 G5 Mac OS X (10.4)

First Time Mac User: Question Re: iDVD Drop Zone on Standard Theme

Oh My! I love this program and have spent all day on it. How do I add more than just 6 pictures to the watercolor theme? If I put numerous photo's in one drop zone, it only displays one of the photo's? Frustrated!!!! Observe

Two ways to do this is to make up a series of short slideshows in iPhoto or FotoMagico and drop it into each drop zone. Or you can even use YOUR slideshow in each drop zone by just selecting the autofill button on your menu. You can adjust each "movie" to play from different points and also change the "loop" time for your theme so that it only plays for 30 seconds or so (time it to suit the music).

Time code changes when reconnecting media

I have been working on a project for over year. Recently my computer was stolen when shooting abroad and now I had to buy a new one (leopard op sys) and reinstall my software to continue working. As I recapture the lost media a warning window pops out: "you are about to capture non drop frame media to a drop frame clip......". My media was shot with a panasonic 100a (24p), and since I started the project I have been capturing with the DV NTSC setting (it captures 29.97 drop frame). When I recapture, the clips in the browser appear as reconnected but the TIME CODE changes, and clips on the timeline referencing that media still appear offline (others don't even if the referenced clip is the same). If I try to reconnect from the timeline it tells me that media start and end do not match. I will appreciate any suggestions.

Are you using a different camera/deck to capture this time than you used the last time?

Since 10.1.2 Drop zone cause last frame to be a still

Since 10.1.2 Update, I was trying fill a drop zone in FCPX with video from an Event and the last frame ends up showing as a still. This happens to be with a generator that I made in Motion and I have used this Generator twice a week, the same way since last september and on multiple different macs. It seems like every few updates, drop zones tend to work differently. I'm Level 2 Certified and well versed in in FCPX, but I've been racking my brain!
Here are some other steps I've tried and I still have the same problem.
I've Opened a Copy of the Generator in the newest version of Motion and re-saved it, went back to FCPX and still it didn't work.
I've added the clip to timeline and tried to fill it from there, no luck.
I've made a compound clip of the original clip, both in the Event and in the project, and tried to fill it. Still no luck.
I've gotten a clip that is longer than the drop zone, no luck
I've gotten a clip that is the exact same length as the drop zone, no luck
I've gotten a clip that was shorter, and for sure, that didn't work.
Anyone have any ideas?

I have the 10.1.2 update and everything is working fine for me... so much so that I've considered building effects with drop zones again (in general, I have hated them with a passion, until this release.) However, for the types of bugs I've had to deal with in FCPX, especially on my 09 iMac i7 (ATI Radeon 4850) particularly after the "rewrite" for the New Mac Pro (FCPX 10.1.1) and multiple GPUs, I have the feeling that Apple hasn't quite polished the code to work on all "supported" mac platforms... The wait was so long from the last update that I capitulated and bought the latest iMac i7 (late 2013) model and received it about a week before the 10.1.2 update. This update fixed most of the problems I was having on the older machine. (I've been wondering if it was a ploy to get a bunch of us to upgrade hardware... but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.)
If I may ask: what are the hardware specs of your system? You can reset preferences by holding down command + option when starting up FCPX 10.1.2 -- does that fix the problem? I had occasion once where a complete reinstall of FCPX solved a lot of issues I was having (IF you decide to try this method, you must first trash all preferences, and, you have to find all related .plist files and trash those too along with the application [Final Cut Pro X 10.1: How to remove and reinstall Final Cut Pro X go to the section "Removing Final Cut Pro X in OS X 10.9 Mavericks"] -- you're going for an absolutely clean install of the software. After trashing everything and before downloading, I recommend repairing permissions with Disk Utility.)
One more thing to check on before reinstalling: If you have backed up FCPX (or Motion) on an external drive (or "some other" location) -- this last time, the App Store found and replaced the backup on the external drive and did not update the version in the Applications folder. For a couple of days there, I thought I was running the current software until I started having some of my same old problems. I tried trashing the app again and the App Store would not let me upgrade - it showed the current version was installed. I think it took me over an hour to figure out that my backup had been upgraded and the App Store was seeing the external location for the install. Color me surprised. (Moral of the story, check the startup dialog to make sure you're running the version you think you are!)

WAITING FOR TIME CODE....again

Hi, when I try to capture from DV device, the capture window appears "PREVIEW DISABLED" I can remote the dv device, mark time code in or out, play tape, pause tape, the time code in the capture window run and is the same taht the tape, but when I do batch capture, cpture clip or capture now, the preview window of catpure says : "WAITING FOR TIME CODE" "DEVICE MUST IN VTR MODE WHEN DEVICE CONTROL IS ENABLED" and when I abort the capture this message apperas: "THIS OPERATION COULD NOT BE COMPLETED AS THERE IS NO VIDEO", Quicktime pro is unabled to capture too, but IMOVIE capture without this problem. I download the firewire sdk from developer connection of apple and use AVCVideo Cap, and no problem for cature, so , my Firewire or dv devices are ok, with DVHSCap I capture PRO HD JVC very well.
Resume , I think there is a problem with quicktime and DV format, My Ibook G4 with FCP 5.0.1 capture from DV devices OK, without problem. If anybody resolved this please comment with us. I work to day with FCP 6.0.4 and quicktime 7.5 and Mac os 10.4.11 and 10.5.4 the problem is afected my PowerPC G5 and my powerbook intel. Another point of interest is that this problem is RANDOM, some times I can capture from DV devices in the first time, some times I can't capture.

Hey AL
How ya doin buddy?
"Either way, try an Easy Setup>DV Converter, to match your video standard (Pal or NTSC)."
Yep - did that
Yes actually my older Sony TVR-310 camcorder IS a digital unit which can also play back analog tapes.
As I'm getting my way around now in FCE, I'm coming to some conclusions in regard to FCE's capture capability.
First let me say that I've also tried capturing some footage in FCE with my other Sony TVR-950, and have had dropped frames, and also breaks in time code.
I thought dropped frames were strictly a PC issue?
Anyway, it appears to me that FCE is VERY sensitive to time code issues NO matter which camera is in the chain.
In fact, I've also read here where folks have a lot of trouble with their Canon GL2's as well. Some of you have even suggested to do your captures in a cheaper Mini DV, or a clam-shell playback machine. This conserves the heads on your GL2 as well.
But why would FCE do better in regard to capturing and time code, with a cheaper Mini DV Camcorder? Perhaps I'm missing something here?
Perhaps iMovie doesn't care about the same issue?
Now my main question is:
Ok I'll use iMovie6 HD (tried and true), to capture ALL my footage and just save the DV files to be edited later (imported) into FCE.
Does this sound like a viable solution to FCE's time code issues?
Will my iMovie captures be JUST AS GOOD as if they were done in FCE?
Thanx so much guys!
Mike

A frame with time code could not be found error

Hey all
So I just started using Speedgrade with my Premiere CS6 timeline exported as EDL, all RED (R3D) footage. When I input the EDL it only loads about 50% of the clips and pops up a red box like this:
So after a bit of Googling, the only solution I found was to ensure the time code base match, which I changed from 24fps to 23.976 which is exactly what is in my Premiere sequence. I then had to find the clips and drag them onto the gray box where it says "Reel not loaded". No big deal, took me all of 5 minutes.
I had also thought the above error was due to me having some high FPS clips in my timeline (120fps to be exact). However, even with no clips in the reels panel showing "Reel not loaded" when I stop at a couple of clips on the timeline I get this:
And as you can see in the reels panel the clip it is referring to has indeed timecode in that range.
Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this? I'm pretty sure it's related to the whole time base thing and it's dropping frames, but can't see how this can be true now that I've changed all instances of 24fps in the settings to 23.976 and that's what the Premiere sequence is showing, and also what is in the RED files.
And here's the metadata for the clip as shown in Red Cine X:
Cheers.

Facing many of the same problems over the last four days. It's been a total nightmare. Working on Speedgrade CC with .R3D files and conformed the timeline to match the 23.976 footage, yet I'm still seeing clips get rejected, along with dropped frames which both carry over to output files and seem to cause the program to crash.
Would love an explanation.

How do I get pics into Drop Zones for Templates?

I am having a problem that is probably simple, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. I opened a templated in Motion and noticed that some of the templates have drop zones, a la iDVD.
Okay, so I found some pics in the browser but when I went to drag them into the drop zone, the image did not go into into the drop zone, and instead a new layer was created. I've tried this countless times and can't seem to gt the pictures to go in the drop zones.
Am I doing anything wrong?

The problem is one of interpretation. What you are seeing are grey "replace media" items which need to be replaced with what you want. They aren't 'drop zones' ala IDVD or DVDSP (basically it's an image with a mask or overlay over it giving it that 'drop zone' look)
There are many ways of changing/replacing the "media" items (this is Apple after all ;):
1) If you press F5, you open up the "Layers/Media/Audio" window. Click "Media" and you'll see all the elements used to make up the template, including "replace 1.jpg" etc.
2)Click on one of the "replace" files. Then click the "Inspector" tab in the Browser window. Then you'll see a window that says "Linked Objects." and below that "replace media file." Click "Replace media File" and then choose the file you want to insert/replace (you'll have to de-select "Show Matching Names Only" to be able to replace it with your own file)
OR:
1) press F6 and open the Timeline window.
2) Scroll down and you will see a layer called "Replace"
3) Open up that layer (click the triangle) and you will see Replace 1, Replace 2, etc (depends on your template)
4) Drag the image you want to insert/replace into the template to the sublayer called "replace 1" etc.
There are other ways, but these two are the most 'stable' I have found.

Drop Zones in FCPX used to be videos, now show icons

I made a long video using motion transitions and build-ins with drop zones. When originally applied, you dropped them onto the timeline above the vide you wanted them to work with, and the video would play behind it with it showing through the drop zone portions. It was a very nice effect. I have to reexport my movie, and I'm now updated with FCPX 10.0.5 (I believe I lasted exported at 10.0.2 in Lion), and now the dropzones just show the downward arrow, the video won't display through.
Anyone else encouter this? Any solutions? Adding them into the dropzone frame just creates still images, which is stupid.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
FCPX 10.0.5
ML 10.8.1

Have you tried trashing your preferences?
Unexplained faults like this can often be fixed by clearing out FCP X's preferences (for some reason, they get knotted up from time to time).
Download Digital Rebellion's Preference Manager (free, simple to use, and perfectly safe, both to download and use).
http://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/
With Preference Manager, you can backup the Prefs when FCP X (or any of the Apple Professional Applications) are working normally. Then when either of the applications are acting strangely, Trash the Preferences, then Restore from your backups (just a mouse-click).
If you trash the prefs and don't restore them, you will need to manually restore all your FCP X settings again, so it's a great idea to backup Preferences from time to time when FCP X is working well, then your backups are up to date.
Doesn't fix every problem, but it fixes a lot.
Andy

Master Template Drop Zone Causes Frame Offset Problem

I created a template in Motion with two drop zones. When I use it in Final Cut as a master template, and drop in two video clips, the clips are offset about 4 frames from the originals. I can see this when I toggle the template's track on and off to see the underlying clips that got dropped in from my timeline. The cut points don't match up to what winds up in the template's dropzones for some reason.
This is a problem, because I'm using the template as a transition between full screen and a PIP-type effect.
The weird frame offset causes a visual glitch that I have to correct by adjusting the start/end points. This is extremely time consuming, as I have to apply the template to a huge number of clips.
I'm using the latest version of Final Cut Studio.

Just discovered that the frame offset increases the further I am into a clip.
I took a part from the beginning.. frame offset = 2 frames.
Took one closer to the end of a 4 minute clip.. frame offset = 14 frames.
The video is encoded in ProRes422 at 29.97 fps, and the Motion template is 29.97 also. Any ideas?

Drop Zones in DVDSP menu templates

I like to occasionally use the menu templates that come with DVDSP. One thing that frustrates me is the quality of the playback video in the Drop Zone of the template. The image has a somewhat jagged/blocky look to it. It is not as smooth and clear as the original m2v file. Is this an encoding problem? What can I do to correct this situation.
The original work is done in FCP5 and then encoded to m2v using the Quicktime Conversion options. I usually chose the settings for a 6 bit target rate with a 7 max, one time VBR, and "Better" motion detection.

What David said - any footage on a menu that includes other shapes or items from the palette will get encoded to MPEG2. If you have already used MPEG2 as the source footage then DVDSP will pass it through another enocde process, and you will lose quality... your best bet therefore is to use .mov files in this case.

Drop zone content fills entire screen for some reason. Help!

Hi, everyone. I've used iDVD for years, but have not had this problem before. I'm trying to use the 4:3 template called "Projector". There is only one drop zone, which should show what the projector is playing. However, when I right click the area and "Fill with Content" (I want video playing there), it doesn't just fill the small square where it's supposed to. Instead, it just takes up the entire screen of the project, completely overlapping the template. In other words, I can't even see the Projector template anymore.
Has anyone else had this experience, or even better, have a solution to it?
Thanks!

Actually, that's a perfectly acceptable way to add content to that drop zone. I've been doing it for years. With a single click on the video box (once "fill with content" is selected), you're even able to adjust where the video starts and ends. If you're just looking to load on general video from your iMovie project, it's a great shortcut to use.
I know the other method of loading content into the drop zone. But that didn't really answer my question as to why the entire screen was filling up with content. I've re-installed the software twice, which fixes it, but I'm just wondering why that problem keeps occurring over time.

Motion 5 / FCP X - Frustrating Drop Zones

I've been (trying) to use Drop Zones lately on a number of projects and while I've been able to kludge things here and there to get them to work properly, they sure have frustrated me. The projects I'm working on need snippets of properly timed video floating around the screen, usually within the opening sequence for the video. The trouble is I've never been able to really figure out the timing for these things.
1) Initially, the logical thought was (for me, at least) to set at least an in point for the video before dropping it into the Drop Zone in FCP X. That certainly didn't work because it appeared as though FCP X totally ignored my clip's in point. I wanted that clip video to start exactly at the beginning of that drop zone.
2) Since that didn't work I did some Internet research and someone posted that Drop Zones ignore clip in points. They said that when selecting the clip for the drop zone to place the cursor on the exact frame where you want the video to start before applying it to the Drop Zone. Well, that works to an extent.
Here's what I found after doing some experimentation in both Motion 5 and FCP X (latest versions of each). First, I created a video with timecode in it so that I could accurately track where the video really started on the first frame of the individual Drop Zone. The video starts with 10 seconds of color bars followed by 5 minutes of burned in timecode, then another 10 seconds of color bars. I created a simple Motion Generator with four Drop Zones - upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right. Each Drop Zone was placed exactly 10 seconds apart. So, for example:
For the first test I placed each Drop Zone within one Group in Motion. Drop Zones start at the following timecode for each location as follows:
UL: 00:00:00:00
LL: 00:00:10:00
UR: 00:00:20:00
LR: 00:00:30:00
After publishing the project, I loaded it into FCP X. I used the same timecode video for each Drop Zone starting it at timecode value 00:01:00:00. Now, one would think that each drop zone window, having been placed exactly 10 seconds apart, would show timecode values for the inserted videos also each 10 seconds apart. But they don't! All four Drop Zones show exactly the same timecode value. They are acting as if all four were placed within the Motion 5 timeline starting at 00:00:00:00. But they weren't.
So, I thought, what would happen if I placed each Drop Zone in Motion in a separate Group? I created four Groups, each one holding only one Drop Zone. It didn't make a difference. The timecode videos in each window were still in sync with one another.
The only way I can get this to work properly is to offset the beginning of each clip by -10 seconds. Unfortunately, if there's not enough "preroll" in the clip to do that, I'm out of luck.
But it gets stranger! Further experimentation leads me to believe that all of the Drop Zones within a project reference themselves to the very first Drop Zone within the project. I picked a new point within the timecode video - in this case, the 2 minute point (00:02:00:00) and dropped it into the UL drop zone. I did the same then for the other three and now they all track based on that 00:02:00:00 point within the video!
But it gets even stranger!!! I tried one more experiment, this time loading the Drop Zones in reverse order. That seemed to work. But still, why should I have to mess around like this trying to sync drop zones in some of weird order?
The question is, why do Drop Zones work this way and what can be done to fix this problem? However I select the first frame of video for a particular drop zone should be what that drop zone references when rendering. Ideally it would be great to be able to use an in point on the clip, but I'm also happy with just moving the clip's cursor to the first frame. It's easy enough to do. Hopefully the software team working on these apps can come up with a solution that makes sense. Thanks.
John

I've had this too and the fix then was to delete my project render files (FCP that is).
Russ

Upgrade to Final Cut 10.0.7 destroyed my generators created in Motion that include drop zones. Anyone experienced the same problem ?

In Motion 5 I created generators that included a drop zone. The objective it to bring them into Final Cut and insert into the drop zone a clip of the same duration.
In FCX 10.0.6 I used to bring a clip to the time line and re size it to the exact duration of my generator. Then I bring the generator to the time line and selected the generator, click in the drop zone of the published parameters menu and select this clip I wanted to insert. The result was the generator using my clip and the clip playing during all the duration of the generator with the generator effect.
Now, with 10.0.7 I can’t make that work. When I click in the clip I would like to import into the drop zone, the result is that there’s just a frozen image of the clip (in the same place I clicked with the mouse)
Is this a known problem of 10.0.7. It used to work well in 10.0.6
Thanks for your help !

I can't see that the update would have any effect on custom generators as they are housed separately from FCP X.
Many weird things happen as a result of corrupt preferences which can create a vast range of different symptoms, so whenever FCP X stops working properly in any way, trashing the preferences should be the first thing you do using this free app.
http://www.digitalrebellion.com/prefman/
Shut down FCP X, open PreferenceManager and in the window that appears:-
1. Ensure that only FCP X is selected.
2. Click Trash
The job is done instantly and you can re-open FCP X.
There is absolutely no danger in trashing preferences and you can do it as often as you like.
The preferences are kept separately from FCP X and if there aren't any when FCP X opens it automatically creates new ones . . . instantly.

Drop Zone referencing time code 00:00:00:00

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for